Skull Session: Zach Harrison Letting It Play Out, Sam Hubbard Hometown Hero, and Buckeye Turned Model in Japan

Please welcome our newest addition to the staff, Derrick Webb. You can find him on Twitter at @dw1509.

ICYMI

Zach Smith was arrested for OVI in 2013, according to documents.
Courtney Smith met with investigators on Monday.
The budget for the Urban Meyer investigation is set at $500,000.
Leaning on a west coast offense could help Dwayne Haskins settle into his new starting role this fall.
2018 Preview: Quarterbacks.

Word of the Day: Quixotic.

LETTING IT PLAY OUT. Zach Harrison's college decision was supposed to come by today, his birthday.

But the nation's No. 4 player from Columbus' Olentangy Orange High School isn't quite ready to pull the trigger. He's still torn between staying home at Ohio State, or heading out of state to Michigan or Penn State.

That could be a blessing in disguise for the Buckeyes, because as you may have heard, a lot is up in the air right now, and making an already tough decision in such a situation would be near impossible.

So Harrison is just going to let it play out first.

From bleacherreport.com:

"I just have to wait and see how this all plays out," Harrison says of Ohio State.

...

Since the Meyer news erupted, the Harrisons have yet to explore the situation in depth. This is partly because, at the moment, the Harrisons say any decision would be based on speculation on their part.

What would they do if Meyer is no longer there? How many of his assistants would still be there? What would the program look like if Meyer is retained? What should Zach do now? All are questions yet to be answered.

"It just has to play out," Tracey says. "I don't know if that's going to change his mind either way. Zach is far more focused on Orange football right now."

Two things strike me from everything I read and hear about Harrison.

The first is how absurdly athletic he is. He's 6-6, 240 lbs., can deadlift over 600 lbs. and was clocked at a 4.47 second 40-yard dash at the opening finals. That's not human.

The second is probably even more impressive to me: the quiet, reserved, out-of-the-spotlight mentality he takes towards recruiting. He has a private Twitter, a private Instagram, rarely talks about his recruitment and never does anything that even really resembles self promotion.

That doesn't sound like the No. 4 ranked player in the country, but it's Harrison, and I respect the hell out of that, regardless of where he chooses to play college football.

HOMETOWN HERO. Sam Hubbard got to play in Paul Brown Stadium for the first time on Thursday, fulfilling a lifelong dream, even if it was just preseason.

Hubbard grew up in Cincinnati as a Bengals fan, but on Thursday he got a chance to wear a Bengals jersey of his own.

From Mike Dyer of WCPO.com:

"I know it was just a preseason game," Hubbard said. "But it was an awesome experience."

The Cincinnati Bengals rookie defensive end had just played three quarters on defense and special teams in the heat and humidity of his hometown, and he was content with his NFL preseason debut.

"After that first couple of plays, I felt myself getting more and more comfortable out there," Hubbard said. "It was definitely an adjustment to the speed of the game. I felt like I was getting better and better as I was getting more tired."

...

Thursday night was the first time in Hubbard's career that he played in a game at Paul Brown Stadium. It carried much significance to his family and friends.

"It's really a dream come true," Jim Hubbard said. "It's really amazing."

Hubbard is getting all sorts of support – his family broke the team shop record for most custom jersey orders – and will have his shot to earn real playing time this season, with the team short of defensive ends this season.

It all sounds almost surreal, like the script of a movie.

BUCKEYE WALK-ON TURNED JAPANESE MODEL. Connor Fulton's Ohio State basketball career was not long, nor was it really noteworthy, and his departure from the program was quite unceremonious.

Fulton began the season as a walk-on but was placed on scholarship during the season. When he learned he would not be on scholarship this season, he settled for his backup plan: modeling and basketball in Japan.

From Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch:

And so it is that Fulton, a guard who scored one point in four appearances for the Buckeyes last season, has made a fascinating career-path detour to focus on becoming a professional basketball player in Japan.

Fulton, from Salt Lake City, is pursuing Japanese citizenship on account of his maternal grandmother Keiko Prater — nee Yasuda — who was born and raised in Japan. While he begins to navigate the naturalization process, Fulton will play college basketball at Jobu University on a full-ride scholarship while working part time as a model to pay for his cost of living.

“It’s a huge life change, obviously, but in the end I’m really excited, and what it’s going to lead to is really exciting as well,” Fulton said.

It’s an ambitious plan aided greatly by Fulton’s bloodline. In addition to being one-quarter Japanese, Fulton’s father, Chris, spent 15 years coaching basketball overseas in places such as Australia, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan, where Connor Fulton was born.

Fulton's already a star. He said during his first trip to Japan in July, a restaurant owner asked him to sign their fridge and gave him a free meal because they said he "looked like a movie star and a pro basketball player."

His options were to sit the bench and pay for school in Columbus, or earn modeling money and dominate in Japan. It's tough to fault his choice.

MICHIGAN MEN REFUSE HOT MADRID GYM. Last week, the Ohio State men's basketball team's Spain trip took them to an unconditioned Madrid gym where temperatures reached well above 100 degrees.

There's no way it was comfortable, but the Buckeyes were relatively unhindered and still managed 93 points in a 32-point exhibition game victory against the Madrid Generals.

But upon realizing its exhibition game is scheduled in the same gym, Michigan is taking a pass.

From MLive.com:

A week after the Buckeyes played inside a gym without air conditioning in Spain, Michigan has canceled its plans for a game at the same Madrid gym.

With the country gripped in a heat wave, the Buckeyes found themselves playing a stifling game inside while the temperatures outside hovered around 100 degrees.

"It was a small gym and it was miserable," said Buckeye spokesman Dan Wallenberg.

(Despite the heat, the Buckeyes still routed the Madrid Generals 93-61).

I do understand wanting to protect your players, especially after a Maryland football player recently died of heatstroke during team workouts. I can't fault Michigan at all here.

Though I do love that little aside at the end. "They probably shouldn't have played – hell, we aren't going to play – but they still waxed 'em."

GAREON CONLEY FULL GO. Gareon Conley is back healthy, and it looks like the Raiders are wasting no time getting him into the action.

Raiders have not limited CB Gareon Conleys workload in first practice since July 27 hip injury. Hes jumped right in with first-team defense.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) August 13, 2018