Skull Session: Justin Fields Talks Ohio State's Rivalry With Michigan, C.J. Stroud Believes He's QB1 for the 2023 NFL Draft and Stroud Says Fans Criticized Him Through DMs on Venmo

By Chase Brown on February 13, 2023 at 5:00 am
Justin Fields
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Ohio State men’s basketball entered the 2023 calendar year with a 9-3 record. Since then, the Buckeyes have only won two (!) games.

The first was on New Year’s Day, a 73-57 win over Northwestern on the road. The second was a 93-77 victory at home against Iowa on Jan. 21. Beyond those wins, Ohio State is 0-11 with losing streaks of five and (currently) six games that was extended by a 62-41 loss to Michigan State on Sunday.

Oof.

The good news is that this entire Skull Session, from this point forward, does not mention the Michigan State defeat – or any men’s basketball, for that matter – so please relax and consume some excellent non-Ohio State hoops content.

Let's have a good Monday, shall we?

 THIS GUY GETS IT. I've been on record that Justin Fields is the best Ohio State quarterback of all time. Did he win a national championship? No. Did he break that many program records? Also no. But what that man did as a quarterback for the Buckeyes... He was so much fun to watch. I will never forget it.

In addition to his stellar play in an Ohio State uniform, Fields also stood out in the way he carried himself in the locker room, in press conferences and in public. It was in such a way that made me believe he understood what it meant to be a Buckeye.

Fields’ understanding was proven to me again this past week when Fields was a featured guest on The Rich Eisen Show, where he went back and forth with Eisen, a known Michigan fan, on how he views Ohio State's rivalry with the hated Team Up North.

 C.J. STROUD → QB1. C.J. Stroud was a hot commodity in the week leading up to the Super Bowl as he appeared on several sports shows with national media outlets outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

One of Stroud's stops was with CBS Sports HQ and the With The First Pick Podcast, where the Ohio State quarterback explained why he should be the first quarterback selected at the 2023 NFL draft in April.

It was fun to see in the video what Stroud will look and sound like when he sits down in a room with NFL executives over the next few months at the NFL combine, Ohio State's pro day and elsewhere.

What Stroud explained in his interview with CBS' Ryan Wilson and former NFL general manager Rick Spielman will undoubtedly pour out through his words. He has a firm foundation. He is a leader, a game-changer and a go-getter.

Of course, Stroud's film already made that evident. But his interviews will confirm what scouts and front office executives already know: He is everything a team could want in their franchise quarterback, and he's headed for a long, successful career in the league.

 BE BETTER, PEOPLE. As Stroud continued to make his rounds with the media before the Super Bowl, the Ohio State quarterback appeared on The Jim Rome Show to discuss his time as a Buckeye and his future in the NFL.

While reflecting on his three years in Columbus, Stroud said he understood that being a starting quarterback at Ohio State involved increased attention from fans. During the season, he tried his best to block out the noise.

The problem is “fans” made that impossible.

"For me and my teammates, man, being at Ohio State, if you have any source of social media or type of technology, Ohio State fans have it. So, man, I was getting DMs – I don't have social media throughout the season – but I was getting DMs on Venmo, the money app, from fans telling me, 'Play better,' things like that."

Now, I know the fine readers of the Skull Session are much too mature and level-headed to do something as insane as locating a player from their favorite team on Venmo only to direct message him an insult. But there are "supporters" that would. And if you know those kinds of people, please tell them to be better. 

As Stroud said in the clip, he knew the expectations set before him when he arrived at Ohio State. His coaches and probably his teammates reminded him of those lofty expectations daily. That's why he stepped away from social media in the first place. He didn't need to look at any expectations or criticism from Ohio State fans.

Even more – and I can't believe I even have to write this – he didn't deserve to have people intrude into his Venmo DMs to harass him and say he needed to "Play better," as he delicately put it (because we know those people likely used much harsher and more pointed language).

Luckily, Stroud took the high road and made the best of those situations.

"I learned so much from it. But at the end of the day, like I said, I wasn't trying it prove nobody right or wrong. Just prove ourselves right and who we knew we had."

 DEVELOPED HERE. Former Ohio State running back Trey Sermon may have been inactive for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean he didn't play a role in the Birds' run to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, Sermon was asked about his experience during his lone year with the Buckeyes in 2020, and he answered that question with great enthusiasm.

Sermon's time at Ohio State honestly feels like a fever dream. In the 2020 regular season, he was essentially a non-factor for the Buckeyes outside of the matchup with Michigan State, in which he rushed 10 times for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Then came the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern, affectionately known in Buckeye Nation as The Trey Sermon Game™. 

From that day forward, Sermon became one of Ohio State's most valuable players.

Against Clemson in the CFP semifinal, he rushed 31 times for 193 yards and a touchdown and caught four passes for another 61 yards. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, Sermon hurt his shoulder after only one carry in the national championship game, making the team's already slim chances of beating the juggernaut that was Alabama's 2020 squad that much slimmer.

Altogether, though, that stretch of performances turned Sermon into a third-round pick (88th overall) for the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL draft. His time in the Bay Area was short, and he was inactive for most of his first season as an Eagle. But I'm hoping that, like his time at Ohio State, a slow start will lead to a triumphant finish in the league.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Stolen Dance” by Milky Chance.

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