Skull Session: Black Stripe Videos Still Exist, Carnell Tate Looks Really Good in Spring Ball and Braylon Edwards Thinks Michigan Has Overtaken Ohio State in Football

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Know anyone who is a full-time student at Ohio State? The football program is looking for walk-ons. Maybe that person would be a good fit for the Buckeyes.

- ! If you would like to join the program as a walk-on student-athlete please send an email from your OSU email address with your name and most recent film to buckeyewalkons@gmail.com #Buckeyes
— urph (@N_Murph) April 3, 2023

They could also play for James Grega and the club football team if they don't make it. That may even be a better option, depending on what kind of experience you're looking for. The club program has won two national titles after all.

Let's end this opener Kevin Harrish style on a Tuesday (make sure to have a good one).

Word of the day: Paradigm.

YES, THEY STILL EXIST. There have been a few questions in the comments section of our articles, forum topics and social media posts about whether Ohio State football still releases black stripe videos. The answer to that question is yes.

But then another question must be asked. Why haven't we included them in our black stripe stories? The answer to that question is more complex.

This spring, the Eleven Warriors team of Dan Hope, Griffin Strom, Garrick Hodge and I have been at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center a lot – like, somewhere between two and four times a week since the middle of March – for several different reasons: press conferences, practices, scrimmages, pro day and other miscellaneous events.

The added coverage has been great for the Ohio State media and, more importantly, the fans, as we have delivered stories with more information and entertainment value than was possible in recent years. However, there has been one noticeable deficiency in the increased coverage: C.J. Barnett doesn't have his chance to shine in our black stripe articles.

Because we have been on campus so much the last few weeks, we tend to be in the building as black stripe alerts are announced, so we don't have to rely on the Ohio State football Twitter account to break the news. When the videos drop, we add them to the stories, but by then, the black stripe alert is old news.

So, in case you missed them, here are all the black stripe videos Ohio State has posted in 2023. They include Tegra Tshabola and George Fitzpatrick, Davison Igbinosun, Carnell Tate, Tristan Gebbia and Quinton Burke. It's time for Barnett to shine (which means he almost has an aneurysm as he yells and announces black stripe alerts):

newest member of the OLine, @tshabola_tegra #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/x3eeAyZr8d
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 24, 2023

newest member of the OLine, George Fitzpatrick#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/NUH1suw8Xx
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 25, 2023

its official. welcome to the brotherhood, @DaveIgbinosun #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/aBejSemgHh
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 26, 2023

welcome to Zone 6, @carnelltate_#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/KBS6bjjRT2
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 26, 2023

welcome to the brotherhood, @tgeb_#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/bFVY31bB77
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 3, 2023

newest member of the OLine, @Q_Burke64 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/L4hjhobbcx
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 3, 2023

CARNELL TATE, EVERYONE. As featured above, Carnell Tate lost his black stripe in March and became the fastest true freshman ever to accomplish that feat, which tells me the 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver has made quite the impression on the Ohio State coaching staff since he arrived on campus in January.

After watching Tate move around the field at Ohio State's 2023 Student Appreciation Day, it was easy to see why that's the case. He flashed in about every way possible, showing tremendous athleticism, body control, hands and route-running ability, among many other qualities. I'd argue no player had a more impressive display on Saturday than Tate. And keep in mind, the Buckeyes have 107 scholarship and walk-on players at practice.

Take a look at a couple of clips from Tate's performance:

McCord hits Carnell Tate on the sideline pic.twitter.com/FXn06gntag
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) April 1, 2023

Carnell Tate is going to be a name everyone knows across College Football this time next year.

The hype surrounding him this spring reminds of the Marvin Harrison Jr talk from last season. pic.twitter.com/VxUJIoEDkT
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) April 1, 2023

Marvin Harrison Jr., who 10TV's Adam King mentioned in his tweet, made sure to send some praise Tate's direction after his efforts over the weekend, quote tweeting King's video with a vote of confidence for the 18-year-old pass-catcher from Chicago and calling his shot that Tate will be one of the next great wide receivers at Ohio State.

The next one on me!! https://t.co/OsloxTFH0a
— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) April 1, 2023

Ryan Day has certainly noticed Tate's emergence. In his press conference on Saturday, Day said that Tate's maturity has been noteworthy, as has his attention to detail and mindfulness to apply what he learns off the field into his play once he steps inside the white lines.

“There's a lot to be impressed with Carnell. But I think the first thing is just his maturity, right from the jump,” Day said. “We do meetings where we kind of have everybody in the building go through each guy. The feedback we're getting from academics, from nutritionists, from strength and conditioning, position coaches, player development –everyone has such great things to say about Carnell off the field. It translates onto the field as well. He's prepared, and he takes care of his business. He's very, very mature. That's off the field.

