Sonny Styles knew early into his college career that his days of playing safety were numbered.

Styles joined Ohio State's football program as the No. 3-ranked player in the state and No. 2 high school safety in the country. He was also unnaturally big for the position at 6-5 and 244 pounds. To him, it was a matter of "when" and not "if," but when the day finally arrived during his sophomore year, the move was also the most logical next step for him.

"Just talking to [Ohio State head coach Ryan] Day and [former Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim] Knowles and looking at the defense and everyone we had, it kind of just made sense for me to switch," Styles said. "And then it also made sense because when I got to the NFL, I was probably gonna play linebacker at some point."

Despite playing the position for just two seasons, Styles became not just the best linebacker in his class but also arguably the best defender regardless of position. Styles wouldn't call it seamless, but the transition has worked out in his favor. The work he's put in over the last two years has built up his confidence, so much so that he feels ready for both the professional game and the next step in his transition.

In many ways, Styles' experience at safety has helped him play closer to the line of scrimmage. He broke records for his position at the combine in February, recording a 4.46 40-yard dash time with a 43.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-2 broad jump. It's rare to find linebackers with that kind of athletic profile, and to drive that point home further, his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.99 ranks fourth out of nearly 3,500 linebackers graded from 1987.

That didn't mean that Styles could simply walk into the Buckeyes' linebacker room and be a dominant player. There was an adjustment period, particularly with how much faster his reaction time needed to be while working closer to the line of scrimmage. He was used to playing 10-12 yards away from the ball, so he had more time to correct himself. That distance was cut in half at the linebacker position, and he also had to fight off more blocks to make plays.

"I think when you're playing linebacker, it's just instinctual," Styles said. "You can't play like a robot and try to calculate every move. I think you just gotta feel it."

Styles got more comfortable at the position with every rep, but he credits Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis and his father, Lorenzo Styles, with helping speed up that development. Laurinaitis, a former second-round pick by the Rams, spent eight years in the NFL before becoming a coach, while Lorenzo was a third-round pick in 1995 and spent six seasons with the Rams and Atlanta Falcons.

Styles said his dad has "his own stuff going on," but Lorenzo had always found time to support his son. He instilled the importance of outworking his competition in Sonny from an early age, telling him that he needed to do the "unrequired work" to separate himself from every other young player with NFL aspirations. When Lorenzo learned that Sonny was switching from safety to linebacker, he would come to the Buckeyes' facility so they could watch film together and break down the finer points of the position, from his pad level to what he called "block destruction."

"That was something I think I took a big step in this past year," Styles said.

Both Lorenzo and Laurinaitis also made it clear to Styles that they had high expectations for what he could accomplish. Not long after Styles made the switch, he got a text from Laurinaitis saying the coach believed he would be a first-round pick. Styles wasn't close to that kind of projection at the time, so it showed him that Laurinaitis was serious about maximizing his skill set.

"To hear that from your coach means a lot," Styles said. "So, I was super happy when he did that."

Styles put up solid results during his first full season at linebacker, recording 100 tackles, five pass deflections and six sacks, but there was still plenty of work to be done before Styles could become a first-round pick. Tackling was one of the biggest areas for Styles to improve upon. While he did rank second on the Buckeyes' defense in tackles made, he also missed 18.4% of his potential stops -- a college career high.

The work to improve came in practice. He worked on his pad level and made smaller tweaks to how he tackled players. That work showed up on the field; according to Pro Football Focus, he had an FBS-best tackle grade of 92.2 during his senior year, and he was the only defensive player with at least 50 tackles to have a miss rate of zero.

Styles viewed it as an important part of his development if he wanted to keep playing linebacker in the NFL. He also saw it as simply an important part of the position, saying "you gotta be able to tackle at a high level" to play linebacker.

"You gotta be the best tackler on the field," Styles said. "I was glad I made a jump in that block destruction, and I feel like I got a lot better. But I've still got a lot of work to do. Just gotta keep getting better."

Styles has kept himself honest about his growth both as a player and at the position. Although his first two seasons as a linebacker have included two all-conference selections and an All-American nod, he's just beginning his work towards getting the most out of himself on the field. Styles said during his introductory press conference that he has high expectations for himself, and his goals are larger than just getting to the NFL.

Styles is excited for what's next. He's going to be in a room led by Ken Norton Jr., who won three Super Bowl rings during a 13-year NFL career. Styles thinks Norton has "great energy," and he's anxious to get to work with a coach who has an extensive professional resume as a player and coach.

But Styles is also excited about what he can become as an NFL linebacker and knows there is more growth in his future.

"I have so much more in the tank, and in all facets of the game, there's so much more to work on."