Skull Session: Chris Olave is Trying to Be DeVonta Smith, Ohio State is Climbing the AP Poll, and Jimmy Johnson Gives Urban Meyer Takes

Yesterday was a mixed bag of good and bad news. Most things went as expected, but I must say, had some hope that Tommy Togiai would be back next year, so that one stung.

He and his very large arms will be missed.

Tommy gone break the bench record at his pro day .. mark my words

— Teradja Mitchell (@teeraaw__) January 19, 2021

Word of the Day: Loutish.

 THE NEXT DEVONTA SMITH? In an absolutely stunning turn of events, Chris Olave presumably decided that he hates money, spurning a multi-million dollar paycheck for another year in college.

I'll be honest, I thought the move was dumb as hell at first – as if I'm in a position to judge when a person decides they want to become a millionaire??? – because he was already going to get first-round money this year, and would be playing with a first-year starter at quarterback that doesn't share a hivemind with him like Justin Fields apparently did.

But the thing is, there's an extremely-recent exact blueprint for this. And the returning player in question won the damn Heisman Trophy.

We'll see. WR Chris Olave saw in the National Title game how DeVonta Smith put an exclamation point on a HUGE senior year.

Smith passed up a likely spot in the late 1st round in the 2020 NFL Draft to return. Olave pursuing that plan. https://t.co/ofCuCWEa2n

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 18, 2021

I'm not sure winning the Heisman is the expectation here (I mean, why the hell not?), but Olave can absolutely increase his draft stock and become the bonafide top receiver in a weaker receivers class all while winning a natty in the process.

Plus, both Olave and Jeremy Ruckert coming back makes me believe the Buckeyes have a lot of faith in whichever young gun is back at quarterback next year. They're quite literally betting their future wealth and wellbeing on the arm of one of three kids who've never thrown a collegiate pass.

But hey, if they're confident, I'm confident.

 HAPPY BASKETBALL SEASON! For those of you who just remembered Ohio State has a basketball team this week, welcome! Your favorite team is currently ranked No. 15 in the latest AP Poll.

If that double-digit rank disappoints you after getting used to the football team's dominance, go ahead and just come back next week when they're decidedly in the top-10 after beating Purdue and Wisconsin this week.

 HOF COACH DISCUSSES HOF COACH. Urban Meyer's looking to become just the fourth coach in football history to win both a college natty and a Super Bowl title, and as he gives this NFL thing a shot, the first coach to do it has some thoughts.

The Jaguars on Friday named the 56-year-old Meyer head coach and beacon of a franchise that desperately needs a leader. In 17 years as a major-college coach, Meyer lost 32 games. In the last three years, Jacksonville lost 36. So there’s a lot for him to get used to, and a lot of work for him to do to get to know a league he never spent one day employed in before Friday. In his opening press conference, Meyer lavished praise on Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson for being his sounding board in recent weeks as he strongly considered getting back into coaching. Johnson told me that Meyer texted this to him Friday morning: “Gonna take one last swing.”

As Johnson said from his Florida home: “Losing’s gonna be difficult for Urban. He knows that. But he’s got a better team with more draft picks than I had when I got to Dallas. He’s not gonna have to go through 1-15. Through the draft, and through free agency, and with the cap money they have, I think he can turn it around fast. But he goes into it with his eyes open. He knows it’s different than college. But I think it’s a great hire for Jacksonville, and a great move for Urban. The opportunity is there, and just like anybody who has had the success in college that he’s had, it’s always in the back of your mind, ‘Can I meet that challenge in the NFL?’ That’s what’s driving him now. For a competitor like him, with the resources Jacksonville has, it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

If – and I understand it's a gigantic "if" – Urban wins a Super Bowl in Jacksonville, I'd be ready to crown him one of the top coaches in the history of the game. So yeah, I'd call that a "fantastic opportunity" too.

 MEANWHILE, UP NORTH... Hey, let's play a game where we compare and contrast the biggest news coming out of both Ann Arbor and Columbus yesterday.

A microcosm of how Ohio State came to dominate The Game:

-Michigan turned a top-50 bell-cow tailback (Zach Charbonnet) into an underachieving transfer portal entrant

-OSU turned a 3* receiver (Chris Olave) into a top-50 draft pick who's coming back for his senior season anyway

— Nick (@nicholasjervey) January 18, 2021

Yeah, that checks out.

 RIP, SUNSHINE. If you had any doubts about what that win over Clemson meant to this team, just take a quick gander at how many times Trevor Lawrence's broken body makes an appearance in Ohio State players' NFL decisions.

All glory to God...Unfinished business pic.twitter.com/nNLH7fM4He

— Tyreke Smith (@T_23_baller) January 19, 2021

Forever a Buckeye pic.twitter.com/DedK3kZutw

— Tommy Togiai (@Big_Tom72) January 19, 2021

Thank you pic.twitter.com/powI2DYnCh

— Jonathon Cooper (@JonathonCooper7) January 19, 2021

Buckeye forever. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ZJ77NBGyB4

— Baron Browning (@baronbrwnng) January 18, 2021

I hear they're bringing back 11 starters on defense to attempt to counter *gestures strongly at Ohio State's offense.*

Same time next year, Dabo? I'll start digging the grave.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.

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