Skull Session: Untold Orlando Pace Stories, Tyreke Smith is Underrated, and Javontae Jean-Baptiste is Hype About the Buckeye Pass Rush

Thank you, Dawand. I needed this.

Im crying https://t.co/JnSNQO3dxj
— Dawand Jones (@dawandj79) August 17, 2021

Word of the Day: Ambit.

PANCAKE MAN. Every now and then, we like to do that hypothetical exercise of "if you could add any former Buckeye to the current roster, who would it be?"

I'm more and more convinced that the answer should just always be Orlando Pace. And I think his former teammates could agree.

Luke Fickell: Here's a guy that's 6-foot-8, 330 pounds -- 50 pounds heavier than me -- and I can't even come close. I've always said, "God is fair." But I don't know if I believe that anymore because I'm working my butt off and I can't even come close to running with this guy.

...

Luke Fickell: Mike [Vrabel] might not say it, but you know we'd do one-on-one pass rush every day and I don't remember a time that he beat him. And here's a guy that played 14 years in the NFL and is the all-time leading sack guy in Ohio State history. And that's a drill set up a little more for the defense and you don't ever beat the guy? He was that good.

Shawn Springs: You need another question other than, "Who's winning the battles?" No, no, no. I have never seen anybody beat Orlando with my own eyes. Listen to me. I have never, ever, ever, not seen this guy dominate anyone in front of him. You might be able to go to NFL films and find someone, probably. But in college? Nobody was even close. Not even Vrabel. Not even close. Listen to me: Vrabel is a JV, f---ing high school football player compared to this dude. And Mike is my boy. And Mike was killing the Big Ten.

...

Luke Fickell: The laws of physics cease to exist when you go against Orlando Pace. My coach would always say, "Low man always wins, low man always wins, low man always wins." And then I go against Orlando in like a board drill and I'm like, "Hey, Coach, low man's not winning here." He goes, "I forgot to tell you that genetics overrides the laws of physics."

...

Shawn Springs: He just combined that nastiness attitude with his athleticism. He would chase a guy down the field 40 yards, block them and throw them out of bounds. I've literally seen Orlando make a dude cry. ... He made a dude from Rice cry. The dude was frustrated and started tearing up. He was pissed off and just started crying. And then Orlando kept driving him. Orlando just abused him all day.

...

Winfield Garrett: Crazy? He was a little different. Like on the backside play, he'd cut off the tackle, then reach the middle linebacker and then spring up and block the safety and allow the running back and cut off his ass for a touchdown, crazy s--- like that. I never saw O-linemen do that. They weren't even taught to do that because nobody else can really physically do it.

And those are just some highlights. The full article is almost 6,000 words of people attempting to describe just how ungodly good he was at football. And I'm not sure any of them actually did his actual on-field performance justice.

UNDER-RATED *CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP CLAP CLAP* Between Ohio State signing its two highest-rated defensive ends ever this freshman class and former five-star prospect Zach Harrison seemingly emerging as the unit's leader, Tyreke Smith has somehow flown under the radar this offseason.

And that just ain't right.

18. EDGE Tyreke Smith, Ohio State. Smith's game is all about power and speed. He's strong against the run and has the versatility to play the 3- or 5-technique. The Buckeyes are always loaded on the defensive front, and Smith is a big part of that, but he's not getting as much acclaim as his teammates. Don't sleep on this guy.

It's wild that a guy penciled in by multiple outlets as a future first-round pick gets a nod as one of the most underrated players in the upcoming draft class, but I guess that's kind of the state of this defensive line.

Come to Ohio State, where you can be a projected first-round pick and still be considered "underrated."

SCARY GOOD. Related: if a guy as talented as Tyreke Smith isn't getting as much acclaim as some of his teammates, that means the unit is absolutely stacked.

Scary stacked, you could say.

Javontae Jean-Baptiste is hyped up about Ohio State's defensive line. pic.twitter.com/8wdECSANFK
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 17, 2021

I don't think there's a Buckeye defensive line that's been this deep and talented since the "Party to the Quarterback" days of Nick Bosa, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes.

Buckeye redshirt junior defensive end Tyquan Lewis was the one credited with the sack, but in reality, all four of Ohio State’s defensive linemen were lying on top of Hornibrook when the play ended. The Buckeyes got pressure from every angle.

That happens quite often with Ohio State’s ‘Rushmen’ package and this was only the latest example.

“It’s a party,” said defensive end Jalyn Holmes, who slides inside to play defensive tackle when the Buckeyes make the call. “That’s what we just say, ‘A party to the quarterback’ and we just celebrate when we get there.”

I don't totally know what the Rushmen package is going to look like this year, but I do know that there are options and that it's absolutely gonna be a party.

JJB MIC'D UP. If that last incredible quote didn't do enough to convince you that Javontae Jean-Baptiste is up there as one of the team's most entertaining players, a minute and a half of him mic'd up at practice should do the trick.

Ever wonder what @Javontae_JB is thinking during practice?

Wonder no more #MicdUp #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/PZxRf0vH5z
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 17, 2021

Also, shoutout to them for practicing in worse conditions than I'd even be willing to walk in to get to class. When I was in college, I'd take one look at all that rain and nope my way right back to my bedroom. I definitely wasn't tryna get trench foot in stats class.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Dancing Queen" by ABBA.