Skull Session: Torrance Gibson's Parting Shot, Buckeyes on the Big Board, and Eddie George's Dieting Secrets

Word of the Day: Obsequious.

ICYMI:

• Cleveland Heights' Jaylen Harris, the top receiver in Ohio, will commit at 10 a.m. ET.  I like the local team's chances in this derby.
• The men's basketball team lost to Wisconsin. (I typed this with the Bucks down 30 with eight minutes left in the second half).

 WHEN GIBSON KNEW. There is perhaps no other player in Ohio State history who drew as much attention without ever playing a meaningful snap as Torrance Gibson.

Unfortunately for bloggers like me, the #content train derailed Thursday afternoon when Gibson announced his transfer to Cincinnati, where he'll play quarterback for Luke Fickell after earning his Associate's Degree this semester at the prestigious Cincinnati State.

Gibson had some parting words for his former school, too.

From espn.com:

"I feel like it's the best way for me and my family," Gibson told ESPN on Thursday. "The two years at Ohio State didn't go as planned: redshirting the first year, moving to wide receiver unexpectedly and just the suspension. The university suspending me, I didn't think it was fair the way they did me. That's just what made me really realize that it was time to go, it wasn't the place for me."

Apologies to Gibson, but it's not like he had a choice to return. And if he's willing to play at Cincinnati, well, logically he would've played at Ohio State if the administration would've had him.

Commenters have all sorts of wild stories about why OSU suspended Gibson for a violation of the student conduct code. All that's officially known, however, is what The Columbus Dispatch reported: "The incident stemmed from a dispute involving a female tutor or teaching assistant."

I don't know how Gibson would've done at Ohio State. The past is littered with blue-chip players who balled outrageous and those that didn't. But I do know Fickell is over the moon with this because Gibson will terrorize the American Athletic Conference.

That said, let's hope he's gone before Cincinnati comes to Columbus in 2019. Pretty sure Gibson spearheading the first in-state upset of the Buckeyes since 1921 would melt our servers into extinction.

 WE'RE TALKING MOCKS, BABY! Real football is gone, but thankfully we have fake football to get us through these hellacious times to National Signing Day and spring football.

Mock draft season is upon us. And while this isn't a mock, it's a good starting point for the draft stock of former Buckeyes.

From Matt Miller of bleacherreport.com:

Can't wait to see which Buckeye gets slept on during the draft process and makes teams pay, a la Mike Thomas. My money is on Noah Brown. 

It will also be interesting to see how teams view Curtis Samuel. I don't think he's big enough to run between the tackles in the NFL, but he would make an interesting third-down back and could raise hell from the slot. Where he lands will be critical to his success.

 THAT EDDIE PLAN. It's Jan. 12, folks, which means it's time to shed that weight we put on during football season. Urban Meyer says championships are won in August. Well, healthy physiques are chiseled in January, February, and March.

Speaking of chiseled physiques, here's 43-year-old Eddie George explaining how he could still play in the NFL if he wanted.

From stack.com:

"When I got into the NFL, that's when I really shifted my philosophy to eat healthier and leaner. Eat things that were going to pack on lean muscle mass—proteins, complex carbs, veggies. Try to keep it clean and eat six times a day," George says. "I still try to do the same today. I try to eat six meals of 500 calories every day. I wake up in the morning and eat at 7, then at 9:30, then at noon. Then throughout the rest of the day I try to eat every 2-3 hours after that. I keep my sweets to a minimum. I'll throw in a cheese pizza or a Five Guys burger to keep my sanity, but for the most part I try to keep it 80/20 clean."

Look, we all know Five Guys is overrated and overpriced, but what I'm more baffled by is that Eddie is apparently a cheese pizza guy! He should throw some pineapples and jalapeños on those things to take his pies to the next level.

But what may be his biggest secret is his belief in breakfast.

Skipping breakfast is one of the worst things a person, especially an athlete, can do from a diet standpoint. A 2013 study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that "men who skipped breakfast had a 27% higher risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] compared with men who did not." A 2003 study found that "subjects who regularly skipped breakfast had 4.5 times the risk of obesity as those who regularly consumed breakfast." Studies have also found that skipping breakfast can have negative effects on mood and memory.

I ratcheted back my drinking, but apparently, I'm still killing myself by skipping breakfast every day. I'm starting to think I won't escape this desolate space pebble alive.

 TALKIN' CROOTIN' BABY. We all know Urban Meyer took Ohio State recruiting to another level upon his arrival. One way to tell that is to look at the star rankings.

Another way to do that is to look at the increased money allotted to convincing talented #teens Columbus is the right place for them.

From the voice of Ohio State students, thelantern.com:

After coach Urban Meyer took over in Columbus at the end of 2011, the Buckeyes spent $344,987 in 2012. That number grew to $614,619 in three years, showing a 78 percent increase. This is the third-highest rise in the conference during that time, behind only Penn State and Rutgers.

[...]

OSU Vice President and Athletic Director Gene Smith backed the Buckeyes’ spending increases, explaining why there has been a drastic change over the past four years.

“We always invest in what is necessary to be successful and recruiting is a part of that,” Gene Smith said in an email. He added that rising travel costs and “hosting expenses” explain the conference’s 39 percent rise in spending.

If this type of stuff interests you—check that article out in full. It's one of the best pieces I've seen from The Lantern in awhile.

 KINDA MESSED UP, RESEARCHERS. Researchers built a fake langur monkey to spy on a colony. It didn't end well:

Not a scientist (breaking news, I know), but I'm pretty sure gaslighting monkeys into thinking they committed prolicide is how Planet of the Apes starts.

 THOSE WMDs. Bo Jackson: Knowing what I know now, I would have never played football... Born users... Mississippi's civil forfeiture racket... Recruiting rankings are improving... Shaq-tastic Ferrari found in drug probe... Chargers' desperation move is a shot to NFL vitality.