Sonny Styles revealed that his nickname comes from 'The Godfather,' and it won't be long before the Ohio State product becomes a household name, thanks to a dominant showing at the Combine
17:56 ET, 01 Mar 2026
Sonny Styles speaks to reporters at the Combine
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Sonny Styles revealed where he got his nickname from(Image: Getty Images)
Highly-touted NFL prospect Sonny Styles revealed the hilarious reason why he is nicknamed after a beloved character in ‘The Godfather.’
Over the last handful of days, Sonny — whose real name is Alex — has firmly entered the conversation as a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft thanks to a dominant performance at the Combine. Despite failing to match his brother Lorenzo Jr.’s blistering 40-yard dash time, the Ohio State product etched his own name in the history books by recording the best all-time vertical among linebackers.
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While speaking to NFL Network's Stacey Dales, Laverna Styles — Sonny and Lorenzo’s mother — conceded that the pair of siblings have always been competitive with one another.
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Oftentimes, Sonny would do little to hide his frustration when Lorenzo emerged victorious in their head-to-head clashes. Given his short temper and fiery nature, his dad began calling him Sonny after Sonny Corleone.
"He had such a hot temper, so we named him after Sonny from The Godfather because when him and little Lorenzo would get into an argument, he would get so mad," Laverna recalled. "He could go from zero to 10 in the blink of an eye, so his nickname became Sonny."
During a sit-down interview with CBS Sports’ Ran Carthon and Ryan Wilson, Sonny acknowledged that he was somewhat of a “hot head” during his adolescence.
“It’s from the movie Godfather,” the 21-year-old said of his nickname.
Sonny Styles speaks to reporters at the Combine
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Sonny Styles turned in a historic performance at this year's Combine(Image: Getty Images)
“When I was a kid, I was a little bit of a hot head, like four, three, five. So he started calling me that, and it kind of just stuck. So everyone calls me that now.”
“When I was younger, especially, my brother got the worst of it,” Sonny continued. “I was so annoying as a little brother, just always getting mad. He’d beat me in a video game, I’m slamming a controller at six years old.”
Though Sonny has gone by his nickname for the majority of his life, it wasn’t until several months ago that he rewatched ‘The Godfather.’ “I just watched it recently again, sometime in the past few months,” he said. “And it’s an awesome movie.”
While his name would suggest otherwise, Sonny was cool, calm and collected while shattering a myriad of records at the Combine.
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According to Warren Sharp, his 43.5-inch vertical marked the highest for anyone 6-foot-4 or taller and 240 pounds or heavier since 2003.
Sonny also showcased his wheels upon posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.46 seconds, while Lorenzo recorded the fastest 40-yard dash time for a defensive player at this year’s Combine after clocking in at 4.27.
Per NFL Plus, the Styles brothers were subsequently crowned "the first brothers to run the fastest 40-yard dashes of their position groups at the same Combine since 2003."