Skull Session: Marvin Harrison Jr. is the Top 2024 NFL Draft Prospect, Chip Kelly Offers a Solution to CFB Chaos and Avery Henry Reflects on His “Crazy Journey” Through Cancer

Welcome to the Skull Session.

J S N.

JSN for the win.pic.twitter.com/PrwzOiR0y1
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 19, 2023

Shades of the 2022 Rose Bowl.

Unreal.

Let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?

DEVELOPED HERE. As college football’s bowl season continues and the 2024 NFL draft class comes together, The Athletic will update a consensus Big Board that lists the top 50 prospects in 2024. This week, Austin Mock and Diante Lee made tweaks to the Big Board after its initial release in August.

The Athletic’s consensus Big Board combines rankings from a wide range of draft experts to identify how the top prospects are viewed relative to the rest of their class. In theory, by the time we reach draft weekend, these rankings should help give us a handle on how the picks could (or, at least, should) play out.

Mock and Lee featured six Ohio State players on their Big Board, including Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, JT Tuimoloau, Denzel Burke, Mike Hall Jr. and Jack Sawyer. Here is where those Buckeyes were ranked:

OHIO STATE'S TOP 50 DRAFT PROSPECTS (THE ATHLETIC)
PLAYER	POS	RANK (AUG)	RANK (DEC)	CHANGE
MARVIN HARRISON JR.	WR	2	1	+1
EMEKA EGBUKA	WR	10	14	-4
JT TUIMOLOAU	DE	9	22	-13
DENZEL BURKE	CB	16	23	-7
MIKE HALL JR.	DT	20	44	-24
JACK SAWYER	DE	35	50	-15

With Harrison now the No. 1 overall prospect on the Big Board, Mock and Lee wrote about him in detail and explained that, while the Biletnikoff Award winner and Heisman finalist may not be the No. 1 pick in the draft, he is the premier talent in the class – even ahead of Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina)

You’ll almost never see a consensus draft board with a player at a non-premium position ranked at the top — especially when there are franchise quarterbacks and offensive tackles involved. Marvin Harrison Jr. is as close to a Madden-created player as there is at his position, though, and he’s the most talented overall prospect entering the NFL in 2024. Based on positional value, Williams and Maye will be the top two picks, but Harrison should be in play as soon as they’re off the table.

What is he worth if you’re not in the hunt for a QB, though? As it stands now, the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots are tied for the second-worst record in football (3-11), so let’s game this out. If you’re the Chicago Bears — guaranteed to get a new QB, provided the draft slot you own via the Carolina Panthers holds at No. 1 — why wouldn’t you put your own first (currently No. 5) on the table and try to land that third pick, too? That way, you could pair your new QB with Harrison, a sure-fire top target from Day 1.

Arizona owns two first-round selections in this draft, too. If Murray has earned himself more time as the QB and the Cardinals wind up at No. 2, would they consider shopping that pick to a team out of QB range, then turning around and trading back up to No. 3 with their surplus draft capital?

For a team that needs a difference-maker to play with a young QB (Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, etc.), that’s the kind of market that warps the trade market in favor of the seller. The Atlanta Falcons paid the price of two firsts, a second and two fourths for Julio Jones in 2011, and Harrison is just as valuable. Considering the inevitable jostling by teams wanting QBs and tackles in the top 10, I would not be shocked in the least to see a major trade up to grab Harrison, the current No. 1 prospect in this class.

While Egbuka, Tuimoloau, Burke, Hall and Sawyer did not receive the same in-depth report as Marvelous Marv, their appearances on the Big Board speak volumes of their current value according to NFL scouts. However, since each of them fell on the Big Board, it's fair to assume teams would like to see more from each prospect before they become a professional. Egbuka, Burke and Sawyer make their final impressions in the Cotton Bowl. (Tuimoloau and Hall's status remains to be determined).

Other Ohio State players who have NFL draft decisions to make include TreVeyon Henderson, Tyleik Williams, Donovan Jackson, Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom. None of those Buckeyes appeared on the most recent update of the Big Board. Yet – like Egbuka, Burke and Sawyer – Williams, Jackson and Hancock could see their stock improve in the Cotton Bowl. (Henderson and Ransom's status remains to be determined).

