Skull Session: Bucks Need 8 Receivers, Urban Changed the B1G, and Cardale Cried Tears of Joy

It's Friday, which means it's time to walk into the office and rouse fellow employees into walking out on the shift eight hours early. Summer wanes, and it's high time for bosses to prove why they get the big bucks.

ICYMI:

• 2018 three-star CB Marcus Hooker, brother of Malik, committed to Ohio State.
• Like his All-American brother, Hooker is an underrated prospect that oozes potential.
• Observations from Day 1 of preseason camp.
• Why Greg Schiano stayed at Ohio State.
• Urban Meyer: Best user of hyperbole we've ever been around.
• 12th-year senior J.T. Barrett says "it's time to get going" as he enters his final preseason camp.
• Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio. 

Word of the Day: Bombastic.

 A FEW GOOD MEN. Because time is a flat circle, once again we stand on the brink of a local season with lingering questions about the receiving corps. Can Parris Campbell adequately replace Curtis Samuel? Can Binjimen Victor be the go-to receiver the Buckeyes have lacked since Michael Thomas?

Meyer said Zone 6's culture is "clean as a whistle," and the unit is "ready to go" at Big Ten Media Days. And it better be, because offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson says he needs at least eight receivers to run his offense.

From cleveland.com:

1. Receivers coach Zach Smith has talked about needing six receivers for the planned rotation at that position for several years. New offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson upped that number on Thursday on the first day of preseason camp.

Wilson said the Buckeyes need eight receivers and broke it down this way: two at each outside position, three at the H-back or slot spot, and one more player who could possibly play all the positions.

Maybe that's philosophical, but it's also not a coincidence that number exactly fits the personnel for the Buckeyes. Wilson explained that as well, but it's the way almost anyone who knows Ohio State would have seen things.

That leaves Trevon Grimes or Jaylen Harris as the possible eighth guy. A potential wild card is Demario McCall at H-Back, should freshman J.K. Dobbins prove to be a worthy backup of Mike Weber.

All I know is if the unit struggles to run routes or get consistent separation, Zach "Series of '100' emojis" Smith will have nowhere to hide. The man can recruit with the best of them, but it's pointless if he can't turn four and five-star athletes into consistent depth.

 THANKS, URBAN. Big Ten fans love to hate Ohio State and Urban Meyer, which is understandable considering they've by and large lived under a Buckeye heel since Jim Tressel walked through the saloon doors in 2001 with his spurs jangling and a Newport dangling from his lips.

But make no mistake: the hiring of Urban Meyer spurred the Big Ten to greater footballing heights considering.

From madison.com:

However you look at it, the Big Ten’s place in the upper levels of college football is much more secure now than it was when Meyer arrived on the scene. The gap between it and the SEC has closed, though the ACC has moved into the discussion as well, making it a three-conference race. The SEC has the best program (Alabama), the ACC has won two of the past four national titles (Florida State in 2013, Clemson last season) and the Big Ten has the most depth.

“I think the conference has changed,” Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said. “You have new teams in it. You have a new structure of divisions. You have new philosophies.”

Mostly, you have new attitudes. Schools flush with cash, due to commissioner Jim Delany’s ever-increasing pot of television money, are pouring that cash back into their programs, either by hiring high-profile coaches or upgrading outdated facilities.

Nobody likes getting their ass kicked repeatedly. It's a fact of human nature. Hell, even Purdue shelled out BTN money to hire a former XFL quarterback to lead them to glory. Purdue!

 MAN TRADES BUFFALO FOR SOCAL, CRIES. Although I've never been there, I'm sure Buffalo is a fine city. Their fans certainly know how to party. 

But I feel confident in saying most Americans would choose to live in Southern California over Buffalo if they could afford it.

Cardale Jones, though a fourth-round pick in the 2016 draft and by no means solidified as an NFL player, has the financial means to do so. And according to ESPN droid Adam Schefter, Dolodale cried tears of happiness upon hearing the news.

"When the Bills brought Cardale Jones in to tell him he was traded to the Chargers, he began crying. He began crying tears of joy"

Schefter pic.twitter.com/1y3uthBZRr

— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) July 27, 2017

It also probably helped to know the regime in Los Angeles wanted him, as opposed to the new one in Buffalo with no ties.

Sadly, this doesn't mean a return to the fabled No. 12:

.@Cardale7_ will wear # 5.

Can't wait to see him in the blue and gold

— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) July 27, 2017

 THE NEXT WAVE. Take it from me, the mentally ill Browns fan, it's never too early to talk draft.

If next year's draft happened today, here's how it would shake out according to Matt Miller of bleachrreport.com:

Not sure I buy this mockup. Everybody knows the Bengals aren't smart enough to draft a Buckeye as talented as Dre'Mont Jones.

 THIS IS WHAT A PRO BOWLER LOOKS LIKE. As the No. 1 Noah Brown fan in the world (apologies to his mother), I don't need to see anything else to confirm my suspicion he will be the steal of the draft.

Noah Brown vs. Sammy Seamster pic.twitter.com/AMnSW5hZrf

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) July 26, 2017

You might be asking, "Where was that last year?" But I don't know either. It takes two to make a touchdown, though.

 THOSE WMDs. Done in the Dark: Lamar Odom, in his own words... A warning, a crusade, and a public reckoning at the U. of Florida... How to shoot your shot in DMs... Man Booker Prize 2017 long list led by Arundhati Roy's return to fiction... Hijacking the Brillante Virtuoso.