Welcome to the Skull Session.
Brian Hartline is a wizard...
Brian Hartline has been developing some SERIOUS WR talent at Ohio State over the past couple seasons pic.twitter.com/uybZ1RpedT
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) June 26, 2023
Serious talent, indeed.
Let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus released an article earlier this month that broke down the tape of Marvin Harrison Jr. and looked for ways the 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver plays like his father, Marvin Harrison Sr., a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pass-catchers of all time.
Here are some of Monson's comparisons between father and son:
- Short-area quickness
- Change of direction
- Route-running
But then Monson changed gears with his article. Rather than continue with comparisons between Harrison Jr. and Harrison Sr., he examined where the former may already be further along than the latter, even during the prime of his career: Separation. In fact, Monson called separation Harrison Jr.'s “superpower,” a trait Monson explained with footage of his first-career touchdown catch in the 2022 Rose Bowl.
Harrison has excellent footwork and an outstanding release package off the line that he combines with using his hands very well to first unbalance defensive backs and then instantly remove their ability to regather themselves by ensuring they never get hands on him to slow down his progress. Put those two things together, and Harrison often generates multiple yards of separation almost instantly after the snap.
Take this play from his freshman season back in 2021. Lined up in the slot, Harrison wants to run vertically outside the cornerback who has outside alignment to negate the aforementioned threat. Harrison freezes the defender with his first step off the line, and as the cornerback is still trying to process what the receiver’s plan is, Harrison has both hands extended to prevent the cornerback from getting a jam on him and to shift him from his path. By the time Harrison is five yards off the line, he has stacked the cornerback. And when they hit the end zone, he has significant separation to catch a perfect pass dropped in over his shoulder.
Harrison is as good off the line and at clearing defenders as any receiver of recent memory, and that’s before you get to the fundamental aspects of playing the position, like actually catching the football.
I can't wait to watch Harrison take the field for Ohio State this fall. He hasn't reached the peak of his production for the Buckeyes, and he's only improved since the last time we saw him. Sure, there's still stuff he needs to work on, but he's one of the best players in college football, and I expect him to perform like one when the season arrives on Sept. 2. Indiana and the rest of Ohio State's 2023 opponents won't know what hit ’em.
A WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT. In 2021, Joey and Nick Bosa had an idea: Build a gym, but make it specifically (and only) for professional football players. They asked their dad, John, to be the general contractor. He agreed. What followed was the construction of a one-of-a-kind facility.
From Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated:
“The fun thing about it is it’s 4,000 square feet, and it’s a warehouse that I painted all white, so it’s in a row of warehouses where you’d never know what it is,” Bosa says. “And you walk in, and the lobby area is where the wet area starts. You have two cold tubs. A small one is set at 38 degrees; a bigger one that has jets is set at 41. Then there’s a sauna and there’s a hot tub, and then there’s a full shower/bathroom area. And then you walk through those doors and, if you kind of picture just a big, wide-open, air-conditioned space, there’s a rubber flooring with all of the equipment for Joey; a lot of it is customized equipment.”
The elder Bosa is not done.
“And so the whole left side of the gym is gym equipment, then right down the middle, it’s floating wood. It was actually built by the company that does NBA floors,” he continues. “So it’s a 40-by-8-foot runway of floating wood. It’s basically an NBA floor. And that’s where they do jumps—box jumps, plyometrics, warmups. And then on the right side of the warehouse, you have a full kitchen, washer/dryer, big TV, pool table. So it’s all one big space, and it’s beautiful.”
Beyond the building's magnificence and splendor lies a deeper meaning for the elder Bosa. While the aesthetics are off the charts, Breer wrote that there's more beauty in its existence than its design could ever reveal. To the Bosas, the facility is about investment and paying things forward.
When Joey and Nick first showed they shared their dad’s passion for football, he didn’t want to coach them, even though he was a 1987 Dolphins first-round pick himself. Instead, he pledged that he’d pour into them by getting them the very best at every turn, so they could be their best. The kids got the best coaches, trainers, programs, financial advisers, agents—whatever it was, he gave his gifted offspring that edge.
This physical building, completed for the 2022 offseason, is the manifestation of the philosophical next step. Now, it’s the sons’ investing into themselves. John didn’t pay for the warehouse. Joey bought it and Joey brought to life a blueprint the brothers and their trainer, Todd Rice, had for the perfect environment to become better football players.
Joey and Nick were able to make such an investment because the investments made in them by their father and those around him paid off.
The No. 37 overall recruit in 2013 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, an All-American at Ohio State and a Pro Bowler for the Los Angeles Chargers, Joey has always been one of the best defensive ends at his level of play. Nick has been the same way. An even better high school prospect than Joey, Nick was the No. 10 overall recruit in 2016. He then earned All-American honors for the Buckeyes and became an NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the San Francisco 49ers.
