Skull Session: Gene Smith Announces He Will Retire From Ohio State in 2024, C.J. Stroud to Start for Texans in First Preseason Game and Emeka Egbuka Signs an NIL Deal With Amazon

By Chase Brown on August 10, 2023 at 5:00 am
Gene Smith
Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State has two of the best running backs in the nation in TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams. Both were named to the Doak Walker Award watch list on Wednesday. Perhaps both will end their careers as the greatest running backs of all time!

Oh, and please offer a warm Skull Session welcome to our newest staffer, Andy Anders, who will cover football, men's basketball and whatever else we tell him to do for the one and only elevenwarriors.com.

Let's have a good Thursday, shall we?

 ONE OF THE GOOD ONES. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith shocked the world on Wednesday when he announced he would retire on June 30, 2024. After 18 years in the role – and a 19th year around the corner – Smith said it was time to move on to the next chapter of his life.

Smith made the unexpected statement to start his pop-up press conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, which occurred around two hours before the media were set to speak with head football coach Ryan Day. Smith's retirement news was connected to an opening statement full of gratitude and thankfulness for Ohio State's fans, athletic department, coaches, support staff, donors and, most importantly, his family.

"At Ohio State, we are truly blessed with the best damn fans in the land, and I want to thank Buckeye Nation for its support," Smith said. "Along with Buckeye Nation, I want to thank the leadership of our business community for its support. I am immensely grateful to the network of business leaders who have invested in me and in our success. I want to thank members of the media. I understand and respect the job you have to do.

"Likewise, I wish to thank the many donors with whom I have had the pleasure of experiences and making special memories. The generosity of Buckeye Nation has been remarkable. I also want to thank the coaches and support staff with whom I've been blessed to work.  I have been fortunate to work with some of the best in the business, and I am aware that I stood on their shoulders as we strived to make our department the finest athletic department in the nation. It has been my pleasure and my honor to work with my colleagues in the department of athletics to create an environment conducive to educating, enriching and supporting the best and brightest student-athletes in the country.  There is no question that the student-athletes that I have had the good fortune to serve during my tenure as athletic director were the inspiration each and every day for us all.

"I want to thank my four children and eight grandchildren for embracing the Buckeye experience and participating whenever they can. Most importantly, I want to thank my wife Sheila for being so supportive of my career in athletic administration.  She has served as my friend, colleague, and emotional support through good times and bad and I am grateful for her unwavering love and support."

Over the next 50 minutes, Smith fielded several questions from reporters. Of course, he received inquiries about the current matters of conference expansion, NIL and revenue shares. But he was also asked about his fond memories at Ohio State, his greatest accomplishments as an athletic director and what he plans to do in retirement. Whatever the questions were, he answered them all.

The space allowed him to laugh, think and cry. Well, he may not have cried, but he did get choked up when he mentioned his wife, Sheila, who attended the press conference on Wednesday. At any rate, it was a full day – a heck of a day – for Gene.

As Gene enters his final year as Ohio State's athletic director, I feel happy and sad: Happy that Gene will receive well-deserved and well-earned rest; sad that Ohio State will be without the compassionate, patient leader that Smith has always been for the Buckeyes' athletic department and its 36 varsity programs.

I've witnessed Gene's compassion and patience in many ways. Whether it was press conferences at the Woody, exclusive interviews for The Lantern, Buckeye Sports Bulletin or Eleven Warriors. He always carried himself well with those qualities in mind.

But that's only my perspective as a media member. I have also been blessed to witness Smith's compassion and patience as my Mom's boss.

As many Skull Session readers know, the woman I call "Mom" is Holly Vargo-Brown, head synchronized swimming coach at THE Ohio State University. That meant many Saturdays and Sundays at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatics Pavillion from my early childhood and on. Gene would often accompany my family as we cheered for the Buckeyes. He would also take celebratory pictures after wins or even hoist national championship trophies with the swimmers – one of the 34 national championship trophies, that is. All in all, he was one of the program's most incredible supporters.

Gene is a good man with a good heart. He will be missed at Ohio State. I extend to him congratulations, and I look forward to seeing where the next steps take him.

 C.J. STROUD → QB1. The Houston Texans have their first preseason game against the New England Patriots on Thursday. When Houston's offense takes the field for its opening possession, former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be under center.

Earlier this week, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told NFL Network that Stroud –Houston's No. 2 overall pick in 2023 – would receive first-team reps over incumbent starter Davis Mills, who has completed 63.6% of his passes for 5,782 yards, 33 touchdowns and 25 interceptions across two seasons in Space City.

