CJ Sanna

Physical Profile

Prototypical Mike frame: 6-3 with a 225-pound high school playing weight that has already climbed to roughly 230-235 in his first offseason of a college strength program, with room to carry 240 without losing range. The discus title is the key athletic marker here. A 194-foot throw in Ohio's largest division demonstrates elite rotational power, hip torque and explosive hand strength, all of which show up in his ability to stack and shed blockers and to finish tackles with force. He is not a twitchy space athlete in the mold of a Will linebacker; his athleticism is downhill and power-based, better suited to the A- and B-gap than to matching running backs on wheel routes. No verified 40, shuttle or vertical numbers are publicly available, so lateral range and change-of-direction remain a projection off film rather than testing.

Play Style

Sanna plays a physical, see-ball-get-ball style from the middle. He reads the mesh point quickly, triggers downhill and looks to deliver the blow rather than receive it, and he has a knack for finding the football, which shows in his four fumble takeaways as a junior. Against the run he uses his hands well to stay clean and is comfortable taking on pullers in the hole. As a blitzer he times the snap and converts speed to power, which explains the sack numbers. He is less comfortable when asked to play laterally or in space; his best snaps come between the tackles moving forward. He also played some wide receiver and short-yardage back at Olentangy, which contributed to his ball skills and body awareness.

Strengths

• Downhill trigger and run-stopping: as a junior he produced 97 tackles, 11 TFL, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries from the Mike spot, and his 7 sacks led the Ohio Capital-Cardinal conference and ranked top five in Division I, unusual production for an off-ball linebacker.
• Diagnosis and block avoidance: film evaluations consistently cite his football IQ, awareness and instincts in the middle, using his eyes and elusiveness to slip climbing linemen rather than absorbing them, and he was effective as a QB spy against mobile quarterbacks.
• Power at contact: he habitually runs through ballcarriers rather than dragging them down, a product of the same strength that won him the discus title, and it translates to short-yardage and goal-line stopping.
• Trajectory: he only moved to linebacker full-time for his final two high school seasons and still earned first-team All-Ohio as a senior (79 tackles, 6 TFL, 1 sack, 1 PBU, 1 INT), so his rate of improvement outpaces most players in his ranking tier.

Areas to Improve

• Tackling technique: he was flagged for needing to wrap up more consistently rather than relying on collision force, which will get him beaten by bigger, more balanced college backs.
• Coverage reps and pass-game feel: his senior year produced just one interception and one pass breakup, and he has minimal exposure to man-match responsibilities on tight ends and backs; Matt Patricia's system will ask far more of him in zone drops and route recognition.
• Pass-rush dependence: a large share of his junior splash plays came as a blitzer, and his sack total dropped from 7 to 1 as a senior when offenses schemed around him, so he needs to prove he can generate impact plays without being sent.
• Positional experience: two years at the position means keys, run fits against modern RPO and gap-scheme concepts, and pre-snap communication all need development before he can be trusted as the signal-caller.

College Projection

Year one (2026) is a redshirt or reserve year. Ohio State's Mike room is stacked with Payton Pierce starting and Riley Pettijohn, fellow freshman Cincere Johnson and Eli Lee ahead of him, so realistic snaps are special teams and garbage time. Year two is the first legitimate window for rotational reps as the room turns over. Given his frame, power and trajectory under James Laurinaitis, he projects as a two-year starter at Mike in years three and four with a chance to be an every-down player if the coverage development comes. If the pass-game feel stalls, he settles as an early-down thumper and core special-teamer, still a productive Big Ten contributor.

NFL Outlook

Legitimate Day 3 draft profile with room to climb. The 6-3, 240-pound frame with verified explosive power (state discus champion) is what NFL teams want at inside linebacker, and Ohio State's track record of developing linebackers into draftable players is strong. The ceiling is a Day 2 pick if he becomes a three-down player with coverage competence; the floor is a priority free agent or late-round special-teams core player. The two-year positional learning curve is actually a positive for pro scouts because the tape will keep improving through his junior and senior seasons.

Best Fit

He is already in close to an ideal fit. A 4-3 or 4-2-5 base defense that keeps the Mike between the tackles, asks him to play downhill against the run, and uses him as a designed blitzer plays directly to his strengths. Ohio State under Matt Patricia and James Laurinaitis provides a linebacker-centric development program, a Mike role rather than a hybrid space role, and time to develop behind veteran starters. Schemes that would expose him early are heavy split-safety systems that demand the Mike carry vertical routes down the seam or match running backs in man, which is exactly the area he has the least experience in.