Skull Session: Denzel Burke is Great in Zone Coverage, Behind the Scenes of Student Appreciation, and Ryan Day Doesn't Like Commits Taking Visits

To be fair, Archduke Metallica is a way, way cooler name.

Today, when introducing WWI, a student raised her hand and brought up the death of a certain archduke. Nobody knew his name, so as a hint, I offered that he shares his name with a band.

Gentle reader, my students asked if there had perhaps been an Archduke Metallica.
— Christina E. Cox (@ChristinaECox) April 5, 2022

Word of the Day: Compendious.

OWN THE ZONE. I always think of Denzel Burk as a guy that will lock you down in man coverage. And I'm not wrong! But truthfully, that view does him a disservice because he's not just lockdown in man coverage – he's lockdown in zone, too.

Burke had the most zone coverage snaps without allowing a touchdown in the entire Big Ten, according to Pro Football Focus.

.@King10Burke #BIA pic.twitter.com/aHuIdvyOcn
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 5, 2022

I have no idea whether the new defensive scheme will call for more zone or man-to-man, but I'm quite pleased that it doesn't seem to matter all that much to Burke. If you're his assignment, you're getting blanketed – simple as that.

BEHIND THE SCENES. The website #analytics tell me that the vast, vast majority of my readers are not, in fact, current Ohio State students and thus were unable to participate in Saturday's Student Appreciation Day.

That's no problem! The Lantern has got you covered with a little behind-the-scenes look.

Students got to go behind the scenes and watch an open Ohio State football practice and have exclusive meet-and-greets with some of their favorite players as part of Student Appreciation Day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Hhfsy5s544
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) April 2, 2022

At this point, it's been a minute since I've been of age to attend one of these myself, but the Student Appreciation Day practices were fun as hell when I was there and I looked forward to them every year. It was super cool to be able to see the facilities, watch practice from up close, and meet the players.

And I got that inside access for the low, low price of $10,000 a semester!

IF YOU'RE IN, YOU'RE IN. Sometimes, Ohio State recruiting feels a little slower under Ryan Day than it ever did under Urban Meyer with fewer commitments early in the recruiting cycles.

Turns out, the reason is probably just that Ryan Day doesn't play games.

Ryan Day said once a player commits, he doesnt like them taking visits to other schools. He wants them to be all-in and help them build the class.

For that reason, he wants kids to wait until theyre sure before they make their commitment.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 4, 2022

This is a far cry from Urban Meyer's approach of "if a five-star player commits, that just means you're in his top-five."

DO IT. With Justin Ahrens on his way out, please allow me to suggest a perfect replacement.

All love for Peacock Nation pic.twitter.com/qYrZPd1mwJ
— Doug Edert (@DougEdert2) April 5, 2022

To be clear, I'm not actually sure a 6-2 guard who averages less than 10 points and one assist per game is *actually* the type of player the Buckeyes are going to pursue with their available roster spots.

But it would be fun!

SONG OF THE DAY. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by Pennywise.