Welcome to the Skull Session.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (a.k.a. Route Man Marv, Marvelous Marv, Super Marv and Maserati Marv) has entered the 2024 NFL draft.
He had a decent career at Ohio State. Just a decent one.
Thanks for the memories, Marv. pic.twitter.com/sGW6sP4wGh
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 11, 2024
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound wide receiver will go down as one of Ohio State's all-time greats – and deservedly so. I can't wait to watch him on Sundays.
Have a good Friday.
OHIO STATE IS LOADED. The past 48 hours have been much-needed in Buckeye Nation. What happened on Monday? I don't know. What happened on Dec. 29? I don't know. What happened on Nov. 25? I don't know.
However, I know full well that Ohio State's 2024 roster will be loaded with talent. And I mean loaded, loaded...
Offense
- Five-star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (0.9945 composite score)
- Five-star offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (0.9900)
- Five-star wide receiver Brandon Inniss (0.9855)
- Four-star wide receiver Carnell Tate (0.9728)
- Four-star transfer running back Quinshon Judkins (0.9600)
- Four-star transfer quarterback Will Howard (0.9200)
- Four-star transfer offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin (0.9000)
Defense
- Five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer (0.9980)
- Five-star linebacker C.J. Hicks (0.9979)
- Five-star safety Sonny Styles (0.9937)
- Four-star cornerback Jordan Hancock (0.9680)
- Four-star linebacker Cody Simon (0.9660)
- Four-star cornerback Davison Igbinosun (0.9363)
- Four-star defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (0.9288)
- Four-star safety Lathan Ransom (0.9286)
- Four-star cornerback Denzel Burke (0.9213)
- Three-star defensive tackle Ty Hamilton (0.8635)
And that's not all!
The Buckeyes still await NFL draft decisions from five-star defensive end JT Tuimoloau (0.9989) and five-star running back TreVeyon Henderson (0.9872). If one or both choose to return to Columbus for a senior season, that would add to the already absurd roster talent at Ohio State.
But wait! That's not all!
I didn't mention the five-star talent Ohio State added in the 2024 class, all of whom could make an immediate impact as Buckeyes: Wide receivers Jeremiah Smith (0.9994) and Mylan Graham (0.9903), defensive end Eddrick Houston (0.9873), cornerback Aaron Scott Jr. (0.9845) and quarterback Air Noland (0.9835).
Yeah, that's loaded, loaded.
With its talent, Ohio State can win The Game, win the Big Ten championship and win the College Football Playoff in 2024. Of course, none will come easy. Yet, all are within reach.
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE. Across 35 years (1975-2010) at Akron, Miami (OH), Syracuse, Youngstown State and Ohio State, Jim Tressel became a Master Football Coach. Across another 11 years (2012-23) at Akron and Youngstown State, Tressel became a master academic administrator. Now, he wants to become a master retiree.
This week, Marla Ridenour, a contributor for the Akron Beacon Journal, released an article about Tressel and his desire to tackle retirement head-on. Since Tressel's tenure as YSU president ended on Feb. 1, 2023, “The Senator” said he's learning to love this next chapter of his life. The best part so far? Tressel and his wife, Ellen, can have some fun now that both are “available.”
From Ridenour's article:
Tressel on "starting to get the hang of" retirement
When Mark Dantonio received word Monday afternoon that he’d been named to the College Football Hall of Fame, one of the first people he texted was his former Youngstown State and Ohio State boss, Jim Tressel.
Wintering in Florida, Tressel alerted ex-OSU and YSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman, who lives 10 minutes away. Dantonio was 20 minutes away in the other direction. Soon, the three were toasting at the home of Dantonio — the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator before he left Columbus in 2004 for the head coaching job at the University of Cincinnati, followed by a 2007-19 stint at Michigan State.
Tressel, 71, cited that spur-of-the-moment celebration as an example of his life 11 months into retirement.
“The beauty of not being the head coach or the president anymore is that I can spend time with all these kids and all these former coaches and select these things I’d like to see if I can add value to as opposed to being chained to an 80-hour, 90-hour week responsibility,” Tressel said by phone Tuesday. “We’ve enjoyed it. I retired Feb. 1. It’s an evolution, but we’re starting to get the hang of it.”
On being out of the coaching and academic world
Tressel sighed. His reaction seemed prompted by the state of college football and his connections to those with Ohio State ties like Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck (a graduate assistant in 2006), Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman (a linebacker from 2004-08 and graduate assistant in 2010), Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell (a nose tackle from 1992-96, assistant from 2000-2011 and interim coach in 2011 after Tressel’s resignation) and current Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.