Ryans said he chose Stroud as the starter for several reasons, most of which was Stroud's decisiveness in the first weeks of preseason camp. He said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback has also delivered the ball well to the Texans' pass-catchers, including former Buckeyes Noah Brown and Nick Vannett, Dalton Schultz, Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and Tank Dell.

"He has gotten the ball out quick. He's making the proper reads," Ryans said. "We want him to make the proper reads and if one is open, deliver the ball."

Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik reiterated the head coach's points this week. However, Slowik had more to say about Stroud's performance as a rookie in camp.

"He has a great feel for what's happening around him, and it doesn't take all the way until the film room to be able to talk about it and know how to handle it," Slowik said. "He has an idea before we see the tape. Typically, with him, the tape is just verifying what he already knows."

Basically, with all that I have written, you can feel confident that Stroud will win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023... OK, we aren't there yet. Not even close.

Still, if Stroud shows out on Thursday – even with limited opportunities – I will be rather bold, cocky and confident the rest of the preseason (and probably the entire season called regular) that Ohio State's former QB1 is destined for some hardware when the 2023-24 season wraps up in February.

 HIS TIME TO SHINE. At each of the 132 FBS schools not named Ohio State, Emeka Egbuka would be the football team's No. 1 wide receiver. Only as a member of the Buckeyes' receiver room – where Marvin Harrison Jr. is marvelous, super and all that good stuff – is Egbuka known as the team's secondary pass-catcher.

However, that doesn't mean Egbuka hasn't shined at Ohio State, both on and off the field.

On the field, Egbuka recorded 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. According to Pro Football Focus, his 526 yards after the catch ranked 12th in the nation, and his 15.6 yards per catch were ranked in the top 25.

Off the field, Egbuka has earned a nearly $1 million valuation from On3. That number took a bump on Tuesday when Egbuka announced his partnership with Amazon Style. The star receiver can be seen in the company's clothes on a billboard above Columbus' Easton Town Center, a shopping center and mall 15 minutes east of campus.

From Pete Nakos of On3:

Egbuka is now the face of an Amazon Style campaign at Easton Town Center in Columbus. The first-ever physical store concept from the tech giant features clothing, shoes and accessories. The receiver made the announcement on Instagram.

As part of the campaign, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver is featured on a billboard over the story. The Columbus location is one of just two stores in the country next to Glendale, California.

Amazon has become a notable spender in the NIL marketplace. Former Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley and Clemson basketball player Brevin Galloway each launched personalized apparel brands with Amazon in 2022 summer. Amazon also enlisted USC athletes to promote merchandise through NIL deals. And in the last month, LSU basketball stars Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson starred in a “Dormz” commercial for the brand.

Egbuka also has NIL deals with The Foundation, Intuit TurboTax and eFuse, among others. For those deals and more, On3 has determined Egbuka's NIL value is ranked 18th among all college football players at $977,000. Harrison is ranked eighth at $1.3 million for his numerous NIL deals.

While Egbuka and Harrison have benefitted from their name, image and likeness, Harrison said at Big Ten Media Days that players don't come to Ohio State for money and NIL deals. Instead, players come to Ohio State to beat Michigan, win Big Ten championships and win national titles.

That will be front of mind for Egbuka and Harrison this season, as Ohio State looks to bounce back from consecutive losses at the hands of That Team Up North, a two-year absence from the Big Ten Championship Game and a nine-year hiatus since the Buckeyes' most recent College Football Playoff title in 2014.

 EXPANSION, EXSCHMANSION. Ryan Day doesn't have time to address expansion and conference realignment in college football. He simply doesn't have the time.

When asked to offer his perspective on the Big Ten's additions of Oregon and Washington at the end of last week, Day didn't offer a philosophical answer like Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz or express his sadness like Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Instead, Day said he's focused on Ohio State. That's it.

"Honestly, it’s like there’s so many things that are higher on the priority list for me right now. I kind of defer to Gene (Smith) on those things, and I’ll continue to do that and have conversations. Right now, I can’t keep my mind off inside drill and kind of what was going on in red zone today and that kind of stuff. Gene’s been such a great leader for me and certainly these first few years, kind of taking a lot of that stuff off my plate. Let’s just focus on the team. And that’s kind of where my mind’s at right now."

In other words, Day said, "I missed the part where that's my problem," and chose not to discuss it.

And, hey, more power to him.

No matter what his take is on conference expansion, it won't affect him until 2024. Until then, it's not his problem!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Brown Eyed Lover" by Allen Stone.

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