Welcome to the Skull Session.
*sighs*.
Final from Columbus.
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 31, 2024
OSU: 75
ILL: 87
Buckeyes are back on the road Friday night to take on the Hawkeyes. pic.twitter.com/11HHoDDgUe
Have a good Wednesday.
COACH SPEAKS. January 2024 has been one of the best months ever for the Ohio State football program. Yet, as we heard BOOM after BOOM in Columbus, we heard little from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.
Outside of some comments at Ross Bjork's introductory press conference and a quote after the Buckeyes hired Bill O'Brien, Day had refrained from public appearances and media opportunities over the past four weeks.
Then, on Tuesday, I learned he appeared on ESPN Cleveland’s “The Really Big Show”...
... last Friday morning?
A message to co-hosts Tony Rizzo and Aaron Goldhammer: Congratulations. Ryan Day appeared on a live broadcast.
A message to the promotional team at ESPN Cleveland: Ryan Day appeared on a live broadcast, and no one knew about it.
Had ESPN Cleveland spread the word, we would have had five articles written about the appearance before noon. Alas, we learned about Day's appearance on Tuesday. That said, I will feature Day's comments in the Skull Session, Buckeye Nation's morning constitutional.
Listen to Ryan Day's full interview with @HammerNation19 and @TheRealTRizzo on TLOD right NOW! https://t.co/7BusNEYBEc pic.twitter.com/8EZmSJDtLl
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) January 26, 2024
On Ohio State recruiting Northwest Ohio
"It's extremely important. There are so many great players and great programs. It's really the lifeline of our program. The foundation is Ohio. It's Ohio football. It's the great programs, the great players, and it's been like that for a long, long time. It will continue to be. These guys understand what it means to be a Buckeye. They understand what it means to be in a rivalry game."
On Ohio State using the transfer portal
"It's similar to last year. We've added six guys from the portal. We haven't gone crazy there. But, you know, when Coach Saban retired, some of these guys were available in the portal. We wanted to bring in the best players we could, but we also took our culture into consideration."
On hiring Bill O'Brien as his offensive coordinator
"Every year, you have to look and identify the things you want to tweak and change. I felt like this was important for a lot of reasons. The landscape of college football has changed. Where my focus needs to be has changed. Bill brings a tremendous amount of experience to the table. I wouldn't have done it with just anybody. Bill's experience being a head coach in the conference (at Penn State), being a head coach in the NFL, being at Alabama for two years and the success he had there with Bryce Young — all of that fits very well with what we need in the program."
On Will Howard, Ohio State's quarterback room
"It's a room that craves competition, and I think you will see that with all of the guys in the room. They are looking for a competitive spring. It's a great opportunity for them to start fresh with Coach O'Brien walking into the room. We know what the expectation is. I think the guys in that room know what the offense is, the surrounding cast and what's out in front of them. They started well this first couple of weeks. It will be a great competition. It will be fun to watch this spring."
On Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan for the NFL
"It's more about our team. There are a lot of changes going on around college football. If you look around, Coach (Nick) Saban is retiring and you are seeing some different things around college football. What I keep talking to our guys and our staff about is that we have to focus on our team. There will be changes across the country, but we want to make sure we continue to build and look toward the long term. Where do we want to be a year from now? Where do we want to be in three years and five years? With all this change, we have to make sure we are adapting to the times."
Comment No. 1: I love that Day called Ohio recruits the “foundation” of the program. It always has been and always should be.
Comment No. 2: I love that Ohio State landed Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, Seth McLaughlin, Will Kacmarek and Caleb Downs from the transfer portal and still said the Buckeyes “haven't gone crazy there.”
Comment No. 3: Day likes O'Brien. Therefore, I like O'Brien.
Comment No. 4: Will Howard is Ohio State’s QB1. Spare me the “competition” talk. Please.
Comment No. 5: I wonder what Day really thinks about Jim Harbaugh.
OK. That’s all the comments I have. Five comments is good.
“NOW I GOTTA CHEER AGAINST HIM.” Coming off a Super Bowl appearance as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator, Bill O’Brien became Penn State's head coach amid the most turbulent time in the school's history.
According to some of O'Brien's Penn State players, the program wouldn't have overcome the circumstances if not for his leadership.
“I remember it vividly,” Mike Mauti, a 2012 team captain, told The Athletic's Audrey Snyder this week. “We wouldn’t have gotten through that without him. It speaks volumes about his leadership. … He kept our program steady when really we were like the first look at the (transfer) portal back in 2012.”
Bill O'Brien didn't just take charge of Penn State.
— The Athletic CFB (@TheAthleticCFB) January 27, 2024
He led the program through one of the most tumultuous periods in its storied history.
So what do his former Nittany Lions think about him joining Ohio State? @audsnuyder4 has more https://t.co/God2Zg88LV pic.twitter.com/CAGyvqPCqT
Penn State had a combined 15-9 record in O'Brien's two seasons as head coach. The team went 8-4 (2012) and 7-5 (2013) despite NCAA sanctions and scholarship reductions intended to cripple the program.
“He wasn’t just a coach at Penn State, he was the coach during one of the hardest times to be the coach at Penn State,” said Adam Breneman, who played for O’Brien in 2013. “He had as big a role as anyone of kind of bringing the program out of those really tough years.”