“On the field, dude's making a lot of plays. He has to pick up a lot of offense for a young player, (but) he's got a pretty mature route tree, does a nice job at the line of scrimmage, catches the ball strong and makes plays. All really encouraging signs. … If he keeps stacking these days, he's gonna get better. He's here to play.”

Man, oh, man. That's some good content.

Remember when Garrett Wilson impressed everyone as an early enrollee in 2019? How about when the same happened for early enrollees Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2020 and Harrison in 2021? As in stands, Tate is next man up when it comes to young Buckeyes flashing their incredible potential in their early months on campus.

With Tate only entering his fourth month on campus, I won't hurl any unnecessary or misguided expectations on him. However, I will say this: Tate excites me, and the idea of him becoming the next Wilson, JSN or Harrison is a development I will eat up with every opportunity we have over his next few years in Columbus.

JUST BEAT MICHIGAN. Former Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards had some choice words when answering this question from Ryan Ermanni on the Woodward Sports Network: Has Michigan overtaken Ohio State in football?

"They are what they are now. They are a team that can't beat Michigan. Their team, for whatever it is in the second half, and even in the first half, struggles to beat Michigan. They struggle in the trenches against Michigan. Jim Harbaugh has built this team in the trenches with linemen. On the offensive side, they've won that (Joe Moore Award) two years in a row. On the opposite side, you look at the defensive line – two years in a row – they've had studs. They destroy Ohio State.

"Now, this is where I say it is over. It's not just that Michigan is beating Ohio State. They're having their way with Ohio State. It's not even interesting in the second half anymore, especially in the fourth quarter. It's just not. Ohio State fans are off on Ryan Day. The kids seem like they're trying to basically get to the NFL.

"For Ohio State to be 'Wide Receiver U,' you're talking about who is there now, you got the two best receivers in the country in Marvin Harrison Jr. and (Emeka) Egbuka... they had Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Why if I am one of the best quarterbacks in the country (Jadyn Davis), why would I choose a school that hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Gallon? Why would I choose to a place that doesn't throw the ball like that? Why would I choose that place over Ohio State, where I know I can easily be the next (Dwayne) Haskins or C.J. Stroud or Justin Fields and fall in line? It's because that program is not as good as the one in Ann Arbor, and I know that. They're shortening and shortening and shortening... They used to have three DBs in the first round, some linemen, a couple of Bosa brothers or Chase Young. You're not having that anymore. That program is falling apart and recruits can see it."

Hm.

That's certainly a take.

Here's my response: Just beat Michigan.

IN KEVIN MCGUFF WE TRUST. Women's college basketball has seemingly reached its peak in mainstream media. Videos of Iowa's Caitlin Clark shooting deep 3-pointers are all over the Internet, as are clips of LSU's Angel Reese mocking Clark with the John Cena “You Can't See Me” celebration.

I mean, seriously, when was the last time women's college basketball filled your social media timelines and was talked about so much online?

With the conversation about Sunday's national championship game between Iowa and LSU still at the front of mind for sports fans, mainly because the refs pulled the greatest ref move of all time and made the contest between amateur athletes all about themselves...

Its the refs time. -the refs.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 2, 2023

... ESPN released its way-too-early top 25 for next year. UConn, the team Ohio State beat in the Sweet 16 a few weeks back, sits at No. 1 in the poll with the expected return of Paige Bueckers and other talented pieces. The Huskies are followed by Utah, LSU, Iowa, Indiana, UCLA, South Carolina and your local team, THE Ohio State Buckeyes.

Here is what Charlie Creme wrote about Kevin McGuff's squad:

The Big Ten finished this season with three teams ranked in the top 10. It should start 2023-24 that way, too. Jacy Sheldon's decision to come back stabilizes the Buckeyes significantly. She will be a leader of a team full of young talent. Cotie McMahon was the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year and looks to be one of the game's next stars. Rikki Harris and Taylor Thierry are also talented scorers and playmakers. Taylor Mikesell's shooting and leadership will be missed, but with Sheldon back to lead the press, Ohio State will be a Final Four contender.

A Final Four contender? I like the sound of that.

Jacy Sheldon, Cotie McMahon and Taylor Thierry will make for quite the Big Three in Columbus. Add in some contributions from Rikki Harris and Emma Shumate, incoming freshmen Diana Collins and Faith Carson – a 6-foot-4 center from Buchanan, Michigan – and some talent from the transfer portal, and Final Four contender sounds like the least of Ohio State's hopes for the 2023-24 season.

I, for one, am excited to see how it all turns out for the Buckeyes. Final Four or not, this team will be really fun to watch from start to finish, contending with the likes of Iowa, Indiana, Maryland and Michigan from wire to wire in the Big Ten and the national powerhouses like UConn in the NCAA Tournament.

SONG OF THE DAY. “The Time is Now” by... John Cena?