2023 No. 3 recruit Sonny Styles visiting Notre Dame this weekend
Pickerington (Ohio) Pickerington Central five-star athlete Sonny Styles will be in South Bend, Ind., this weekend to visit Notre Dame.
Called a unicorn by On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power, Styles is the No. 3 player in the 2023 On3 Top 100.
Styles’ brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr., is a freshman wide receiver on the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame is facing No. 9 Cincinnati in one of the weekend’s two top-10 matchups.
Everyone wants Sonny Styles
Other than No. 1 recruit and the latest member of America’s royal quarterback family Arch Manning, Sonny Styles may be the most coveted recruit in the nation.
In addition to Notre Dame, Styles has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Texas.
He is also athletic enough to have offers to play basketball at Ohio, Kent State, Toledo and Akron.
Styles was in South Carolina two weekends ago to visit Clemson.
Ohio State and Notre Dame are considered the favorites for his signature, and both consider him their No. 1 priority due to familial connections.
Styles’ father, also named Lorenzo, played for the Buckeyes in the 1990s before playing in the NFL for six seasons.
In addition, Pickerington is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, and only a half-hour drive from Ohio State’s campus.
Lettermen Row’s Jeremy Birmingham called Styles the most important recruit for Ohio State in the 2023.
“Styles is, quite simply, one of the most versatile and talented Ohio-born football prospects in the last few decades,” Birmingham wrote. “If there’s ever been a must-get recruit for Ohio State, it’s Sonny Styles.”
Styles has incredible potential
Styles is the No. 1 non-quarterback in the 2023 class. He is skilled, athletic and strong enough to play all over a defense, so much so that people have no idea where he could end up.
“Sonny Styles has the fluidity of a defensive back in the body of a potential pass rusher. He is a loose, highly-coordinated athlete. A quick look at his backpedal and change-of-direction in defensive back drills should answer any questions in that regard,” Power wrote last month.
“Most importantly, the burst and movement skills show up on the field on Friday nights. Styles was an explosive presence on the back end of a defense of a nationally-ranked high school team. He showed deep range as a safety and some vicious striking power.”