Skull Session: Ohio State Has Some Famous Alumni, PFF Ranks Five Silver Bullets As Top 10 Returners at Their Position and Gene Smith Shares Wisdom With Ohio State Football

By Chase Brown on March 28, 2024 at 5:00 am
Jack Nicklaus
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Happy belated Air Max Day to all who celebrate.

Have a good Thursday.

 FAMOUS ALUMNI HERE! Ohio State has produced several famous graduates since the university’s inception in 1870. Some are famous for their contributions to American history. Others are for their athletic prowess, musical achievement or business acumen. This week, Nathan Hart of The Columbus Dispatch featured the names of over a dozen famous graduates in an article:

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens was a track and field athlete who gained international attention after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Owens, a Black man, "rebuked Hitler's race theory" when he took home the medals while Nazism was on the rise in Germany, according to Owens' website.

Owens was also responsible for "the greatest 45 minutes in sports" when he set three world records and tied another at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1935. Owens attended OSU from 1933-1936 but never finished his degree. He was later awarded an honorary doctorate of athletic arts in 1972.

Urban Meyer

Urban Meyer is a college and NFL football coach, most well-known for his six-year stint as Ohio State University's head football coach. During his time there, the Buckeyes went 7-0 against Michigan, won the first NCAA playoff championship, and went 54-4 in Big Ten games. He is currently an on-air analyst at FOX Sports. He earned a master's degree in sports administration from OSU in 1988.

Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus is a retired professional golfer considered by many to be one of the greatest golfers of all time, if not the greatest. According to his company's website, he has 73 official tour victories and 118 total victories around the world. He is also the founder of Nicklaus Design, a golf course construction and design company. Nicklaus attended OSU for three and a half years without receiving a degree, but he was later awarded an honorary degree in 1972.

George Steinbrenner

George Steinbrenner was a Cleveland shipping magnate and owner of the New York Yankees for 37 years. Commonly referred to as "The Boss," he was known for his hands-on managerial style and frequent firings (and sometimes hirings and re-firings). He was also famously portrayed by Larry David on Seinfeld. Steinbrenner graduated from OSU with a master's degree in physical education in 1955.

Chase Brown

Chase Brown is an Ohio State athletics beat reporter for Eleven Warriors. Known for his superb Skull Sessions, Brown keeps 11W readers in the know with Ohio State football and basketball news, sharing his opinion on the sports while incorporating references to television shows and movies few people have seen or care about. He also writes an Olympic sports article called “Around the Oval,” which he wishes more people would read, and completes other miscellaneous tasks for the website. Brown graduated from Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2022.

Bobby Knight

Bobby Knight was a college basketball coach most known for his 29 years coaching the Indiana University Hoosiers. He also coached the USA men's Olympic basketball in 1984, bringing home a gold medal. When he retired in 2008, he had over 902 wins and three NCAA championships. He graduated from OSU in 1962.

Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis was a groundbreaking stand-up comedian, writer and actor known for his neurotic, dark comedy style. He also played a recurring character on Curb Your Enthusiasm, an HBO comedy show run by Lewis's longtime friend, Larry David. He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from OSU in 1969. An avid Buckeye fan for decades, Lewis died of a heart attack on Feb. 27, 2024.

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Clown with soldiers meme

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No, The Columbus Dispatch did not have my name on its list.

Yes, I included myself.

No, I do not actually consider myself a famous alum. 

I’m jokin’! I’m jokin’!

Owens, Meyer, Nicklaus, Steinbrenner, Knight and Lewis – now those are some famous Ohio State alumni. Some other names Hart featured were author R.L. Stine, radio host Alan Freed, actress Patricia Heaton, singer Gary LeVox, artist Roy Lichtenstein, United States Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay and software developer Larry Sanger.

 THE BEST OF THE BEST. Ohio State possessed one of the best defenses in America in 2023 as the Buckeyes ranked in the top three in passing defense, scoring defense and total defense across 13 games. Ohio State also ranked second in stop rate, a measurement of how often a defense’s drives end in punts, turnovers or turnovers on downs for the opponent's offense.

