Skull Session: The Bucks Are Hot, Chip Kelly Calls Ohio State’s Culture “Awesome” and Eddie George Names His Mount Rushmore of Buckeyes

By Chase Brown on March 11, 2024 at 5:00 am
Scotty Middleton
Vincent Carchietta – USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State is on spring break this week. But don't worry, spring football will be back before you know it.

Have a good Monday.

 THE BUCKS ARE HOT. Following a win for Ohio State baseball in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament, pitcher Andrew Magno said, “The Bucks are hot. The Bucks are hot. You don’t like it when the Bucks are hot.” 

Five years later, we have no choice but to use the same description for THE Ohio State men’s basketball team. The program’s social media admin understood the assignment on Sunday.

That post came after Ohio State defeated Rutgers, 73-51, to end the regular season on a four-game winning streak. The Buckeyes’ 22-point win was their largest Big Ten road victory since Jan. 14, 2018 – a 68-46 shellacking of the Scarlet Knights.

Now 19-12 overall (9-11 Big Ten), the Buckeyes earned the No. 10 seed at the Big Ten Tournament. After receiving a first-round bye, Ohio State will meet No. 7-seeded Iowa in the second round. If the Buckeyes can defeat the Hawkeyes, they would face No. 2-seeded Illinois in the quarterfinals.

Call me crazy, but if the Buckeyes win both of those games, the NCAA Tournament selection committee has to put them in the Big Dance, right? … Right?

I mean, the Bucks are hot. 

Me, personally, I love it when the Bucks are hot.

I think, if the Bucks can remain hot, the selection committee should respect such hotness and allow the Jake Diebler-coached Ohio State team to participate in March Madness. And who knows? With the way Bruce Thornton, Jamison Battle and the rest of the roster are hooping right now, the Buckeyes may contribute to some of that trademark madness as the third month of the year winds down.

 “I'VE REALLY ENJOYED IT.” Who leaves Los Angeles for Columbus? Who willingly leaves a Power 5 head coaching job to be an offensive coordinator? Nobody. But Chip Kelly did both.

“I do a lot of things other people don’t do,” Kelly said last Tuesday.

When I heard the sentence, I laughed. It wasn’t one that interrupted the press conference – more like one of those nose-puff laughs that sounds like hmpf.

A minute into his first press conference as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, I already liked his demeanor. He looked comfortable and sounded refreshed. Why? Because he loves to coach football. And as a member of Ryan Day’s staff, that’s all he’ll be asked to do.

On Thursday, Kelly appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and discussed leaving UCLA for Ohio State. As he reflected on his decision, Kelly shared how much fun he expects to have with the Buckeyes’ offense and quarterbacks. He also mentioned how “awesome” it will be to work with coaches and players who love the game as much as he does:

On leaving UCLA for Ohio State

“The best part of football is football. As the game has changed at the collegiate level, the head coaching role has turned a lot more into being a CEO than a coach. And I understand that. That comes with the territory. But I was at a point in time where I could make a decision on what I wanted to do. I really enjoy coaching. I really enjoy being with the players. I really enjoy the relationships you have when you’re in the meeting room. 

“I had not been in a meeting room since 2008. I became a head coach in 2009, and as the head coach, you visit the meeting room and you’re in there, but… the head coach isn’t in the linebacker meeting. He may poke his head in there and see how everybody’s doing. … I coached the quarterbacks (in the LA Bowl) because our quarterbacks coach left to be the offensive coordinator at Oregon State, and I was in a meeting room daily for two weeks leading up to our bowl game against Boise State, and I almost forgot about how much fun that part of it is. … The opportunity to come here and just coach football and not have to do the things that a head coach is asked to do now in college football appealed to me.”

On Ohio State’s first two spring practices

“It’s been awesome. The culture that Ryan has here and the rest of the coaching staff and Mick Marotti in the weight room has been awesome. The players here have been fantastic. They love football. That’s the one thing I can tell you about being here for the short time that I’ve been here is that these players love football and this coaching staff loves football. You know what it’s like being in Ohio — football is the sport in this state. It’s awesome to be a part of something like this. I’ve really enjoyed it.”

