Welcome to the Skull Session.
There will be no spring practice for Ohio State on Wednesday, but the Buckeyes will be back to work tomorrow.
You love to see it.
Spring ball is pic.twitter.com/tYR7YZqxej
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 5, 2024
Have a good Wednesday.
THE DIFFERENCE-MAKER. Ohio State opened its spring practice with expectations and pressure as high as they’ve ever been.
The Buckeyes’ roster – a combination of returners, transfer additions and a handful of instant-impact freshmen – is loaded with talent in 2024, and Ryan Day wants to (needs to?) capitalize on that talent with a win over Michigan, a Big Ten championship and a national title this fall. The road to accomplishing those feats started on Tuesday.
“We had good energy out there,” Day said in a press conference after practice. “No pads, but it was good to see a bunch of guys running around. It was a continuation of the offseason, which I thought was excellent. You could see guys moving around with a purpose.”
Purpose will be an important word for Day and the Buckeyes this season.
For Ohio State’s talent to be maximized, Day and his staff know that their players must excel in what the head coach calls “no-talent issues.”
“You look at the guys. You see the potential. That gets you really excited,” Day said. “But for as much talent as we have, it will be the no-talent issues that actually help us win and reach our goals. So that’s been the focus now. And so once we get on the field, that’s what we focus on. It isn’t seeing Jeremiah (Smith) run a go-ball. That’s great, but it’s the discipline of knowing what to do. It’s the focus, it’s running to the ball, it’s effort, energy. It’s all the things that take no talent. So that’s gonna be the focus.
“It’s not about the talent anymore. That was about the last couple of months. Now, we need to acquire the skill and discipline it’s gonna take to reach our goals.”
This is a great mindset for Ohio State to adopt.
As Chip Kelly noted when he took the podium after Day, Ohio State’s talent does not guarantee them a championship. Neither does discipline, for that matter. But the combination of both? That gives the Buckeyes the best chance to win it all.
“This is a very talented team,” Kelly said. “But it’s the non-talented things that are gonna help this team win. It’s the discipline development and the skill development we’re gonna have this spring that will be the difference-maker because there are a lot of talented teams out there (that don’t have discipline).”
Here’s to 14 more practices of developing discipline, Buckeye Nation.
THIS TIME NEXT YEAR... Ryan Day is one of the top coaches in college football, but where would he rank when compared to all 134 FBS coaches? This week, Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic ranked the Buckeyes’ program leader among his peers when naming their top 25 coaches in the sport.
Here are the top 10s for Feldman and Mandel:
Bruce Feldman
No. 1 Kirby Smart, No. 2 Dabo Swinney, No. 3 Lance Leipold, No. 4 Kalen DeBoer, No. 5 Ryan Day, No. 6 Brian Kelly, No. 7 James Franklin, No. 8 Kyle Whittingham, No. 9 Lincoln Riley, No. 10 Mike Norvell
The Buckeyes are coming off a rough year by their sky-high standards. They had to replace C.J. Stroud and a pair of NFL offensive tackles but still started 11-0 with top-10 wins against Notre Dame and Penn State before losing a close one to Michigan and getting shut down by Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Things are especially tense in Columbus now that Ohio State has lost three in a row to the hated Wolverines, but Day has the Buckeyes primed to make a national title run. The 44-year-old’s record is jaw-dropping: 56-8 and 39-3 in the Big Ten. He’s had three top-four finishes in the postseason AP poll. Last season was his worst as a head coach, and Ohio State still finished No. 10. Overall, he’s 18-8 against Top 25 opponents and 10-7 in top-10 games.
Stewart Mandel
No. 1 Kirby Smart, No. 2 Lance Leipold, No. 3 Kalen DeBoer, No. 4 Mike Norvell, No. 5 Kyle Whittingham, No. 6 Brian Kelly, No. 7 Ryan Day, No. 8 Dabo Swinney, No. 9 Mike Gundy, No. 10 Jamey Chadwell
Normally a guy who’s taken his team to the CFP in three of his five seasons and is a staggering 39-3 in Big Ten play would be the no-brainer No. 2 guy on this list. But because those three losses have come the last three seasons to Michigan, the most important game on his team’s schedule, I can’t justify a top-5 ranking, even with his .875 winning percentage.
Ryan Day at fifth and seventh?
Sure. Whatever.
