Washington Commanders rookie Sonny Styles doesn’t believe there’s much of an adjustment in going from college to the pros.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft hasn’t played in a game yet, but he has gone through OTAs with the Commanders. The prolific linebacker is used to playing against top level competition, having helped lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a College Football National Championship.
While Styles maintains the belief that “football is football,” he acknowledges one major adjustment from the college game to the pro game is the level of play and speed of the quarterbacks. The 21-year-old linebacker said playing against Jayden Daniels in practice has made him realize the skill and speed of NFL quarterbacks are on another level compared to college quarterbacks.
“The quarterbacks are much better,” said Styles in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “No offense to any quarterbacks I played with in college. I played with great ones, but I’m just saying, in practice, I used to see it a little bit with C.J. (Stroud) when I was a freshman. C.J. was basically an NFL quarterback by the time I was a freshman, he was already there, just the throws they make in practice, or how the ball is coming out. It’s impressive, but for the most part, like I said, it just feels like the ball — and I was talking to some guys who were in town the other day that I just played with my junior year, they’re in the NFL now — and we’re just talking about like the guys who we went up against in practice.”
Sonny Styles Attributes Playing at Ohio State For Easing Transition Into NFL
Styles, who spent all four years of his college career with the Buckeyes, said playing in Columbus prepared him for the NFL where it’s not much of an adjustment. The 6-foot-5 linebacker points towards how he was lining up every day in college against future NFL talent, naming multiple first-round draft picks who came from Ohio State.
“When I go to practice in the NFL, it doesn’t really feel like crazy different, you know, I mean, like, especially like I’m lining up in practice, I see Emeka Egbuka, Jaxson Smith-Ngijba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and C.J. Stroud, our quarterback, Will Howard, our quarterback, or TreVeyon Henderson, all these different guys. Paris Johnson, I’m lining up against NFL players every day in practice. Now it doesn’t feel like this crazy adjustment, and that’s why I think Ohio State — we have the slogan developed here — I truly do think being Ohio State, you get developed, you get ready to be a pro.”
The fact that Styles came from arguably the top college football program — Ohio State spent $20 million on the transfer portal this year, the second-most in the nation — has made the adjustment from the college game to the pro game feel seamless. We’ll see if that feeling holds up once the Commanders start playing regular season games in September.
Sonny Styles Teams up With TheraBreath Leading Into Rookie Season
Leading into his rookie season with the Commanders, Styles is teaming up with TheraBreath for their “Ready. Fresh. Go” campaign. Styles details that he exactly used the toothpaste brand years before starting the partnership.
“I partnered with them around the draft for this year,” said Styles. “It was a brand that I’ve used, like their mouthwash, their healthy gum toothpaste, the fresh breath oral rinse. My girlfriend actually got me into using it a few years ago. I don’t remember what I was using, I would just grab whatever from the store. I wasn’t really super particular on it, and then I started using it, I was like, ‘This is a lot better.’ When you feel fresh, you feel right. My dad would always tell me, look good, feel good, play good.
“I think the best part about that is feeling good,” Styles continued. “When you’re an athlete and you’re able to partner with these brands that you actually know you use, you enjoy using, it’s a fun time. I think that’s where you find great partnerships. So lucky enough, I’ve been able to partner with them, and I’ve met a bunch of great people through TheraBreath. So it’s been awesome.”
Commanders’ Sonny Styles on How Jayden Daniels Made Him Feel Like a Rookie