This offseason, seven defensive starters including Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom chose to return for another season. Their decisions, as well as Ohio State's addition of Alabama transfer Caleb Downs, created massive excitement – and massive expectations – for the Silver Bullets in 2024.

This week, Sawyer, Tuimoloau, Williams, Burke and Downs appeared in separate articles from Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus in which Chadwick ranked the top 10 returning players at every defensive position in college football.

Here is where each of those Buckeyes appeared in their respective top 10s:

Defensive End

No. 3 - Jack Sawyer

Sawyer was arguably the most well-rounded edge defender in the nation this past year. He was the only FBS edge to earn 85.0-plus grades both as a pass rusher and as a run defender. Among returning Power Five edge defenders, only Tennessee's James Pearce Jr. was more valuable in 2023, according to PFF's wins above average metric. Sawyer’s game is centered on his power profile at 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds. If the former top-five recruit can add more pass-rushing moves to his arsenal in his senior season, he can climb even further up this list.

No. 8 - JT Tuimoloau

Tuimoloau and teammate Jack Sawyer share many things in common besides both playing for Ohio State. They each were top-five overall recruits in the 2021 high school class and both made the surprising decision to return to Columbus despite being projected as Day 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. Sawyer places much higher on this list because he was more dependable this past season. Tuimoloau’s 74.5 grade only tied for 58th among Power Five edge defenders. The year before, though, he was among the 20 best Power Five edges in pass-rushing grade (83.0). At 270 pounds, Tuimoloau has the sheer strength to overpower tackles but also excellent agility for someone his size. He can single-handedly win games (2022 versus Penn State); he just needs to flash that dominance more consistently.

Defensive Tackle

No. 5 - Tyleik Williams

Williams flashed in a rotational role for Ohio State’s defensive line as a sophomore in 2022, earning an 82.4 PFF grade. He became a full-time starter this past season and tied for fourth among Power Five interior defensive linemen with 26 run-defense stops. Among returning Power Five defensive tackles since 2022, Williams is the fourth-most valuable according to our wins above average metric. He’s a cerebral player who always knows where the running back is going. Despite playing at just 290 pounds in 2023, Williams was able to stack and shed offensive linemen at a high level. He’s now listed at 327 pounds, so that area of his game could improve by leaps and bounds. It remains to be seen how that’ll affect him as a pass-rusher though, as he earned just a 68.4 PFF grade in that respect last season.

Cornerback

No. 7 - Denzel Burke

Burke was one of many draft-eligible Buckeyes who decided to return to Columbus for another season. The junior dominated when he was left on an island in 2023. Burke allowed a catch on only 19.1% of his targets in single coverage, the eighth-best rate among FBS cornerbacks. Of those 21 targets in single coverage, Burke made more plays on the ball (six combined interceptions and forced incompletions) than he allowed catches (five). Burke has the length and speed required to cover receivers one-on-one and will be the veteran leader in a young but talented Ohio State secondary.

Safety

No. 1 - Caleb Downs

Downs is the first rising sophomore to lead one of PFF’s position rankings since Brock Bowers topped the tight ends list heading into the 2022 season. Unlike Bowers, Downs will try to build off his stellar true freshman campaign at a new school, transferring to Ohio State from Alabama in January. He entered Tuscaloosa as the highest-rated safety recruit since Derwin James Jr. in 2015 and immediately showed why. The true freshman was named a first-team PFF All-American and was second among Power Five safeties with 16 coverage stops. His 88.9 PFF coverage grade ranked third among that same group. Downs has no glaring weaknesses in his game, which is ridiculous considering he’s not even a year removed from his senior prom. He’ll surely be joining his older brother, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs, in the NFL in a couple of years. In fact, he’d likely be the first safety off the board next month if he was in this year’s class.