When Feldman and Mandel revealed their top 25 college football coaches in March 2023, I questioned Penn State head coach James Franklin being ranked above Day in both articles. because it was (and still would be) an awful, awful take. However, since Feldman and Mandel came to their senses and knocked Franklin down some spots in their March 2024 reveal, I have little to no quarrels with their rankings – neither with Day’s ranking nor the ranking of other coaches featured on the list.
The reason for that is simple.
As I mentioned in a Skull Session in February, there are three active FBS coaches who have won a national championship: Smart (2021, 2022), Swinney (2016, 2018) and Mack Brown (2005). If Ohio State wins the College Football Playoff this season, that would make Day a top-three coach in the sport, minimum.
Me, personally? I think it would be cool if the Buckeyes won it all this January. I would like that a lot, and I hope for nothing more than to see Day’s name mentioned among the best head coaches in college football in March 2025.
THE ALL-TIMERS. This week, David Hale of ESPN revealed his “All-Time CFP-Era Roster,” which really just translates to his top college football players of the past decade since the College Football Playoff started 10 years ago in 2014.
Hale called creating the team “a near impossible challenge,” understanding the CFP era has been full of superstars at all 22 offensive and defensive positions. Still, Hale took his best shot and identified players based on performances “so essential to the fabric of college football” that “the story of the four-team playoff era couldn’t be told without them.”
Two of the players Hale selected were Buckeyes. They were Marvin Harrison Jr. and Chase Young.
Wide Receiver - Marvin Harrison Jr. lines up with DeVonta Smith
Here's a truly wild stat about Smith's illustrious Alabama career: In 2020, he came three touchdowns shy of doubling his total from the season before, which as it turned out was double the previous season, which was also double his freshman season. He went from three in 2017 to six in 2018 to 14 in 2019 to 25 in 2020. Had COVID-19 not cut Alabama's season short by two games, he might well have done it. All he was left with was the twin consolation prizes of a Heisman Trophy and a national championship.
Smith is the easy choice. Who garners the second receiver spot is much tougher. Ja'Marr Chase was a superstar at LSU and was, arguably the most dangerous playmaker on the most explosive offense of all time in 2019. Dede Westbrook racked up 80 catches, 1,524 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2016 and dropped just one pass all season. Oklahoma State's James Washington finished his career with nearly 4,500 yards and 39 touchdown grabs. Jordan Addison, Tee Higgins, Amari Cooper, Justin Jefferson -- the list goes on and on. Indeed, Ohio State alone could offer its share of viable options, with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all blossoming into first-round NFL draft picks (and four others going in the second round in the playoff era), but we're going with the Buckeyes' most recent superstar.
Harrison and Smith are the only two Power 5 receivers with multiple seasons in the playoff era in which they caught 60 balls for at least 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns. The son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver, Harrison was clearly the best player on the field for Ohio State's offense in each of the past two seasons -- a resounding statement given the sheer level of talent around him. He'll add to the Buckeyes' track record of churning out top draft picks at the position next month, too.
Defensive End - Chase Young lines up with Myles Garrett
Young had an exceptional sophomore season in 2018, racking up 10.5 sacks — including 3 in the Big Ten title game — 14.5 tackles for loss and 9 QB hurries, all while battling ankle injuries. And if that had been the high point, he'd be in the discussion of best pass-rushers of the era. But what came next was arguably the best performance by a 4-3 edge rusher of the past decade.
In 2019, Young racked up 16.5 sacks — tops in FBS -— to go with 21 tackles for loss, 7 QB hurries, 3 pass breakups and a whopping 6 forced fumbles. His pressure rate of 19% was also best in the nation among players with at least 200 pass rush attempts, and he racked up 28 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. With Young on the field, opposing quarterbacks faced pressure 46% of the time -- on non-blitz plays. In other words, few players of the playoff era dictated the action quite like Young did as a junior at Ohio State.
Garrett arrived at Texas A&M as arguably the best prospect in the country in 2014, and it took him just six games to set the school's freshman record for sacks. He finished the year with 11.5 sacks and 10 QB hurries and was named a freshman All-American. As a sophomore, Garrett improved, racking up 19.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and an interception en route to All-America honors. By his junior season, it was clear Garrett was perhaps the best NFL prospect in college football, and he was easily the most feared pass-rusher. Although injuries limited him throughout the season, he still finished with 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 10 QB hurries. Garrett is one of just 10 Power 5 defensive linemen of the playoff era to record multiple seasons of 10 sacks or more, and had he been fully healthy as a junior, he almost certainly would have made it three. Nevertheless, the Cleveland Browns took him with the first overall pick of the 2017 draft, and he has since become one of the NFL's best pass-rushers.
