Skull Session: Justin Fields to Ohio State Rumors, Power Five Commissioners Not For Playoff Expansion, and Aubrey Solomon Transferring From Michigan

By Kevin Harrish on December 18, 2018 at 4:59 am
Ryan Day salutes the crowd in today's Skull Session.
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Andre Wesson lost three teeth in a game on Saturday, went back in the game, and is all good to play today.

I don't know if I'm more baffled by Andre's toughness or his brother acting completely unconcerned about it in the postgame press conference.

I'm just going to go on record and say if something causes me to lose three teeth, I'm never doing that thing ever again.

ICYMI

Word of the Day: Comity.

 JUSTIN FIELDS TO OHIO STATE? Folks, there's a chance the Buckeyes replace the best passer in program history with the highest-rated player they've ever signed.

Five-star quarterback Justin Fields is reportedly transferring from Georgia, and could be headed to Columbus, as he has Ohio State is among his top-three schools. Fields was the top dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class, the No. 2 prospect in the nation, and the No. 8 high school prospect of all time, according to 247Sports.

It would be huge and fun, and it would also make a ton of sense. Dwayne Haskins is almost certainly on his way out, Haskins and Fields are good friends, and both are close with quarterbacks trainer Quincy Avery – a noted Ryan Day lover.

I can tell you with full confidence that the Ohio State smoke is real. The biggest hangup will likely be whether or not Fields feels he can get immediate eligibility, using the racist remark from a Georgia baseball player to help build his case.

That seems like a long shot, but we know how lenient the NCAA has been with these waivers recently. Trevon Grimes, Antonio Williams and Jack Wohlabaugh were all granted immediate eligibility this season.

Andy Staples of SI.com seems to think he'd be able to get the waiver:

During Georgia’s win against Tennessee on Sept. 29, Georgia baseball player Adam Sasser was overheard by other students in the stands yelling, “Put the [n-word] in.” Sasser allegedly was referring to Fields, who backed up sophomore Jake Fromm. While the accusation against Sasser was being investigated by Georgia’s Equal Opportunity Office, Sasser was dismissed from the baseball team. Sasser later issued a public apology on Twitter that certainly seemed like an admission. 

...

And it wouldn’t be a stretch at all if, in 2019, a young black man such as Fields said his safety and well-being might be affected by continuing to stay at a school where a white fellow athlete would refer to a black athlete by that word—even if it was lobbed from the stands while the player was on the field. Even if Fields wanted to transfer exclusively for playing time reasons, the NCAA would be foolish to challenge such an assertion and Georgia officials would be crazy to do anything except wish Fields well as he plays next season at his new school. No matter what anyone considers the real reason for the transfer, trying to force Fields to sit out would only make everyone else look terrible.

Fields' most recent Tweet could turn out to be a bit prophetic:

 FOUR IS FINE? With the way this season ended, I thought for sure we were headed for playoff expansion in the very near future, but that cause is getting no help from some of the folks who would likely need to get the ball rolling.

From Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports:

Theoretically, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, whose conference has missed the playoff for two straight seasons and whose champion has been omitted in three straight years, and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott should be the ones grandstanding for an expanded field. Combined, those two conferences had just three teams appear in the past four years and have been shut out in two straight years. 

However, Scott told reporters as recently as this month "Felt then, feel now, four is absolutely the right number," and Delany echoed a similar sentiment following the announcement of this year's playoff field. Then again, Delany is a well-documented advocate for the Rose Bowl being the biggest end game of them all. Even in disappointment of being left out, the men who should be the playoff's biggest critics find ways to toe the line. 

...

But if there's a fight to get the playoff to eight, the right people need to be on board. According to (Big XII commissioner Bob) Bowlsby, there simply isn't enough of a push from those people. "I don't sense we're there," he told USA Today. 

Until then, the UCFs of the world are going to be at a disadvantage regardless of whether they get the right games on the schedule. 

Sweet.

Then we've got guys like Dabo Swinney advocating going back to just two teams. So basically, we have the opposite of progress going on.

 THOSE WHO LEAVE... Here we are talking about a former five-star player potentially transferring in, and Michigan folks are lamenting one of their former five-star prospects transferring.

Solomon's departure is now the eighth in their 2017 class alone, joining transfers Deron Irving-Bey, Drew Singleton, Kurt Taylor, James Hudson and JaRaymond Hall as well as Corey Malone-Hatcher who was medically disqualified and O'maury Samuels who left due to a violation of team rules.

All is well!

 DON'T TELL ME BOWLS DON'T MATTER. You're going to see a lot of football games the next few weeks and ponder the meaning of their existence as roughly 500 onlookers watch a bowl game you didn't even know existed.

Some of them are relatively meaningless, but then you've got this reaction from Georgia State head coach Chad Lunsford, who showed more emotion after winning the Camellia Bowl than Nick Saban has ever showed for winning a national title.

For context, after going 2-16 over 18 games, Georgia Southern handed the keys to Lunsford, who had coaching history with the school going back to 2003. Lunsford won two of three games as an interim, earned the permanent job and promptly brought them to a 10-3 season this year.

Not everyone gives a damn about the Camellia Bowl, but Lunsford earned the right to.

 DADS IN UNIFORM. This is an incredible recruiting trend and I will stand for no slander of it.

The Missouri father looks like he would beat out his son for a depth chart spot tomorrow.

 LINK LOCKER. A 4,400-year-old tomb is in great condition and officials in Egypt are stunned... The mad scramble to claim the world's most coveted meteorite... Where reindeer are a way of life... The 2-year-old Instagram influencers who make more than you... Santa’s profanity-laced meltdown horrified children at a Christmas festival...

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Prognosticating: Indiana

Dry Goods Contest

Ryan Day Gives Mic-Drop Response When Pat McAfee Tells Him Indiana is “The Real Deal”: “So Are We”

Ryan Day
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