Skull Session: Terrelle Pryor Responds to Alex Boone's Criticism, Chargers Arrive at Joey Bosa Trade Deadline, and Nate Ebner Does it For His Dad

Sure, this is only one play in fall camp, but please believe Noah Brown is going to dominate this fall:

Never give an inch. @Nb_Eight0 #TheEdgehttps://t.co/wgoI6XQa00

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 8, 2016

R.I.P. to Denzel Ward, whom I liked. While life on The Edge can be brutish and short, there is also time for laughter. Here are Joshua Norwood and Damon Arnette performing at the team's skit night:

Letting our guys have some fun tonight. Josh and Damon put on a show!! pic.twitter.com/ZRI6x5T0bz

— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) August 9, 2016

Everybody who laughed will regret that when Urban Meyer makes them run sprints until they puke stomach bile.

 PRYOR TAKES THE HIGH ROAD. Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Alex Boone, who is still the largest human being I've ever seen in person (a record he's held since 2004), appeared last Friday on a Minnesota radio station. 

It was your typical "local athlete does radio spot" affair, but Boone went out of his way to say how much he detested playing with Terrelle Pryor.

From 247sports.com:

Boone said, "We had Todd Boeckman, I had Troy Smith -- I was tackle when he won the Heisman, you're welcome -- and unfortunately I had Terrelle Pryor too, who I could not stand any minute with him. The kid was so arrogant at the time. I hated everything about him."

As I interpret it, Boone spoke on his past feelings, not his current feelings. However, Boone and Pryor aren't close. He didn't even know Pryor still played football.

Monday, Pryor got a chance to strike back at Boone, who was not known for his humbleness in Columbus, either. The Browns WR and future Super Bowl MVP took the high road:

"When you're young, and you guys know this, when you're young, sometimes people don't, you're different," Pryor said. "You act different. Your mind is wired completely different. I'm 18 years old meeting this guy, so I wish him well, and that's all I've got to say."

When people go out of their way to express disdain for people, the qualities they target are qualities they don't like about themselves. This much is known.

When viewed through that lens, the criticism of Pryor almost decade later makes sense. Still, given Boone's youthful tribulations, I'm surprised he took that shot at a fellow Buckeye.

And props to Pryor for taking the friendly fire with grace. His arrogance at Ohio State cost him his career. He adapted and learned from it. 

 BTN BUS ROLLS IN. The BTN Bus Tour hits Columbus today and the network will have a full slate of Buckeye programming. So if you're unemployed, today may be a good day to wake up before 2 p.m.

 BOSA TRADE DEADLINE DAY. According to the NFL CBA, teams have until 30 days before the season starts to trade the rights to draft picks.

As such, today is the last day for the San Diego Chargers to trade Joey Bosa, the only remaining unsigned pick of the 2016 NFL Draft. If they fail to do that, Bosa and the Chargers are stuck with each other through the Tuesday after Week 10.

From profootballtalk.com:

Bosa can sign at any time through the Tuesday after Week 10. Beyond that point, he can’t play in 2016.

After the season, the Chargers would retain exclusive rights to him until the 2017 draft begins. At that point, Bosa would re-enter the draft.

Because the Chargers would continue to hold his rights, no other team could talk to Bosa before the draft, and he wouldn’t be permitted to return to the Scouting Combine.

I reached my breaking point with the Chargers, and Tom Ley of Deadspin elaborated why in words I'd use if I were a talented writer:

What’s really dumb about this is that it is fairly customary for top-five picks to get contracts without offset language and to get their signing bonuses up front. The Chargers apparently have a policy of not caving to rookies on either of these issues, but that kind of hardline attitude doesn’t really make sense when you’re negotiating with a top-three pick and a player as talented as Bosa. The Chargers are like a guy who just spent $500,000 on a new Ferrari, but is now refusing to drive it because he doesn’t want to spend the extra money on premium gasoline.

Let's hope a competent franchise offers the broke-ass Chargers a way out by offering a 2017 first-round pick for Bosa. Few things in sports are as frustrating as watching elite talent squandered with an inept franchise. 

 EBNER CARRIES FATHER'S LEGACY. Nate Ebner begins his quest for Olympic gold Friday today against Argentina at noon ET.

Bleacher Report produced an excellent 10-minute video look at Ebner's path to Rio.

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I knew about the passing of Ebner's father, but I had no idea he was the victim of an armed robbery gone awry at a Springfield junkyard. While the video didn't mention it, I was relieved to find out the person responsible should die in prison.

From The Springfield News-Sun in 2008:

Amy Ebner was in court Thursday, July 22, as Willie Anderson, accused in the 2008 beating death of Jeff Ebner, pleaded guilty to one count of murder, ending his trial after four days.

Anderson hung his head and sobbed several times as Clark County Common Pleas Judge Richard O’Neill sentenced him to 15 years to life in prison. He was originally charged with aggravated murder, three counts of murder, two counts each of felonious assault and aggravated robbery and one count of tampering with evidence.

Anderson will be eligible for parole in 2025.

Police suspected Anderson was the one who placed the 911 call about Ebner's body, which is bone-chilling to think about.

On a better note, I didn't think it possible to respect Ebner's grind more than I did. Here we are.

 GO ON THEN, ROBY. I hate Mark Sanchez because he's younger, richer, and more handsome than me. Not to mention he beat Ohio State in 2008.

So, I nodded in approval when I saw this:

Bradley Roby turning into a real player, looks like he can force turnovers and score the ball. Just punked Sanchize #BroncosCamp

— RosterWatch (@RosterWatch) August 8, 2016

If Roby can do this to actual NFL quarterbacks, he'll be in business.

 MEANWHILE... Jabrill Peppers has yet to show mastery of one position, but Michigan plans to deploy him in all three facets of the game this fall.

From collegefootball.ap.org:

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Jabrill Peppers may be on the field for up to 100 plays a game this season for Michigan.

On defense, Peppers will move closer to the line at times as a linebacker and he'll be a defensive back on some snaps. He will play in the slot, in the backfield and might even take some snaps on offense.

And when the Wolverines need a boost on special teams, they will lean on Peppers to return punts and kickoffs.

The Wolverines will do the same with their best defensive back, Jourdan Lewis.

Michigan fans will hail this as the second coming of Charles Woodson (x2), but the hater in me says it speaks to the lack of offensive playmakers available to Jim Harbaugh. There's a reason why two- (and three-) way players are obsolete these days. 

 OLYMPIC TALK. [KEVIN'S OLYMPIC UPDATE — If this isn't filled in consider him fired!]

This section is in fact filled, and so is my job. My apologies, seekers of employment.

I'll be making some sort of cameo appearance here for the next few weeks to provide you with a daily Ohio State viewing guide for the Rio Olympics. Whether you want to follow every Buckeye athlete at the games or just want somebody to look for as you casually watch, here you go.

As D.J. touched on earlier, today is Nate Ebner's day. The former Buckeye football walk-on will officially begin his quest to go from Ohio State football walk-on to Big Ten Champion, to Super Bowl Champion, to Olympic Medalist while you watch from your couch.

Ohio State junior Nichelle Prince will also be in action as team Canada takes on powerhouse Germany. All signs point to a German victory, but don't count out a striker with Buckeye blood.

 THOSE WMDs. Cupping has its Olympic moment... The last perfect gymnast... Japan's asylum seekers are building its roads and sewers... Video: John Oliver on the newspaper industry... Video: A Tasmanian devil joey... The slow descent of Houston McTear.