Honorable Mentions
- Quarterback J.T. Barrett
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott
- Running back J.K. Dobbins
- Center Pat Elflein
- Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
- Defensive end Joey Bosa
- Defensive tackle Michael Bennett
- Safety Malik Hooker
- Cornerback Jeff Okudah
I agree with most of Hale’s decisions on the all-time CFP-era roster.
Joe Burrow at quarterback? Check. Smith and Harrison at wide receiver? Check. Brock Bowers at tight end? Check. Young and Garrett at defensive end? Check. I could continue down the list, and there would be a lot of checks. However, you may have noticed that I skipped over the running back position.
That was intentional.
Hale selected running backs Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor to his all-time CFP era roster. I would have selected Henry and Elliott. Yes, I am biased (sue me!). But one doesn’t need bias to understand how impressive Elliott was in three seasons at Ohio State or how crucial his performances were to the Buckeyes winning the inaugural CFP in 2014.
From 2013-15, Elliott collected 3,961 rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns across 35 appearances for the Buckeyes. His former total is the third-most in Ohio State history behind Archie Griffin and J.K. Dobbins, while the latter total is the fourth-most behind Pete Johnson, Keith Byars and Eddie George.
“Zeke” became an Ohio State legend in 2014 when he put together the greatest individual three-game stretch in program history (dare I say college football history?) and carried the Buckeyes to the national title. Elliott ran for 220 yards and two touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, 230 yards and two touchdowns in the CFP semifinal game against Alabama and 246 yards and four touchdowns in the CFP final against Oregon.
Elliott followed up his 1,878-yard, 18-touchdown season in 2014 with 1,821 yards and 23 scores in 2015, becoming the only Buckeye to ever rush for 1,800 yards in multiple seasons. He later won the Sullivan Award as America’s top amateur athlete and the Silver Football as the Big Ten’s MVP in 2015.
All of that, to me, makes Elliott worthy of a spot on the all-time CFP era roster.
But what do I know?
HISTORIC RATINGS. Ohio State fell to Iowa, 93-83, on Sunday, which is no fun. However, the Buckeyes were a part of women’s college basketball history in their final regular-season game, which is lots of fun.
According to Fox Sports PR, Ohio State-Iowa attracted an average audience of 3.39 million and a peak audience of 4.42 million last weekend. The Big Ten matchup between the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes was the most-watched women’s college basketball regular-season game ever on FOX — and the most for any network since 1999.
Sundays Ohio State-Iowa game ft. Caitlin Clarks record-breaking performance scored 3.39 million viewers on FOX
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) March 5, 2024
Most-watched reg season WCBB game on any net since 1999
Most-watched WCBB game in FOX Sports history
Viewership peaked at 4.42 million viewers from 3-3:14 PM ET pic.twitter.com/GvTtjlmCSd
A couple of factors contributed to the large audience.
First and foremost, Iowa guard Caitlin Clark entered the game needing 18 points to break “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s record of 3,6677 career points, which stood for over 50 years. With a second-quarter free throw (awarded due to a nonsense technical foul on Cotie McMahon, I must add), Clark became the top-scoring player – man or woman – in NCAA basketball history.
The second was that Ohio State-Iowa was an excellent game.
The last time the programs met, the Buckeyes defeated the Hawkeyes, 100-92, in Columbus (which also drew historic viewership). This time around, Ohio State traveled to Iowa City as the second-best team in the AP Poll, while Iowa entered the contest as the sixth-best team. The on-court product for both squads was evidence of their strength, as both the Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes traded punches until the latter pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
A lot of dominoes would need to fall, but Ohio State and Iowa could meet two more times before the end of 2023-24. The Buckeyes are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and the Hawkeyes are the No. 2 seed, setting up a potential meeting between the squads in Sunday’s championship game. Current bracket projections from ESPN and The Athletic also have Ohio State and Iowa in regions that would face off in the Final Four in Cleveland.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” - Pat Benatar.
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