Skull Session: Ohio State's 2024 Draft Class Could Be Nuts, JSN Says “It Took a Village” to Reach the NFL and a Sixth Grader Analyzes Marvin Harrison Jr. in a Math Project

By Chase Brown on May 2, 2023 at 5:00 am
Marvin Harrison Jr.
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Well, it's beautiful.

Here is a video of Aaron Rodgers throwing a football to Garrett Wilson.

As I said – beautiful.

Let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?

 2024 MOCK DRAFT ROUNDUP. Dan Hope wrote about Ohio State's potential for a loaded 2024 draft class, labeling the Buckeyes' prospects as "third years who could be top prospects," "fourth and fifth-years who are likely draft picks" and "others to watch." The grand total of players from those three categories was 21.

With that in mind, I searched the interwebs on Monday for 2024 mock drafts to see where some of those Ohio State players would end up. Here is what I found:

Pro Football Focus

  • No. 2 - Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
  • No. 8 - Emeka Egbuka, Green Bay Packers
  • No. 20 - JT Tuimoloau, New Orleans Saints
  • No. 23 - Denzel Burke, Jacksonville Jaguars
  • No. 24 - Mike Hall Jr., Baltimore Ravens

Of all the mock drafts I included in the Skull Session, Pro Football Focus has the best one. With how NFL scouts talked about him after Ohio State's pro day, Harrison is a lock to be a top-five pick in next year's draft, and he will push to be a top-three pick, maybe even top-two. Most of that will depend on how the draft order shakes up at the end of 2023.

PFF's remaining Ohio State picks are also solid. Egbuka feels like a first-round pick in 2024. A top-10 selection could be a bit lofty of an expectation for the talented pass-catcher, but we shall see. As for Tuimoloau, Burke and Hall – sure, why not? All three were top recruits in their classes, especially Tuimoloau, who arrived at Ohio State as a top-five overall prospect in 2021. If all three play to their potential, there's no reason it can't happen.

But remember, Ohio State had six total players drafted in each of the last two drafts. While the Buckeyes’ 2024 class has loads of potential, to almost reach that number in next year's first round would be an incredible accomplishment.

USA TODAY

  • No. 2 - Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
  • No. 11 - JT Tuimoloau, Pittsburgh Steelers
  • No. 13 - Mike Hall Jr., Chicago Bears
  • No. 16 - Emeka Egbuka, New York Giants
  • No. 21 - Donovan Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
  • No. 26.- TreVeyon Henderson, Dallas Cowboys

From USA TODAY onward, the mock drafts are a bit tooooooo Ohio State-friendly, as the writers seemingly wore scarlet-colored glasses in the mock draft process. USA TODAY has six Buckeyes coming off the board in the first 32 picks, headlined by Harrison at No. 2 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

Tuimoloau and Hall are the next two Ohio State players selected in this mock draft ahead of Egbuka. They’ll need more production in 2023 to justify those projections.

Donovan Jackson and TreVeyon Henderson also crack the first round in this mock. I'll use the same explanation for them as I did for Tuimoloau, Burke and Hall in PFF's draft – sure, why not? If they play to their potential, there's no reason it can't happen.

Sporting News

  • No. 2 - Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
  • No. 9 - Mike Hall Jr., Atlanta Falcons
  • No. 14 - Denzel Burke, New York Giants
  • No. 16 - Emeka Egbuka, Denver Broncos
  • No. 19 - Jack Sawyer, Minnesota Vikings
  • No. 20 - JT Tuimoloau, New Orleans Saints
  • No. 24 - TreVeyon Henderson, Los Angeles Chargers
  • No. 29 - Tyleik Williams, San Francisco 49ers

Remember how I said the mock drafts became a bit too Ohio State-friendly? Well, here's the best example of that. Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, but eight Ohio State players were included in Sporting News' mock. That, my friends, is called Buckeye Fever.

The Draft Network

  • No. 1 - Marvin Harrison Jr., Arizona Cardinals
  • No. 10 - JT Tuimoloau, Chicago Bears
  • No. 15 - Donovan Jackson, Green Bay Packers
  • No. 18 - Denzel Burke, Houston Texans
  • No. 22 - Mike Hall Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
  • No. 32 - TreVeyon Henderson, Kansas City Chiefs

I almost didn't include this mock draft in the Skull Session, but I had to share it because of one fact you probably already noticed: Emeka Egbuka is not featured as one of the Buckeyes listed. That's because The Draft Network didn't include him in the first 32 picks, which is certainly a bold call. It's also proof that just because you can make a mock draft doesn't mean you should.

