The son of a former Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker for whom he carries the namesake, Lorenzo Styles Jr. was destined to play on the Ohio State defense and compete for national titles — yet his story was anything but straight-line.
Between a position change and a transfer portal move, Styles took the long road to where he is, with a chance to do something his father never accomplished during the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship.
Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s Path From Notre Dame WR to Ohio State CB
Coming out of high school, attending Pickerington High School Central in central Ohio, Styles is the son of former Ohio State linebacker Lorenzo Styles Sr. — a former third-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft who had a six-year career in the pros.
The younger Styles earned his own name though, and through his own path. As a wide receiver prospect, playing on the opposite side of the field as his father, Styles earned four-star status, positioning him just outside the national top 100 but inside the top 20 wide receivers and the top five players in Ohio, according to 247Sports. He went to consecutive state title games and earned several accolades.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were the first program to extend an offer to Styles on June 18, 2018, followed shortly within the coming months by other major schools like Penn State, Kentucky, and Ohio State, among others.
Playing high school ball in the Buckeyes’ stomping grounds with a surname that holds legacy, the easy answer seemed to be easy. Among the other top recruits from Ohio, including Jack Sawyer and Mike Hall Jr., five of the top six committed to in-state titan Ohio State. However, Styles stuck with the first name to reach out, Notre Dame, committing in Oct. 2019.
“We talked to coach Brian Kelly and it was a great conversation,” Styles told Tom Loy per 247Sports in 2019. “We spoke about his values as a coach, religion, hard work, and dedication. Those things mattered to him and they matter to me and my family as well.”
Soon enough, Styles was enrolled at Notre Dame in 2021 and began his career as a Fighting Irish wide receiver. Immediately, he made an impact as Notre Dame’s fourth- and second-leading wide receiver in 2021 and 2022 with 344 yards and 340 yards, respectively. While the volume wasn’t there, Notre Dame’s passing attack was among the least productive in college football for wide receivers.
In 2021, wide receiver Kevin Austin led the way with 888 yards followed by tight end Michael Mayer with 840 yards — no one else cleared 400 yards. In 2022, Mayer paced the team with another 809 yards while no one else topped 400 again, with Styles trailing the leading wide receiver, Jayden Thomas, by just 21 yards.
With 20 wins in two seasons, Notre Dame was still finding success, but Kelly, who was a part of Styles’ recruitment process, was gone after Styles’ first season, along with position coach Del Alexander (he left for Georgia Tech in 2022). As well, after the 2022 season, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees departed for Alabama. Both Alexander and Rees were also credited for Styles landing with Notre Dame
In April 2023, Styles entered the portal. Less than a week later, he was following in his father’s footsteps at The Horseshoe
Styles teamed up with his younger brother Sonny Styles, a five-star safety recruit who moved to linebacker at Ohio State, but there was one more trick up the Notre Dame expat’s sleeve: a position change of his own.
According to Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch, the move partly drove Styles to Ohio State, joining his brother on the defensive side in Columbus, Ohio.
“I thought the longevity of my career would be at cornerback and I had a lot of trust in coach Walt and a lot of trust in what Ohio State does at DB,” Styles said, per Rabinowitz, speaking on cornerbacks coach Tim Walton, who was college teammates with the Styles brothers’ father. “I thought this would be the best fit for me.”
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Using his knowledge of offensive tendencies and philosophies, Styles swapped to cornerback. He played in five games in 2023 and was gifted a redshirt as he prepared for his future. In 2024, with two years of eligibility, he made his mark.
“He’s gotten better at man coverage and gotten better being able to do a variety of different zone drops at nickel,” Sonny Styles said about his older brother, per Rabinowitz. “He’s come in and done his job pretty well. He’s earning trust week after week after week. He’s earning trust with [defensive coordinator Jim Knowles], so I think he’s going to keep getting better.”
The elder Styles brother logged 14 tackles and four passes defensed in 2024, primarily lining up in the slot, rotating snaps behind star defender Jordan Hancock alongside his brother and other key defenders like Caleb Downs and Cody Simon.
With a talented defensive back room at Ohio State during the 2024-25 season, Styles’ season to play atop the depth chart may have to wait until 2025. However, before then, he has one more chance to make a mark: winning against his old team on the national stage in the 2025 CFP National Championship.
Hopefully no love was lost.
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