Skull Session: Noah Brown Hype, Unintended Consequences of Expanded Beer Sales, and Danny Clark Refuses to Give Up

By D.J. Byrnes on June 13, 2016 at 4:59 am
Torrance Gibson told the June 13th 2016 Skull Session to go long.
Torrance Gibson
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Trailing three games to one in the 2016 NBA Finals, one thing is clear: The Cleveland Cavaliers have the Golden State Warriors right where they want them! The epic comeback begins tonight in the idol of gentrification that is Oracle Arena.

ICYMI: Tate Martell, the nation's No. 1 dual-threat QB, committed to the good guys last night. (Here's the Lord of Whispers on what that means for Ohio State.)

 BROWN HYPE. Listed at 6-1, 240 pounds, receivers like Noah Brown don't roll off the assembly line often.

Brown was poised for big things in 2015 before his femur fibula announced other plans during one of the last practices of fall camp. Yet the hype surrounding him continues to build, which is somewhat remarkable given he only has one catch in his career.

But like Mike Weber stock, I'm buying all Brown stock available because of what others say about him.

From landgrantholyland.com:

You don't often see a college wide receiver with one career catch penciled in as a playmaking starter, but with Brown, this may just be the case. Receivers with Brown's willingness to block don't simply fall off trees, and it seems 2014 was simply scratching the surface of Brown's abilities as a receiver. Plus, it's not like we haven't seen receivers continue to succeed after breaking their leg. But just where does all of this Noah Brown hype come from?

"I feel like personally he was one of the best receivers last year...Him and Mike (Thomas) were pretty much unguardable last year." - Terry McLaurin

J.T. Barrett: "I think a lot of people forgot about Noah Brown...Noah Brown was going to be a big part of our offense going into Virginia Tech until he got hurt."

Curtis Samuel: "Nobody had really seen what he could do, but Noah is a big-time player...He came in every day when players weren't here, always working on his hands, always watching film. We knew he was going to have a big season. Him having that setback, it hurt us a little bit."

We won't grasp how big of a loss Brown was last year until he takes college football by storm this year. He may not yet be the technician Mike Thomas was, but he's a pure athlete, relishes blocking, and Urban Meyer has raved about his catch radius.

I expect big things for Brown, and it's great knowing I won't be disappointed.

 BEER. Ohio State was always going to allow expanded beer sales as long as nobody died in the stadium during last year's limited sales. The reason is simple: money. Ohio State, like most successful businesses, likes it too much to pass up on revenue streams that thick.

But change always carries a risk of unintended consequences. 

From dispatch.com:

For all the fans and visitors who will be happy about cold beer being served in Ohio Stadium this fall, the season will be dismal for some of the dozens of church groups, high-school sports teams and other nonprofits that have earned money in the past by staffing the concession stands at Buckeye football games. A new age minimum for concessions volunteers will wipe out a big part of the labor force for many such groups.

Levy Restaurants, which operates concessions at the stadium, requires all volunteers to be 18 or older at any location where alcohol is served, said Levy spokeswoman Jenn Sutherland. Ohio law prohibits anyone under 19 from serving alcohol; Levy requires that concessions volunteers between 18 and 20 handle only tasks that are away from the counter.

Martin Jarmond, a deputy athletic director for Ohio State, said the university's Schottenstein Center always has required concessions volunteers to be 18 or older, regardless of whether alcohol is served, and "we decided to be consistent with that at the stadium, too."

(Going to break a vow and #WellActually The Columbus Dispatch: Jarmond's official title is "deputy athletic director and heir to the Ohio State Athletic Kingdom.")

Few things are worse at a sporting event than waiting in line for overpriced concession items, so it's wild to me people volunteer to work in one, regardless of whatever charitable outcome may be attached to it. I would need at least $25 an hour.

 PLEASE DON'T KILL DANNY CLARK. It's been a minute since we checked on 2017 four-star QB Danny Clark, a.k.a. the hardest of Ohio State commits.

Clark, along with fellow Akron Hoban backfield mate Todd Sibley, was reportedly asked to grayshirt. (Clark denied the rumors).

While Clark and his Ohio State Block 'O' tattoo attended Alabama's spring game, it would appear he's dead set on coming to Columbus:

I wouldn't fault Clark for weighing his options, but I will also give him props for staying true to his commitment and competing for his spot. Other prospects would be put off by the prospect of competing with a five-star talent. That's not the mindset of a champion, and Clark knows it.

 WAAAAAAAAH. Troubling, troubling news out of Satan's Mitten on Sunday. Luiji Vilain, a four-star Canadian DE whom I've wanted at Ohio State for over a year based on his name alone, committed to Michigan.

Credit to Jim Harbaugh. This is the first recruit Michigan received that made me say, "Damn!"

There is only one appropriate response for Urban Meyer:

 EUROS 2016: IT'S LIT. You might think you're a big Ohio State fan, but would you be willing to brawl with Russian hooligans like English fans had to do over the weekend in France?

Most importantly, however, I learned the British call mouth guards "gumshields."

Sports are fun and games until an angry Russian is charging at you while wearing MMA gloves and a gumshield.

 THOSE WMDs. How Intel makes a chip... Your inbox will forever be flooded by spam... Police chief's excellent guide to avoid getting shot in Milwaukee... Chinese company tests world's first single-passenger drone... Nigeria faces "almost impossible" fight against Niger Delta Avengers.

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