MAKES SENSE TO ME! Last week, an Eleven Warriors poll asked readers, “Is college football in a good state with recent developments in the transfer portal, the College Football Playoff, conference realignment and NIL? Of the 5,000 total votes, around 4,500 (90%) answered “No.” Several readers also added comments that included solutions to improve the sport.

To our knowledge, none of those commenters were UCLA head coach Chip Kelly.

Whether he commented or not (he didn’t), Kelly shared his opinion on the current college football landscape in a press conference before UCLA’s 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl. And, like some of our readers, shared some solutions to make the sport better.

I think we can all agree that college football is flawed right now.

The game we love has become very complicated.

Well, #UCLA head coach Chip Kelly has answers.

And I think the powers that be should listen to him.

pic.twitter.com/h9BOqvTeg0
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) December 16, 2023

"They're all a problem. I think we need to have a conference commissioner. I think football should be separate from the other sports. ... Our softball team should play Arizona in softball. Our basketball team should play Arizona in basketball. But because football left, (those sports left). People say, 'How do you do that?' Well, Notre Dame is independent in football, and they're in a conference in everything else. I think we should all be independent in football. You can have a 64-team conference that's in the Power 5. You can have a 64-team conference that's in the Group of 5. And we separate it. And we play each other.

"You can have the West Coast teams, and every year we play seven games against the West Coast teams, and then we play the East (Division). We play Syracuse, Boston College, Pitt, West Virginia and Virginia. And then the next year, you play the South (Division) while you still play your seven teams. You can play your seven-game schedule, four against another division opponent, and you can always play against one Mountain West team every year, so we can still keep those rivalries. Not that I've really thought about this. Not that I’ve spent a lot of time on this.

"But I think that if you went together collectively as a group and said there are 132 teams and we all share the same TV contract so that the Mountain West doesn’t have one, the Sun Belt doesn’t have another, and the SEC has one and they have another. We'd all go together. That’s a lot of games and there’s a lot of people in the TV world that would go through it. You can sponsor each one. Instead of calling it Group of 5 or Power 5, you can call them Amazon and Nike and bid that out to things.

"If we still do the same thing and take all that money, then I would do this – and I think this needs to be done – that money now needs to be shared with the student-athletes, and there needs to be revenue sharing. And the players should get paid. You get rid of (NIL) and the schools should be paying the players because the players are what the product is, and the fact that they don’t get paid is really the biggest travesty. But not that I've thought about it."

Here is what the world would look like if – somehow, someway – college football was able to achieve Kelly’s well-articulated plan for the sport’s future:

Jokes aside, what Kelly describes here makes perfect sense. Football should be independent from other sports. An organization separate from the NCAA or the College Football Playoff should govern the 132 FBS teams. An elected commissioner should lead that organization. Athletes should receive a portion of the millions of dollars schools will receive from TV contracts.

However, that’s not how college football’s future will pan out. Instead...

The ACC will feature Cal, SMU and Stanford.

The Big Ten will feature Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington.

The Big 12 will feature Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.

The SEC will feature Oklahoma and Texas.

The Pac-12... died.

Meanwhile, the NIL has remained the “Wild, Wild, West,” and the NCAA transfer portal has become a free agency.

Outside of college football, UCLA softball will prepare for weekend trips to Piscataway, New Jersey, as UCLA basketball readies itself for FOX Primetime Hoops on a Wednesday in State College, Pennsylvania.

That’s turrible.

But that’s the new normal, I suppose.