“In some ways, yeah. Where I feel bad, I’m watching all my guys that are still in it and spending time with Marcus Freeman on the phone or Luke Fickell or P.J. Fleck or Ryan Day, talking with those guys and listening to some of the stuff they have to go through which we never had to do,” Tressel said. “We had to live with the fact that our players couldn’t make anything and that didn’t sit well, either, so we had different problems.
“What I feel bad about is we’ve in some ways lost the value of why is it good to be a part of sport, which is handling adversity, learning how to be a part of a team, discipline, getting up at 6 a.m. You have to work hard if you want to get paid, too. Maybe (it's now) a little bit more of an individualistic … ‘I’m just going to use my skills to see what I can gain for myself.’”
On the Cleveland Browns
The Browns have also captivated Tressel, a Berea High School and Baldwin-Wallace graduate.
“Our Brownies are rolling,” Tressel said. “(Joe Flacco) has done a great job and Kevin (Stefanski) has done a great job of handling adversity. One guy goes out and he figures out how to plug someone else in and feature someone else. ...They’re a tough out. My opinion is the last person the Ravens want to face is the Browns. The Browns are tough. Defense travels, right?”
Apologies. I had to add that last part.
Jim Tressel, a Cleveland Browns fan and Man of Culture™.
Tangent aside, you have been Debriefed on Tressel's retirement. Check out Ridenour's article for more on his whereabouts and whatabouts.
Cheers to Tressel as he enters this next stage of his life. I hope he and Miss Ellen continue to "get the hang of" retirement. I am sure it will be an absolute blast.
ON THE HOOK? Ohio State parted ways (professional words for fired) with special teams coordinator Parker Fleming on Wednesday. Since Fleming had one year left on a two-year contract he inked in January 2023, the Buckeyes could owe him as much as half a million dollars in 2024.
According to Joey Kaufman of The Columbus Dispatch, Fleming's contract features terms that state he could receive severance for his termination, which includes his base salary for the duration of the contract. Fleming's deal was valued at $500,000 per year with the Buckeyes.
Parker Fleming will not be back for a fourth season as Ohio States special teams coordinator. https://t.co/zDmy7Ylzn0
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 10, 2024
Here's where the could part comes in.
Fleming's Ohio State contract states he is “required to make every reasonable and diligent effort as soon as practicable following his termination to seek and secure a comparable position.” If another Division I football program or professional organization hired him, Ohio State's financial commitments to Fleming would reduce as he receives compensation from his salary, bonuses and other income.
While half a million dollars feels like chump change for Ohio State football, I am sure Ryan Day (and Gene Smith) would love to remove $500,000 from the program's ledger. Fleming is one of the most maligned Ohio State assistants I've seen, so it could take some time for him to land somewhere new. Until then, the Buckeyes will be on the hook for the contract of their now-former coach.
MICHIGAN WON “FAIR AND SQUARE.” WARNING: This section will ruffle some Ohio State feathers.
Charlie Baker does not regret his unusual decision to alert the Big Ten to the Michigan sign-stealing inquiry and believes it helps legitimize Wolverines title.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 11, 2024
No one believes at this point that Michigan didnt win the national title fair & square" https://t.co/S59zqAXNzZ
This week, NCAA president Charlie Baker said Michigan's national championship was earned "fair and square." He also said the NCAA's "unusual decision" to share investigative information with the Big Ten about the Wolverines' sign-stealing allegations should eliminate doubts about the title's legitimacy.
According to Baker, the NCAA alerted Michigan and the Big Ten in October after it received "compelling" information that the Wolverines were involved in a sign-stealing scheme. Those conversations resulted in Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti handing Jim Harbaugh a three-game suspension. They also prompted the resignation of Connor Stalions.
Since the NCAA made its information public, Baker said it allowed Michigan and its opponents to respond accordingly, removing unfair advantages for the Wolverines on their run to a national championship.
"I don't regret doing it because sitting on that information, given the comprehensiveness of it, I think we would have put everyone, including Michigan, in an awful place," Baker said Tuesday night while speaking to a small group of reporters at the NCAA convention. "At the end of the day, no one believes at this point that Michigan didn't win the national title fair and square. So I think we did the right thing."
I don't know about “no one.”
But, like Tim May, I digress.
For the Ohio State fans who have waited for the NCAA to drop the hammer on Michigan and vacate the Wolverines' wins – or even their national championship – I wouldn't hold your breath. I expect the Wolverines will receive some punishment sooner or later. However, after hearing Baker's comments, I'm not sure that punishment will deal maximum damage to the program.
That's unfortunate.
But is it a surprise?
I'll leave that to you to answer.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Highway Tune" - Greta Van Fleet.
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