Tuesday Skull Session

Good morning Buckeye faithful and welcome to your Tuesday Skull Session.

This past weekend, I got to be apart of an incredible opportunity. I journeyed down to Louisville, Kentucky to experience the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby.

While the Derby attracts people from all over the United States, you better believe I was not the only Buckeye in attendance. From tailgating in the parking lot, to watching the race, and even leaving Churchill Downs, chants of "O-H, I-O" could be heard regularly.

As I watched the race itself, I stood with a group of Ohio State alumni who had set up a tent near the edge of the track. They had no problem displaying a large OSU flag at their site which swayed in the wind as the race's winner I'll Have Another crossed the finish line.

While the race and the party were certainly an awesome time, running into fellow Buckeyes in the heart of Kentucky was just as incredible. Running into people who share your passions for all that Ohio State represents in unlikely places is always a memorable experience.

SIMON SAYS. Ohio State's senior defensive lineman John Simon was named to the Lott IMPACT Award watch list for 2012. Simon is one of seven players who also made the watch list in 2011.

The Lott IMPACT Award recognizes college athletes who display talent as a player and personal character attributes. Simon, a native of Youngstown, Ohio and a exercise science major, was a semi-finalist for the award last year.

It appears as though Simon will also be team captain for OSU after assuming the role towards the end of last season. While the Buckeyes' defense was awful last season, Simon had an excellent season. He amassed 53 tackles and seven sacks in what turned out to be a pretty mediocre season for Ohio State; however, this was not because of Simon's play.

Best of luck to Simon in this season, who has already been named to the first team of the All-Big Ten Conference.

FICKELL STEPS BACK TO STEP FORWARD. Luke Fickell was once considered the guy who would ultimately replace Jim Tressel once the legendary Ohio State coach was ready to step down. But a scandal which rocked college football to its core ruined that smooth transition into the head coaching role for Fickell.

Fickell was forced to take over for Tressel last season upon the coach's ousting and never was able to remove the title of interim coach. The pressure of taking over a program which didn't know its ultimate fate and the lack of experience never really gave Fickell a fair shot to develop into a head coach. Through it all, though, Fickell helped keep the program together for Urban Meyer to come in and elevate it to a new level of success.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg mentions in an article that Fickell will be a better coach because of what he endured last season. Rittenberg mentions how Fickell and newcomer Everett Withers will be sharing coaching duties on defense, a role Fickell is a familiar with when he coached the defense alongside Heacock. However, Heacock was always seen as the man in charge, now it is up to Fickell to step into a new role as the face of this team's defense.

After a tough season last year, it'll be interesting to see how Fickell uses his experience to coach a defense which will return nine starters. Fickell, who was overwhelmed and inexperienced last year, should be able approach this season with a completely new and focused attitude which will benefit the Buckeyes moving forward.