AVERY HENRY’S “CRAZY JOURNEY.” On Dec. 17, 2022, former Ohio State offensive lineman Avery Henry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. One year later, Henry reflected on the “crazy journey” he’s experienced the last 365 days in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Yesterday hit the one year mark on being diagnosed with osteosarcoma! What a crazy journey it has been! The truth is I wouldn't change anything. I was lost for a long time. But out of the blue came a saying that I live by now. Everything you once were is destroyed because that is
— King_Henry2.0 (@AveryHenry731) December 17, 2023

"Yesterday hit the one year mark on being diagnosed with osteosarcoma! What a crazy journey it has been! The truth is I wouldn't change anything. I was lost for a long time. But out of the blue came a saying that I live by now. Everything you once were is destroyed because that is who you weren't!! To me this means many things. When I was in the hospital, I saw my body degrade before my eyes. Praying that I wouldn't be like this forever. So I faked how I was doing as many of us do. I just decided to smile throughout it. It's almost as if I faked it till I made it! And I felt better. While doing it, I later realized my nurses were in a better mood. Even patients that saw me smile while going through it felt a sense of being okay for a little.

Even a simple smile can brighten the worst of days! I push you to do it even while not in the best of moods!

If mentally you're not doing okay then I urge you to say something. As I was not mentally okay while going through it. I did have to go to therapy and it's one of the best things I've ever done! Help is always here.

I hope all this maybe taught you something or helps you in some way. To my fans, I greatly appreciate every one of you I couldn't have done it without you! Much love from me to you!! #GoBucks #MoreThanFootball

“A simple smile can brighten the worst of days.”

I love that perspective.

Well said, Mr. Henry.

WELL, THAT’S INTERESTING. Founded in 1966 in Lima, Ohio, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken has specialized in chicken, biscuits and homestyle sides for over 50 years. Lee's has 131 locations nationwide, including 40 in “The Heart Of It All.”

Last week, Lee's announced that select Ohio locations would receive an exclusive feature: The cloned voice of former Ohio State running back Keith Byars, who will take customers’ orders via yan AI ordering software from Hi Auto.

From a Rainier Communications press release:

Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, an early adopter of Hi Auto’s drive-thru voice AI ordering technology, plans to launch the new voice cloning feature as a test in its select Ohio drive-thru locations. Guests who visit Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Ohio locations will be greeted with the voice of sports broadcaster and former NFL player Keith Byars. Byars grew up in Ohio and went on to play football at Ohio State. In 2000, Keith was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame and in 2020 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Byars proceeded to play in the National Football League for 13 seasons, playing for teams including Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets. Currently, Byars hosts "The Keith Byars Show” which can be heard on ESPN 1410 WING-AM in Dayton, Ohio.

“Lee's has been blessed to partner with Hi Auto since December of 2020, utilizing their AI voice recognition technology to help our employees and restaurants through the pandemic. We look forward to implementing their latest innovation to make our customer's drive-thru experience the most unique experience in the Dayton market,” said Lee’s Famous Recipe® Chicken Owner and Operator Chuck Doran. "We’ve partnered with Keith Byars since his radio program launched 2018. The integrity, quality and excellence Keith brought to the football field and continues to bring to his broadcasts is what we strive to provide every customer that visits Lee’s. This is just one more step in that quest.”

...

Hi Auto’s voice AI ordering technology, which is deployed in over 400 drive-thru locations across the U.S., is transforming how QSRs serve their customers by helping to optimize the deployment of valuable staff hours and improve the speed and accuracy of orders. Voice AI reduces the time employees spend taking orders from customers which translates to faster drive-through and pick-ups, shorter queues, and greater workforce efficiency, so employees can spend more time on more critical tasks.

According to the press release, these are the Ohio locations expected to feature Byars’ voice in January:

527 S. Main St. in Englewood
885 E. Main St. in Dayton
6315 Chambersburg Road in Huber Heights
6056 N. Dixie Dr. in Dayton
4140 N. Main St. in Dayton
1415 Troy St. in Dayton
3225 Linden Ave. in Dayton
4030 Wilmington Pike in Kettering
1031 E. Second St. in Franklin
550 W. Main St. in Xenia

The AI voice-cloning will capture all the nuances of a Byars’ voice, including tone, accent and dialect, with a few minutes of recorded speech, the release stated. The technology is then able to create a digital voice and incorporate it into the restaurant’s order-taking system.

I won't pretend to understand how that is possible. But it is! And it sounds pretty neat. So when 2024 arrives, head over to a Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken and have Ohio State legend Keith Byars take your order.

SONG OF THE DAY. “iRobot” - Jon Bellion.