Pure athleticism helped Lorenzo Styles Jr. transition from wide receiver to defensive back during his college career, which started at Notre Dame and ended at Ohio State, where he won a national championship withhis younger brother, Sonny.
Lorenzo's speed turned heads Friday at the NFL combine, just about 24 hours after Sonny put together one of the best workouts a linebacker prospect has ever turned in at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The smaller but swifter Lorenzo blazed through his 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds, the fastest time of any player at this year's combine so far and the fastest time recorded by a safety at the event since at least 2003,according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, who cited NFL+ data.
NFL Network's Stacey Dales asked the Styles brothers' mother, Laverna, if she expected Lorenzo to runthatfast.
"Yeah, I did," she said," via NFL Network. "I actually knew he was going to run that fast when he only had got a 39 in the vertical. I said, 'Oh, he's mad. He's ready to go over here and do this now.'"
"Only" a 39-inch vertical, by the way, still landed Lorenzo the fourth-best mark among this year's participating safeties. That vertical was just 4.5 inches shy of the one Sonny wowed with, and Lorenzo is 5 inches shorter than his 6-foot-5 brother.
Although Sonny is a first-round prospect who may have just propelled himself into the top-five conversation, Lorenzo came to Indianapolis as a possible Day 3 selection in a deep safety class that features another one of his Ohio State teammates,Caleb Downs.
That's why his 40 is particularly significant. It could move the needle and make a difference in the later rounds of the draft for the Pickerington, Ohio, native.
Lorenzo and Sonny's father, Lorenzo Styles Sr., played for the Buckeyes from 1992-94 and eventually won Super Bowl XXXIV with the then-St. Louis Rams.
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"My husband has worked with these boys since they were like 4 or 5 years old," Laverna told NFL Network.
"They thought they were playing games. They were running outside with parachutes on their back. They were 4 and 5 thinking it was a game, not realizing their dad's getting them ready for this day today."
Lorenzo Styles Jr. scattered 54 receptions, 684 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns while at Notre Dame. Before he transferred to Ohio State, he started experimenting with the defensive side of the ball.
"I was doing a little bit of both positions when I was at Notre Dame," Styles explained Thursday at the combine,via On3's Tyler Horka. "I kind of fell in love with DB.
"I don't have to run a dig route. I'm not set to certain routes. ... I get to use my athleticism to play the game. I feel like Ohio State gave me the best opportunity to play DB at the highest level: the coaching staff, the players, the environment — I feel like it prepared me for the NFL."
Styles still managed to find the end zone at Ohio State. He ran back a kickoff for a touchdown against UCLA this past season.
He also played a career-high 405 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, during which he mostly lined up in the slot and registered 30 total tackles, including 18 solos, and defended three passes.
The year before that, he worked his way into the Buckeyes' defensive back rotation. Styles assisted a dominant defense that contributed to Ohio State winning it all, a run that culminated in a victory over his old team in the national title game.
He's looking to take what he learned from both schools and make the jump to the NFL.
His 40-yard dash should give him a boost.