I have no grievances about Sawyer and Tuimoloau's placement on the defensive end list, nor do I have grievances about Williams’ placement at defensive tackle or Downs’ placement at safety. However, I have a complaint about where PFF ranked Burke among the top cornerbacks in college football. The complaint? Burke is a top-two cornerback in the sport, and he’s not two. OK, he may be two. Will Johnson is legit, even if he represents “That Team Up North.”

Still, PFF expects me to believe that there are five other cornerbacks better than Burke?

No, no, no.

Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame), Sebastian Castro (Iowa), Tacario Davis (Arizona), Travis Hunter (Colorado) and Jabbar Muhammad are all great, but I’ll take Burke seven days a week and twice on Saturdays.

 SILVER BULLETS OF THE DAY. While PFF ranked Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Denzel Burke and Caleb Downs among its top 10 returners at each defensive position, there are dozens of other Buckeyes who could become impact performers for Ohio State’s defense in 2024.

Since the start of spring football, Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has featured some of them on his social media, where he has named a collection of Buckeyes the “Silver Bullet Of The Day” for four of the team’s first six practices.

Denzel Burke

Arvell Reese

JT Tuimoloau

Jermaine Mathews Jr.

PFF mentioned Burke and Tuimoloau’s production and accolades above, so it would be redundant to repeat them here. However, it’s worth looking at the impact Reese and Mathews made for the Buckeyes as freshmen in 2023.

A four-star linebacker out of Glenville High School in Cleveland, Reese arrived on campus last June. In 2023, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound athlete practiced at both linebacker and defensive end, though he never earned snaps at either position in the regular season or Cotton Bowl. Instead, Reese made appearances in six games on special teams, recording 54 snaps on kickoff and punt return coverage.

Despite his lack of playing time as a freshman, Knowles and Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis believe Reese can contribute at linebacker in 2024, adding depth behind Cody Simon, Sonny Styles, C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers.

“I think he can be a great linebacker,” Knowles said after Ohio State's third spring practice. “He just needs growth and learning. I would like to continue to grow Arvell mentally and in football intelligence at the linebacker position. Will there be a role for him this year? I don't know. ... When you get to the season, that's a guy you can always create something for.”

Mathews was Ohio State’s top freshman last season, appearing in 12 games and making one start in the Buckeyes’ Week 10 win over Rutgers. The Cincinnati native recorded 194 snaps at cornerback, collecting 13 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception, which he returned 58 yards for a touchdown late in the Buckeyes’ Week 3 win over Western Kentucky.

“He’s taken a great step forward,” Ohio State cornerback coach Tim Walton said last week. “He’s the next guy up, man. He’s been extremely important in the growth of our secondary because now we’ve worked him inside some, (and) he’s played outside at both corner spots. He’s got that ‘it’ factor, you know what I mean? We look at what he brings – the energy, the competitiveness – and we’ve gotta build off last year and expand the role for him.”

Question: Will the 2024 Ohio State defense be one of the greatest defenses ever? Let me know what you think in the comments.

 BETTER TO GET WISDOM THAN GOLD. Last week, former Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins visited the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for the football program's “Real Life Wednesdays” session and shared some of his wisdom with the Buckeyes.

This week, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith did the same.

“From a leadership standpoint, it's 'How am I leading myself? How am I making sure that I'm doing what I have to do in order to help me be the best that I can be to help this team?'” Smith said in a video posted to Ohio State's X account.

What other wisdom Smith offered to the Buckeyes, I am not sure.

However, I am sure that Smith knows what it's like to be part of a team.

From 1973-76, Smith was a defensive end at Notre Dame, and from 1977-80, he was a graduate assistant and special teams coach for the Irish under head coach Dan Devine. Over the next 40 years (and change), Smith used his experiences in South Bend to shape his career in athletics, which led him to become an athletic director at Eastern Michigan (1986-93) to Iowa State (1993-2000), Arizona State (2000-05) and Ohio State. Smith will retire in June 2024 after 19 years with the Buckeyes.

He's had one helluva career in Columbus, and there's still three months to go!

 SONG OF THE DAY. “I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)” - The Proclaimers.

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