Put the two together, and you have a remarkable story. The Bosa brothers paid the price, in more ways than one, to reach the NFL and become two of the best players in the league. As they look to maintain that level of excellence, they continue investing in themselves and others, which is really freakin' cool.
There's plenty more in the story to unpack that, for the sake of brevity, I won't dive into here. I recommend heading over to Sports Illustrated to read Breer's piece. A proud Ohio State alum, Breer is one of the best reporters in the NFL media. Breer tells a tale like this – a feature involving a grown man (NOT a groan man) like John Bosa becoming choked up –incredibly well. Check it out.
“NEIGHBORHOOD HERO.” Over the weekend, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reported that former Ohio State wide receiver Curtis Samuel recently returned to his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, to hold a free football camp for 300 children at Erasmus Hall High School.
Neighborhood hero https://t.co/RaoCfGB0QW
— Curtis Samuel (@CurtisSamuel4__) June 26, 2023
When I saw the report, I was first and foremost moved by Samuel's care for his hometown community off the field. Then I had a different thought cross my mind.
When Ohio State is called the Wide Receiver U of modern college football, Michael Thomas, Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave are the first names mentioned as evidence for the claim, with their countless awards and recognition as a warrant. However, Samuel's name always flies under the radar in the discussion. Why is that?
Perhaps it's because he played H-back for Urban Meyer and Ohio State – a spot that mixes the running back and wide receiver positions, made famous by Percy Harvin during Meyer's time at Florida. Maybe it's that he hasn't had the same high-end success as Thomas, McLaurin, Wilson and Olave. I'm not sure. But I'm here to put some respect on Curtis Samuel's name.
After three seasons at Ohio State in which he recorded 2,535 yards and 24 touchdowns from scrimmage, Samuel became the No. 40 overall pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2017. In 53 games across four seasons with the franchise, he had 2,565 yards and 19 touchdowns. He then inked a three-year, $34.5 million contract with McLaurin's Washington Commanders in 2021 and has since collected 881 yards and five scores in 22 appearances.
With stats like those, we should talk about Samuel more. So do that!
And, of course, I can't talk about Samuel without addressing his greatest play as a Buckeye – that being the 15-yard walk-off touchdown to lift Ohio State over Michigan in the 2016 edition of The Game. Reminder: The spot was good. It was soooooo good.
SUMMER LEAGUE, BABY. When the NBA summer league starts in Salt Lake City on July 3, Brice Sensabaugh and Justice Sueing will be on opposing benches after one season as teammates on Ohio State's 2022-23 roster.
In Salt Lake City, Sensabaugh will suit up for the hometown Utah Jazz, who selected him 28th overall on Thursday, while Sueing will play for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who offered him a summer league roster spot after he went undrafted. Sensabaugh's Jazz and Sueing's Thunder are set to face off on July 3 at 9 p.m., with both teams scheduled to battle the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers on July 5 and 6. The Thunder’s latter two games will tip off at 7 p.m. while all three of the Jazz’s games will tip off at 9 p.m. All games will be televised on NBA TV with the exception of the Thunder’s last game, which will air on ESPN2.
Brice Sensabaugh headed to Utah
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 23, 2023
The Utah Jazz have selected @bricepsensa with the 28th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft! #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/4dAQNpp7Jr
The @okcthunder have signed @JusticeSueing to their Summer League roster#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/ZdlzAth2VE
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 24, 2023
The following weekend, the Jazz and Thunder will travel to Las Vegas, where all 30 NBA franchises will have their summer league teams compete for a spot in a four-team, single-elimination playoff that crowns a summer league champion.
The Jazz will face the Los Angeles Clippers on July 8 (10 p.m., ESPN2), the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 10 (10 p.m., ESPNU), the Denver Nuggets on July 12 (9:30 p.m., NBA TV) and the Phoenix Suns on July 14 (11 p.m., ESPN2). Meanwhile, the Thunder will battle the Dallas Mavericks on July 8 (3:30 p.m., ESPN2), the Houston Rockets on July 11 (6:30 p.m., NBA TV), the Indiana Pacers on July 12 (7:30 p.m., NBA TV) and the Washington Wizards on July 14 (5 p.m., ESPNU).
Ohio State's 2022 draftees Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell will also be in Las Vegas with the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. Branham averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 66 appearances for the Spurs last year, while Liddell missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL. San Antonio and New Orleans' summer league schedules can be found here.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Summer Nights” by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Dolphin moms use baby talk to call to their young, recordings show... The next big advance in cancer treatment could be a vaccine... Casual Luke rides the Big Wave... Why do some people get rashes in space? There's a clue in astronaut blood... Meet Scooter, the winner of this year's World's Ugliest Dog contest.
