Skull Session: Kirk Herbstreit from the Top Rope, Justin Fields Actually Does Work Hard, Lane Kiffin Earned a New Fan and More

By Chris Lauderback on April 2, 2021 at 4:59 am
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It's (almost) the freakin' weekend baby and we're about to have us some fun.. 

Your last guest-hosted Skull Session of the week is my first since last June when Kevin ran off to marry a true gem of a lady. With the duo wrapping up a visit to Disney World, we all sit and wait to see if Kevin comes back to 11W HQ to reclaim the Skully throne or if he switches careers and joins the Disney cast. 

Either way, Happy Birthday to the lovely Mrs. Harrish! Let's session. 

Word of the Day: Arachibutyrophobia

 HERBIE DELIVERS A DIAMOND CUTTER. After passing along utterly ridiculous and totally unfounded claims about Justin Fields being a "last guy in, first guy out" player with basically zero interest in being good at football during a Wednesday radio appearance, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky got to back-pedaling yesterday. 

So after "doing some digging" (i.e. either straight making shit up or blindly passing along drivel someone with a purpose tossed his way), Orlovsky "did some more digging" (i.e. his first attempt to dig after getting shredded by credible humans) and learned from an Ohio State offensive coach that allegations Fields was anything other than laser-focused on his craft both in the film room and on the field were complete garbage. 

A peer at ESPN by the name of Kirk Herbstreit remained unimpressed with Dan's handiwork. 

Life comes at you fast. 

 ANATOMY OF A PRO DAY AND INSIGHT ON FIELDS. Albert Breer penned a must-read column looking at the entrails of Ohio State's Pro Day, largely orchestrated by strength coach Mickey Marotti, and the importance it plays for players looking to reach the next level including Justin Fields. 

This year's event, after some concern over whether it would happen at all, eventually went forward with rapid COVID-19 testing greeting each of up to three members of every NFL team's contingent entering the WHAC lobby. 

You can feel Marotti's passion for developing his guys with Pro Day serving as the capstone to years of preparation. 

“What’s really cool is our guys, they're not anxious,” he said. “They go and they do a great job because they've been prepared for this moment. People think you prepare for the pro day, whether you go down south, you go out west, the eight, six weeks leading up to it. I’ve tried to tell our players, you prepare for the combine and the pro day the first day you train as a Buckeye when you're a freshman.

“You're talking about years of development, years of all those workouts, and all those runs, and all that rehab, and all those meals, and all that treatment, and all those practices, and all those inside drills, and all those one-on-ones, and all those games, and all those lifts and all those, just day after day after day. That's how you get ready to perform at a pro day.”

Later in the column, Breer, and Ohio State alum with unlimited connections within the program, switched gears to the recent nonsense surrounding Fields' work ethic and overall preparedness as an NFL quarterback. 

So here’s the truth as I know it: Fields is a tough, competitive, somewhat quiet but very well-liked guy in that program. Does he have things to learn? He does. But as I’ve put the pieces together on it over the last couple of months, it absolutely, positively is not about work ethic with Fields. More so, it’ll be about how distributes his hours and the work he does.

The Buckeyes’ staff saw a player who was always a beast in the weight room. On top of that, he never needed to be prompted to get his receivers together to throw—it wasn’t rare that he’d hold morning sessions off the books with his guys in the team’s field house. In those two areas, Fields was a legit gym rat. And my feeling is now, as he goes to the pros, he’ll have to redistribute some of those manhours into the classroom.

Look-y there. Fair and balanced thoughts based on actual effort. Former teammate Justin Hilliard also spoke glowingly of his quarterback. 

The man is special, straight up,” Hilliard said. “The thing that stood out to me when he came into Ohio State, he was just the perfect fit. It was the instant respect he got because of how he worked, how he led. It was so cool to see, how he came in and just with the way he worked, he already had an ability to hold people accountable. He’s been making plays since he got here, the growth is there, and watching him as a leader, I saw him continue to grow.

“Obviously, people see how he threw the ball at pro day. What they don’t see is his leadership, his work ethic. That’s what makes him elite. Best quarterback in the nation.”

Breer closed his column with a nugget (is that word trademarked?) suggesting Fields could host a second pro day to give San Francisco's Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch another chance to see him work out knowing the 49ers have the No. 3 pick. All teams would have to be invited if such an event occurred but sounds like something to watch for. 

 JUUUUUST A BIT OUTSIDE: In honor of yesterday's start to the Major League Baseball season, here's a compilation of first pitches tossed by Ohio State football figures. 

How are you ranking these fireballers? I think I have to slot Braxton's hat No. 1 with Joey Bosa, Braxton, Billy Price and Ryan Day all looking like they've thrown a baseball before. The other dudes, not so much. Parris Campbell and Cardale Jones maybe should've turned down the invite. 

 TRANSFER SZN.  According to Ross Dellenger, the NCAA is nearing a decision allowing athletes across all sports to transfer one time with immediate eligibility. 

I could try to summarize the deets but this Tumblin' Dice 11-Year MGP juice is kicking in so here:  

The Division I Council, the organization's primary legislative body made up mostly of school athletic administrators, met virtually Thursday to iron out details of the landmark legislation, which reverses a policy from the 1960s. The group is expected to meet April 15 to approve the measure, sources told Sports Illustrated. The new transfer legislation would go into effect immediately after it is approved by the NCAA Board of Governors, a meeting that could come soon after the D-I Council’s decision.

The new rule would allow all athletes to move freely at least once, though it includes some stipulations. Athletes must submit notification of transfer by certain dates to be eligible at their next location. Fall and winter sport athletes would have to notify their schools by May 1, with an exception extending the date to July 1 for a end-of-the-year head coaching change or the non-renewal of scholarships.

I'm sure too many old heads hate it but hard to argue against this when the coaches of these athletes can relocate to their heart's content. 

 FREE AGENT FAN GOES WITH KIFFIN AND OLE MISS. I remember once upon a time I wasn't a Lane Kiffin fan but it switched a few years ago and he just keeps validating my decision. His latest move is scooping up a poor young Tennessee fan who declared himself a free agent after the constant suffering associated with being a Vols backer. 

Tennessee just keeps stacking Ls. 

 SONG OF THE DAY. "It's Uncanny" by my dudes Hall and Oates. 

 PEBBLES AND MARBLES. The Final Four cereals are set with Froot Loops presumably set to cut down the nets…  Does your office have a corporate jargon problem? Of course it does… Speaking of awesome facets of the corporate world, here’s a primer for those who love to use EDT and EST incorrectly when they could easily go with ET and avoid a self-own… April Fool… GoFundMe for former Buckeye football walk-on Kharim Stephens, if you’re so inclined…36 years ago yesterday, the original Air Jordan 1s were released for $65 a pair... Andre Wesson is playing in this 3x3 tourney.  

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