 “IT TOOK A VILLAGE.” Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the latest Ohio State wide receiver to reach the NFL in the last decade, a club headlined by Michael Thomas, Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.

"It's awesome. A dream come true," Smith-Njigba said. "A lot of work has been put in. It took a village for me to be here, and I appreciate everybody. All the sacrifices, all the love that I've got back home. ... Let's do this thing."

Smith-Njigba was also asked about his brother, Caanan, who plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates, made his MLB debut last year and is an everyday player for the organization this season. To be the next family member to reach the pinnacle of their sport is an honor, Smith-Njigba said.

“It means everything. It means everything to me. It means everything to my family," Smith-Njigba said. "I want to represent it the right way and go about (my career) the right way."

I don't know about you, but my focus on both quotes lies in the first one: "It took a village for me to be here."

From his brother, Canaan, to his parents, Maada and Jami, Smith-Njigba has had tremendous family support his entire life. I'm sure many others helped him as he was raised in Rockwall, Texas, where he eventually became one of the town's most prominent athletes at Rockwall High School. In fact, his performances and statistics were so absurd that he has an award named after him in Rockwall County.

At Ohio State, he was surrounded by the best football coaches and players in America, especially in the wide receiver room with coach Brian Hartline and teammates like Wilson, Olave, Harrison and Egbuka. He also had quarterbacks like Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud throwing him the football, which also helped.

Combine the people in Rockwall with the ones in Columbus, and that creates quite a village. It makes sense that Smith-Njigba would appreciate all the sacrifices and love people offered him throughout the years. They led him to the place he dreamt of from a young age in The Lone Star State – cheers to him for recognizing that, and best of luck to him in the league, where he will thrive with the Seahawks.

 "THIS IS AWESOME." As Harrison approaches his third season at Ohio State, his statistics across his 18 appearances for the Buckeyes are under examination by all. That includes a sixth-grade Ohio State fan in Florida who broke down Harrison's numbers in their math class. The student's teacher, Kelley Milton, tweeted out that work on Sunday.

Twelve minutes later, Harrison responded with a quote tweet.

The student listed Harrison's performances and how many points he scored in those contests, starting with Harrison's receiving touchdowns hat trick against Utah and ending with his two-score effort against Georgia in the College Football Playoff.

If you look closely, the student left off the "M" in Michigan State and Michigan, which shows incredible attention to detail and devotion to their Ohio State fandom. The student also left a message underneath the minimum and maximum section for Harrison's points.

"I ended up going with the mean because I didn't want to neglect how much Harrison has improved over the seasons, but I also wanted to include the times where Kyle McCord or C.J. Stroud didn't give him the ball," the student wrote.

Improved he has, and improve he will.

Excellent work, kid.

 TBDBITL HAS RELOADED. The Ohio State marching band has named its drum majors for 2023: Clayton Callender and Joshua Ford.

Callender, a second-year student from Dover, Ohio, was named lead drum major following Saturday's tryout at Lincoln Tower Field. Ford, a second-year student from Gahanna, Ohio, will be his assistant. Callender is the first drum major from Dover, while Ford is the fourth from Gahanna, as Brian Berendts (1992-93), Karl Neudorfer (1994-95), Konner Barr (2018-19) and Dalton Cararo (2021-22) also were Gahanna Lincoln graduates.

How did Callender and Ford earn their roles? Well, let's break down their performances.

After a bobble to start his three-part tryout routine, Callender knew he had to be perfect for the remainder of Saturday's session. He accomplished that feat, recording zero drops in his choreographed routine and high-toss routine.

Ford's session was next-level, as the sophomore was the only student to handle three batons simultaneously in his routine, starting with one and incorporating the other two batons during a cartwheel sequence. Consider me impressed.

With the drum majors now set, Callender and Ford are the first two official 2023 Ohio State marching band members. The band’s 228 music members will be selected in August.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Hang On Sloopy" by The Best Damn Band in the Land.

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