COLUMBUS — Sonny Styles prepared all offseason to make the first start of his career as a linebacker, just not primarily at the position he found himself last Saturday.

With Cody Simon set to miss Ohio State’s season-opener due to injury, Styles’ first action at linebacker became a little more interesting as he was tabbed to slide to the middle of the Buckeyes’ defense as the Mike linebacker and wear the green dot on his helmet, which signals the lone helmet on the field with a headset for communication from the sideline.

Playing out of position and tasked with ensuring the entire defense knew where it was supposed to be pre-snap, Styles performed admirably, finishing with six tackles while relaying the defensive calls seemingly without much issue. While Styles’ ability to play the Mike position seamlessly on short notice, with everything the role now entails, spoke volumes of his versatility and vast mental capacity for the game, Styles downplayed the difficulty on Wednesday.

“It wasn’t too crazy for me,” Styles said. “I feel like our positions are kind of interchangeable in our defenses, so a lot of the concepts are similar. I think I have a pretty good grasp and knowledge of the defense, so it wasn’t a super hard switch for me. I think the biggest thing was it was my first time being on the field with the headset. That was the biggest change, honestly.”

Under the new guidelines for helmet communications in college football, which were implemented for the first time in the sport ahead of this season, all headsets will shut down when the play clock hits the 15-second mark. Styles said game one with the communications didn’t have many hiccups but noted it wasn’t always smooth.

“I think there was one play when the call came in a little late, and that’s when it got a little hectic because everyone is looking at you like ‘What’s the call? What’s the call?’” Styles said. “But it wasn’t too bad. It was a solid day. I thought I did pretty good with it.”

Following the game, head coach Ryan Day spoke highly of Styles’ ability to step up for his team amid so much newness and still perform at a high level.

“Here’s a guy who went from safety to linebacker at Will, and then had to move to Mike when Cody was down … I’m very impressed with playing his first game at linebacker in a position he hadn’t really been training at for the majority of spring and fall (practices),” Day said. “He’s very conscientious, very smart, and handled that very, very well.”

While Styles may not have been overly willing to pat himself on the back on Wednesday, Day doubled down on his comments from Saturday and praised the work Styles put in during the offseason to set himself up to do whatever is asked of him, even on short notice.

“He’s a very serious young man for his age, very mature,” Day said of Styles. “He came in (to Ohio State) early and, because of all of that, he’s matured even quicker than we could have thought. To make that move from safety to linebacker and then make that jump (to Mike), it shows the work he’s putting in off the field that nobody sees. And I think that’s the part for a lot of our guys, especially when you’re young, it’s hard to appreciate all the work that gets put in just to give you the chance to go out and play. Without that hard work, you’re not going to go out and perform the way we all expect and want to perform.”

Day added, “Sonny has put in the work in the weight room; what he did with (strength coach) Mick (Marotti) was tremendous. Physically, he’s put on the weight and that part of it. But then it’s in the film room. It’s working with (linebackers coach) James (Laurinaitis) and the defensive guys in terms of extra film, watching it after practice, asking questions. I’ll sit in on some of the linebacker meetings and he’s answering the questions. He’s very involved in everything that goes on.”

Add in the helmet communications element, which has been standard in the NFL for years, and Day said Styles is only adding to his value when scouts consider him at the next level.

Still, Styles doesn’t believe he did anything that shouldn’t be expected of anyone who believes they’re ready to contribute to an Ohio State defense striving to be —and capable of becoming —the best in the country.

“The way I look at it is if you’re playing linebacker, you should know what both linebackers are doing,” Styles said. “If the opportunity comes where you have to play the other one, you should already know what it is or at least have an idea of what’s going on … That’s kind of how I was at safety. When I was a safety, I knew how to play all three (positions). I took that same mindset to linebacker.”

Simon’s status for Saturday’s game against Western Michigan remains uncertain, meaning Styles could again find himself in the middle of the Buckeye defense. Regardless of the position, Styles said he wants to improve his speed to the ball and be quicker to react this week as he continues to settle into being a linebacker.

“Obviously, as a linebacker, you want to make some plays in the backfield, (tackles for loss), so you know you’re playing fast,” Styles said. “If the opportunity comes, I want to make some of those plays. And then just keep working and keep getting better.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.