On January 20, Notre Dame will take on Ohio State for just the seventh time in the last 87 years, seeking their first win against the Buckeyes since 1936.
Despite the memorable matchups between the blue-bloods on the field being few and far between historically, these programs are all too familiar with one another on the recruiting trail. Every cycle, the Fighting Irish and the Buckeyes go head-to-head for top talent, both in the greater Midwest and in national battles, such as the recruitments of Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Madden Faraimo in California.
Next Monday, Notre Dame will be staring down multiple familiar faces donning silver helmets, including former Irish receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., now a cornerback.
Irish Illustrated took a trip down memory lane, looking back at the biggest Notre Dame-Ohio State recruiting battles for current Buckeye players, or the recruiting misses that opened other doors for Notre Dame.
All listed rankings are per the Composite, as the player profiles show 247Sports internal grades.
WR Lorenzo Styles Jr.: Class of 2021
No. 115 player, No. 20 receiver, No. 5 player in Ohio
Kicking off with the most familiar face on this list, Lorenzo Styles signed with Notre Dame over Ohio State as a receiver in the class of 2021, flashing early.
As a freshman, Styles appeared in all 13 games, catching 24 passes for 344 yards (14.3 yards per reception) and a touchdown. Every indication out of South Bend was that he was in pole position to take on the No. 1 receiver role as a sophomore.
That did not materialize, with Styles again appearing in all 13 games, but catching just 30 passes for 340 yards (11.3 yards per reception) and one touchdown, a stagnation in production that was mirrored by a stagnation in development and, at times, effort.
When Styles hit the portal, Ohio State was a likely suspect, although a position switch to corner would be required given the talent in the Buckeye room of pass-catchers. All parties agreed to that change, and over the last two seasons, Styles has appeared in 21 games, tallying 14 tackles and four passes defended.