On finding his role at Ohio State 

“The one thing about being here is that there are so many other good people in place that you don’t have to do more than your role. I got to coach the quarterbacks and work with the offense, but when you look over at practice and there’s Larry Johnson, James Laurinaitis, Jim Knowles and Tim Walton, and you look at those coaches on the defensive side and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ And I get to work with Brian Hartline and Justin Frye, Tony Alford and Keenan Bailey — everybody has a role.

“It goes back to being a good team. When everybody on a team understands what their role is, you don’t have to do more than that. … I’m excited to just do my job. I don’t need to do anything else. I don’t need to do the other things that a head coach needs to do. I just get to coach quarterbacks and be with them every day. This group of quarterbacks we have here is awesome. The fact that I get to be in a meeting room with those guys every day is pretty cool.”

I can't wait to see what Kelly can do with Ohio State's offense. I think it can and will be special. And even if it's not – I think it will be, but for the sake of the argument – Ohio State's defense will keep the Buckeyes in games, much like it did last season.

 THAT’S MUCH BETTER. In February, Justin Fields named his Mount Rushmore of Buckeyes, including Troy Smith, Ezekiel Elliott, Ted Ginn Jr. and Eddie George.

Many criticized Fields’ selections.

The largest criticism from the critics was that the former Ohio State quarterback failed to name Archie Griffin – college football’s only two-time Heisman Trophy winner – as one of the program’s four greatest players of all time.

Last week, George appeared on the Fox Sports podcast, “All Facts No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson,” and discussed several topics in an hour-long episode. George and Johnson's conversation ended with a look at Fields’ picks. The duo also named their own Mount Rushmore of Buckeyes (and, yes, both included Griffin):

Johnson: “First of all, you have to start with Archie damn Griffin. Then, you go to Eddie George. Then, you go to Orlando Pace. Then, from there, you can add whoever you want to on the fourth spot. Those are the top three dudes at Ohio State. Then, if you wanted to go Shawn Springs, Troy Smith, Zeke (Elliott) — you can do that if you want to. Because with the fourth slot, they got so many players that you could pick the fourth slot, but the top three and the three that I just named. How are you gonna miss on Archie Griffin?”

George: “The only two-time Heisman Trophy winner. I would start there. I would definitely say (Orlando) Pace. I can throw myself in there. Then I would say CC — Cris Carter. His body of work speaks for itself. He was a dog. … But CC was a dude. You can throw Terry Glenn in there. … Troy Smith is another one. Shawn Springs, you could throw in there. … Ted Ginn probably. Braxton (Miller) was exciting to watch. You gotta throw Maurice Clarrett’s name in there, too. (He played) one year, but he led them to a national championship. I think that fourth spot can be a revolving door.”

Yes. Yes. Yes.

I completely agree that Griffin, Pace and George are the three LOCKS for any and all Mount Rushmore of Buckeyes. The fourth spot, as George and Johnson said, is a “revolving door.” It could be Carter, Glenn, Springs, Clarrett, Smith, Ginn, Miller, Elliott and so many more. That's a good job out of George and Johnson for recognizing that from the start.

 THIS AND THAT. Another Skull Session, another This and That™.

You know the drill.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean was asked about the toughest players he had to defend throughout his college career. The two names that came to his mind first were Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr.

“Two that come to mind are Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. Really, all of those Ohio State guys. You know, they seem to always have good receivers. I loved those matchups (with them). Going against good receivers and being able to challenge yourself is a lot of fun.”

Speaking of good Ohio State receivers (part one), Harrison received his Biletnikoff Award over the weekend.

Speaking of good Ohio State receivers (part two), freshman five-star Jeremiah Smith has the potential to be the Buckeyes’ next generational pass-catcher. (According to Michael Thomas, he’s the “next Great One 100%”).

Over the weekend, Smith attended the Maxwell Football Club Gala and accepted his MFC National High School Player of the Year award. He also shared some advice for high school prospects looking to reach the same level he did at that level of competition.

Denzel Burke has called it: Jermaine Mathews Jr. is up next.

That's all, folks!

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