Friday Skull Session

Ohio State men's basketball team ended their four-game skid last night. The Basketbucks are back, baby!

The first half was absolutely brutal, but in the end the Buckeyes pulled away from the Fighting Illini. Lanzelle Smith was the best player on the court statistically, but Aaron Craft was the burning coal that propelled the Buckeyes' second-half run to put the game away. 

The indomitable Kyle Rowland wrote-up our recap. The Basketbucks are off until next Wednesday night, when pitiful Penn State comes a'knocking. (This is all assuming this Polar Vortex doesn't freeze us all to death.) 

CHRIS ASH CHRISTENED AS CO-DC. It'd been speculated since he was hired, but Chris Ash was officially named Ohio State's defensive coordinator and safeties coach yesterday. I'm not sure if I'm a big believer in "co-" anything yet, but Ash had some interesting words about soft coverage by defensive backs:

And for those who believe OSU has been too soft in coverage... Urban Meyer wants a DB who will challenge receivers. Coach Meyer has a vision of what he wants on the football field for his defense, and he wants an aggressive unit. 

The true kicker came when it was revealed Chris Ash will "only" be making $520,000/year. I say "only" because Chris Ash was making a cool $550,000 as Bert Beliema's defensive coordinator. Yes, folks, it's true: Chris Ash took 30,000 less dollars per year to (assumedly) get the hell away from that raging dumpster-fire of a man.

... Larry Johnson Sr. was also officially announced to the staff and he will be hauling in $400,000 as defensive line coach. Mike Vrabel "only" made $291,000 last year, so props to Gene Smith and company for throwing out the extra paper to nab a guy like Johnson Sr. 

HELP IS ON THE WAY. Last year's Ohio State defense wasn't up to the historical standards of Ohio State's defense; that much is known. So, it was nice last week when 24/7 crowned Ohio State's 2014 recruiting class No. 1 in Linebackers. Well, yesterday 24/7 released their 2014 recruiting class DB rankings, and the Buckeyes topped that list too ($) for the second year in a row. Some DBs Ohio State has inbound:

• Damon Webb, Four-Star DB
• Erick Smith, Four-Star DB
• Marshon Lattimore, Four-Star DB
• Malik Hooker, Four-Star Athlete

Webb and Smith are Rivals Top 100 guys, and other services are high on Marshon Lattimore as well. 24/7 lists Malik Hooker as an athlete, but given that he was recruited by the departed Mike Vrabel and Everett Withers leads me to believe Ohio State sees him as a DB. But, yeah, Hooker is dripping athleticism as well; he dropped 36 points the other night in his high school basketball game while Urban Meyer watched.

Speaking of athletes to watch for in the 2014 class, Ed Warinner stopped by the recently-offered David Njoku's basketball game last night. (John Brandon will be by later today to dump his recruiting notebook on you guys.)

SAMMY SILVERMAN IS ALSO A RECRUITER.  Yes, we sing Ohio State football's graphic designer's praise a lot in these parts, but he deserves every word. (Especially when you compare the efforts of Florida's MSPaint Guru.) 

Urban Meyer demands his coaches recruit like dogs, and it appears the expectations of Sammy are no different. Here's the graphics wizard putting in work for the set on Torrance Gibson, a five-star recruit and No. 1 dual-threat quarterback of 2015:

JAYRU YOUR DEBT ISN'T ANNULLED. Jayru Campbell, a highly-rated dual-threat quarterback committed to Michigan State, found himself in hot water (read: jail) this week for body slamming his school's security guard. (Some recruiting analysts are now crystal-balling Campbell to historic football powerhouse Wayne State.)

But just because Jayru has fallen on hard times, other folks aren't ready to clear their ledgers. From Jayru's running back (and 2015 Ohio State target) Mike Weber:

Remember kids: One day you're the cock of the walk, the next you're the feather duster. 

THOSE WMDs. Kobe Bryant says college basketball isn’t teaching players anything... WOW has Northwestern basketball come a long way... Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un shows masterful prowess in providing field guidance to People's Army Cavalry Brigade... Meanwhile, in Ukraine... Meanwhile, in Kiev... Charges against Bubu Palo were dropped. Why is Iowa State fighting to keep him off their basketball team?... Nursing home residents dress up as movie icons... Ghost ship full of cannibal rats could be about to crash into Devon coast... The sad world of adults pretending to be kids for RTs... Earth as seen from space... CNN Commenters weigh-in on Justin Bieber's arrest... (NSFW) Trent Williams punches Richard Sherman in the face... Alleged mobster charged in 1976 'Goodfellas' heist... Oh hell... GTFO...