Sorry for the brevity of today's Skull Session. I labored through the night on Terrelle Pryor's Hall of Fame bust. Should be ready by next week's Browns game.
This week's NSFW ANTI-WORK #BANGERS:
- Attack this Friday like Marshawn Lynch.
- Heisenberg: Say my name.
- No Country for Old Men — Coin toss.
LAST HURRAH FOR C. SMITH. Corey Smith lost his seat as the only JUCO transfer on Ohio State's roster earlier this year when Malcolm Pridgeon transferred from Nassau Community College.
After Urban Meyer suspended Smith for the Virginia Tech game last season, a broken leg against Indiana permanently sidelined his 2015 campaign. Somewhat remarkably, the NCAA granted a medical redshirt.
With his degree behind him, this is Smith's last chance to impress NFL scouts.
From ohio.com:
Now Smith, 23, who became the first in his family to graduate from college when he received his diploma in African-American studies in May, is projected as a starter for a Buckeyes team ravaged by an exodus to the pros.
Thanks to one of his ex-teammates, receiver Michael Thomas, the nephew of Keyshawn Johnson selected 47th overall by the New Orleans Saints, Smith believes he can carry on the successful OSU tradition at his position.
“That was my guy. He showed me the way, honestly,” Smith said Sunday during Ohio State media day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I saw him do it, now I know I can do it.
“My mind just cleared, my soul cleared, my mind focused on what exactly I need to do to make my team better.”
I don't know what to expect from Smith at this point. He's capable of throwing vicious blocks and making plays, but he's also liable to duff it... in the same play, too.
Eventually, you are what you are. It's like when people say, "I'd work out, if only I had the time." No you wouldn't. If working out were a thing you valued, you'd make time. There are still only 24 hours in a day.
I want to believe Smith will blossom into the receiver we all know he can be, but how often does that happen in life? In my anecdotal experience, not often.
I'm happy to be wrong, though.
HOOKER INVESTMENT PAYS OFF. One of the recruiting strategies I rode to over 10 NCAA Football national championships was identifying raw physical talent, recruiting it, and then training it.
I never finished my book detailing my dynasty, but it appears Meyer got ahold of an advanced copy as he followed the same stratagem with safety Malik Hooker.
From landof10.com:
“This is the way it should project, but nine out of 10 guys never make it to this point because they don’t have the patience to sit there and learn the craft and get better and exploit those rare gifts that Malik has,” [Hooker's high school coach Joe] Cowart said.
Hooker has physical gifts that allowed him to jump out of the gym and now help him sky for interceptions that don’t seem possible, but that’s not why he’s in this position. If everything aligns and his stardom materializes, it will be because of his hard work, patience and faith he placed in a program that took a chance on him because it saw what he could become and could afford to let him arrive on his own schedule.
“I knew eventually it would all work out,” Hooker said. “When you first come in, you’re not making as many plays as other people and you start second-guessing. That’s just the mindset. Once I saw my body start changing from lifting and stuff like that, I was like, ‘OK, they sent this many people to the NFL so I’m sure they know what they’re doing.’ I just put my craft and my skill set into their hands, and they molded me to be the player that I am today.”
That article is recommended in full for any Ohio State fan who wants to be knowledgable about Hooker when he makes leaping, one-handed interceptions this fall.
I'm big on Hooker, and not just because of my raging jealousy of anybody who can dunk a basketball.
Of the four competing for safety time, Hooker was the least-heralded recruit. He's bigger than Vonn Bell and more fluid than Tyvis Powell. If he locks down the intricacies of the position and limits bad pursuit angles, he'll be a beast.
THE PATIENCE OF K.J. HILL. Torrance Gibson is often tabbed as the breakout wide receiver from the 2015 class, but that ignores K.J. Hill got closer to seeing the field.
Neither of them played, so obviously it's a moot point. But like Gibson, Hill is also primed to take advantage of things he learned during a redshirt freshman campaign.
From rivals.com:
"It was frustrating but I just kept praying about it and I knew it was in God's hands," Hill said over the weekend at Ohio State's football media days. "Coach Meyer talked to me too about, talked to me almost every day about it too. It was frustrating but I got over it and I think that really helped me."
There is a trend for players to report a semester early to their college destination, the reason behind that being a chance to go through spring ball and also have one semester under their belts academically as they make the transition. That was not something that Hill was able to take advantage of as a summer enrollee and at this point of 2016, he feels like he is in a much better spot.
"I feel way better prepared," Hill added. "Coming in over the summer it was just straight to fall camp. It feels good right now because I know the plays, I can read my triangles better, I can read coverages more and that year just helped me understand the game more."
Hill is another example about why I refuse to stress about the receiving corps this year.
Noah Brown is a blood bank guarantee, but there's too much talent otherwise for Zone-6 to fall off. Between the likes of Corey Smith, Curtis Samuel, Dontre Wilson, Johnnie Dixon, Terry McLaurin, James Clark, K.J. Hill, Torrance Gibson, Austin Mack and Ben Victor... somebody will step up.
If they don't, well, expect Joker Phillips to be summoned from the bullpen.
PRO BOWL MIKE THOMAS. If a dinged hamstring continues to sideline Ezekiel Elliott, I will have no choice but to shift my NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year pick to Mike Thomas, a man who made me look smart in the past.
#Texans WR Deandre Hopkins on #Saints WR rookie Mike Thomas @Cantguardmike "He reminds me a lot of myself"
— NFL Draft Insider (@NFLDraftInsider) August 18, 2016
Between the evolution of gloves and weight training, it feels like we're living in the golden era of one-handed catches. These dudes make leaping, no-look one-handed grabs in like I pluck a glass out of my cabinet.
YEAH, SURE, YARINA. Not to get #mad #online about Ohio State's lack of Big Ten Coach of the Year trophies — Iowa fans would trade Kirk Ferentz's trophy case for Urban's — but if Meyer wins the Big Ten and doesn't win the award, Jim Delany should banish it.
With what he lost, all the NFL picks, I truly think this is the year Urban Meyer ends @OhioStateFB's COY drought. pic.twitter.com/BgVgPePJXS
— Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) August 18, 2016
Wait until the Big Ten sees what Lovie Smith does with Illinois, though! A record of 4-8 isn't out of the question.
THOSE WMDs. Unexpected route to Williamsburg... Crime scene cleaning business booming... Omaha dad eats four pot brownies... Two famed chefs share secrets to the perfect burger... Trent Richardson: More money, more problems.... Was there a problem with the Rio pool?