O'Brien left Penn State for the Houston Texans in 2014. He was head coach of the franchise from 2014-20 and later coached for Alabama (2021-22) and the New England Patriots (2023) as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2024, O'Brien will have the same role at Ohio State.
Now with the Buckeyes, O'Brien, the man who kept Penn State football afloat over a decade ago, will return to Beaver Stadium on Nov. 9 — this time in an Ohio State travel suit. Even in one of the most transient professions on the planet, O'Brien's Penn State players seeing him in Buckeye attire in State College will be... odd. Still, those some players are thrilled for their former head coach.
“It’s a little bit of a plot twist, and I’ll certainly be talking trash to him at that point, and he’ll be doing the same, but that’s always been the nature of our dynamic,” Mauti said. “Nothing but respect to the highest level for him. He’s certainly got a great roster they’re putting together with a great staff. … That’s a lifetime relationship just given what we went through together.”
...
“I got yelled at every day,” [Penn State's 2012 quarterback Matt] McGloin said. “I was a guy that wanted to be coached and I wanted to be coached hard.
“Bill always said, ‘I don’t play. You play!’ He’d say if you see something, make the change, make the adjustment, make the alert, make the audible,” McGloin continued. “That took time to get that trust and respect from him to be able to do that, but he’s demanding. He expects the best out of you every day. … When it comes to getting the best out of what you have in terms of personnel and calling plays based off of who you have at that point in time and based off of positions, Bill did it better than anybody.”
...
“Now I gotta cheer against him — at least one day per year,” Mauti said. “That’s the nature of the business. At least I’ll get to see him more than I did last year.”
The more I learn about O'Brien, the more I like him. I am excited to see what he does at Ohio State and how the Buckeyes' offense can evolve with him as the team's offensive coordinator.
Put Day, O'Brien and Brian Hartline in a room and let them cook.
“HE’S A DUDE, MAN.” On Tuesday, Will Howard met with reporters for the first time since he transferred to Ohio State. While the former Kansas State quarterback discussed several topics on the Woody Hayes Athletic Center indoor practice field, the one I'll feature here involves Howard's comments on the Buckeyes' wide receivers, namely five-star freshman Jeremiah Smith.
When it comes to wide receiver talent, Howard's not in Kansas anymore. (I had to).
Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and Smith are four Ohio State pass-catchers who would be Kansas State's WR1 in 2024. I believe Howard noticed that as soon as he started winter workouts with the quartet of Buckeyes.
“The talent here is unbelievable," Howard said. "The thing that’s impressed me the most about the receiver room is how driven they are and how much they want to work. I don’t have to beg these guys to go out and go catch. They’re already out here catching on the Jugs when I go out to throw. They’re incredibly hard-working all across the room.”
When asked to share his first impression of Smith, Howard offered the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class immense praise.
“He’s a dude, man. I haven’t talked to him that much yet just because we’ve been in different groups lifting and stuff. But man, he’s a specimen,” Howard said. “I mean that dude is a freak show when it comes to physical. I’m excited to see him out on the field in live action.”
Me too, Mr. Howard. Me too.
It's wild. Ohio State loses Marvin Harrison Jr., its greatest receiver of all time, but it still has Egbuka, an All-Big Ten receiver; Tate and Inniss, two players poised for sophomore breakouts; and Smith, a made-ready freshman who could start in the season opener.
It's great to be Wide Receiver U. It really is.
(HARD TO) FOCUS MODE. Like Howard, Caleb Downs also met with reporters for the first time since he transferred to Ohio State.
When Downs entered the portal after Nick Saban retired — and let's be honest, before he entered the portal, too — Downs became da belle of da ball for Georgia and Ohio State, as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2023 class and, later, the 2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year recorded a team-best 107 tackles at Alabama last season.
However, the recruiting prowess of college football powerhouses like the Bulldogs and Buckeyes didn't stop other teams from contacting the 6-foot, 203-pound defensive back about his services.
“It was like recruiting on steroids,” Downs said of his transfer portal experience. “I got like 102 calls in one day. Well, not in one day, probably in seven or eight hours.”
Downs considered Georgia and Ohio State before he committed to Alabama out of Mill Creek High School in Hoschton, Georgia. He also had offers from... *inhales*... Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida A&M, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Stanford, Tennesee, Texas, Texas A&M, UCF and USC... *exhales*.
Think those teams (and then some) called Downs up?
Ultimately, there was a back-and-forth between Georgia and Ohio State before Downs committed to the Buckeyes. How did he make the decision with the incredible number of distractions? Downs said he went “silent” from the outside world and instead leaned on his family and friends.
“You have to go silent,” Downs said. “You have to be able to control your circle in terms of getting your opinions from people you trust and can count on. Being able to understand what the people around me were thinking.”
Now that Downs is in Columbus, he will start on a team that plans to win the College Football Playoff in 2024. The (future) sophomore standout hopes to have those plans come to fruition on Jan. 20, 2025.
"I love the program here," Downs said. "I believe in Coach Day, and I believe in this team."
SONG OF THE DAY. “In The Air Tonight” - Phil Collins.
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