Welcome to the Skull Session.
#12 Miami vs #2 Ohio State (2010) pic.twitter.com/BUq1FOzy7D
— College Football Classics (@ClassicsCFB) May 10, 2024
Have a good Tuesday.
SONNY THE SLEEPER. Last week, ESPN college football writers named “Sleeper Picks” for each of its preseason top 25 teams. Jake Trotter selected Sonny Styles as a sleeper for the Buckeyes.
With the arrival of Alabama safety transfer and 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year Caleb Downs, the Buckeyes slid Sonny Styles from safety to linebacker this offseason. With a 39-inch vertical and 10-foot, 9-inch broad jump, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Styles now figures to be among the country's most dynamic players at the position for a defense loaded with playmakers.
Styles, a 13-game starter last season, is Ohio State’s sleeper?
That reveals a lot about how Trotter and the Worldwide Leader view the Buckeyes in 2024.
*whispers ... they know Ohio State is loaded ... whispers*
A 17-year-old freshman in 2022, Styles made nine tackles and one tackle for loss across 10 appearances for Ohio State, which included the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff semifinal game against Georgia. As a sophomore in 2023, he started the year as Ohio State’s nickel safety, but with the emergence of Jordan Hancock and the absence of Lathan Ransom, Styles later called strong safety his home. He ended the season with 53 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.
With Hancock and Ransom choosing to return for another season and Ohio State landing Downs from the transfer portal, Styles moved to linebacker this offseason and is competing with C.J. Hicks to start next to Cody Simon.
Given Styles’ position change and lack of experience as a linebacker, I can understand the reasons Trotter selected him as Ohio State’s sleeper. That, and who else could he have picked? The Buckeyes have the best running back room in America, the best wide receiver room in America, the best defensive line in America and the best secondary in America, leaving Trotter to select a quarterback, offensive lineman or linebacker. Trotter went with the third option, and I don’t blame him.
Despite learning a new position, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Styles is an athlete and playmaker. And in 2024, he’ll remind the college football world what made him a top-10 overall prospect coming out of high school three years ago.
“WE’RE NOT GOING TO LOWER THE STANDARD.” Ohio State men’s basketball last won the Big Ten regular-season championship in 2012 and the Big Ten Tournament in 2013. Although those accomplishments came over a decade ago, new head coach Jake Diebler said the Buckeyes have made them the standard as his tenure with the program starts in 2024.
“I appreciate what this program has been,” Diebler said last month. “I got to see it from an intimate spot when my brother (Jon) was here. … The standard in the program is (Big Ten titles). We’re not going to lower the standard because it’s year one.”
In 11 games as Ohio State’s interim (eight games) and full-time head coach (three games), Diebler led the program to an 8-3 record. Its wins came over eventual NCAA runner-up Purdue, Michigan State and Nebraska, among others, and its losses came to Minnesota, eventual Elite Eight qualifier Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and Georgia in the NIT quarterfinals.
This offseason, Ohio State experienced significant roster turnover. While Diebler held onto Bruce Thornton, Evan Mahaffey, Devin Royal, Taison Chatman, Kalen Etzler and Austin Parks, he lost Felix Okpara, Roddy Gayle Jr., Scotty Middleton and Zed Key to the transfer portal. The Buckeyes replaced them with transfers Meechie Johnson Jr., Aaron Bradshaw, Sean Stewart and Micah Parrish, as well as freshmen Juni Mobley Jr. and Colin White.
With the reconstruction complete (well, almost – Ohio State could still add another player or two before the season), Diebler expressed optimism about Ohio State’s chances of hanging a banner in Value City Arena this season.
“We’ll see what happens this year. Just because we talk about it doesn’t guarantee that we’re going to be able to do it,” Diebler said. “I think we have great pieces. I think we have the personnel to really take a jump this year. … That doesn’t guarantee anything, but I think for our players to know, ‘Hey, is where we want to go?’ There have to be reminders of that. It’ll be hard. We’ll face adversity.”
Adversity will come early and often this season, as Ohio State will face Texas A&M and Kentucky in its non-conference schedule. Not long after, the Buckeyes will enter a demanding Big Ten slate that includes two games against each of Indiana, Maryland and Nebraska, one home game against each of Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Oregon, Rutgers and Washington and one road game against each of Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin.
Nevertheless, Diebler said Ohio State will “not shy away” from its title expectations.
“The standard is the standard. That is competing for championships,” Diebler said. “That’s the way this program has been. It’s the way this program will be moving forward. We feel a great deal of responsibility to help push that. … That’s what we’re striving for. We will not shy away from that.”
I love Diebler’s attitude and transparency. Hopefully, this will translate to a watchable product and some winning basketball for the Buckeyes in January, February and March. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
LIKE WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN. Once in a blue moon, Manny Navarro of The Athletic will release an article where he breaks down the latest headlines in college football recruiting. Last week, Navarro discussed what he called “The Big Ten’s invasion” into the South following Nick Saban’s retirement. I thought some, if not all, readers would appreciate it:
It’s time to say the quiet part out loud: The Big Ten is starting to become a problem for the SEC on the recruiting trail.
If you haven’t been paying attention, Ohio State and Oregon have picked up some big victories in the 2025 cycle in places that are considered SEC strongholds. The most recent examples include former LSU pledge Dakorien Moore — the top receiver in the class — choosing the Ducks over Texas, LSU and Ohio State, and linebacker Riley Pettijohn selecting the Buckeyes over Texas, Texas A&M and USC. Both five-star recruits reside in Texas.
These aren’t isolated cases, either. The Buckeyes also have long-standing pledges from two of the top three cornerbacks in the class in Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord, who are from Texas and Alabama, respectively. The No. 5 receiver in the class, Dallas Wilson out of Tampa, Fla., has been committed to the Ducks since January 2023.
Ohio State has 11 top-100 commitments, while Oregon has four. Alabama and Georgia lead the SEC with six each.
Normally, a few wins by out-of-towners in SEC territory wouldn’t be viewed as a big deal. But the SEC and Big Ten have the same amount of five-star commitments in the 2025 class, and the battle for top-100 recruits is a lot closer than it was last cycle. In the Class of 2024, the SEC signed 25 of the 37 five-stars and 52 top-100 recruits. The Big Ten, meanwhile, signed five five-stars and 25 top-100 prospects. In this cycle, the SEC has seven five-stars and 31 top-100 commits, while the Big Ten has seven five-stars and 20 top-100 commits.
Oh, I love to see the SEC lose. I really do.
Over the next few weeks, Ohio State could deliver a few more blows to SEC schools as it continues its William Tecumseh Sherman raid of the South. On July 21, four-star Florida wide receiver Vernell Brown will choose between Ohio State, Florida, Florida State and Miami. On Aug. 17, five-star North Carolina offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. will choose between Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia and Nebraska. On Aug. 30, five-star Florida wide receiver Jaime Ffrench will choose between Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Tennessee and Texas.
While all three prospects would be considered notable victories for the Buckeyes, the program needs Sanders to commit – badly.
“I feel like If OHIO STATE doesn’t get DAVID SANDERS JR., I-I-I-I feel like — that’s it, like, I might, I might… like, I might die.”
IT LIVES UP TO THE HYPE. Before the Skull Session ends, I want to commend Eleven Warriors recruiting analyst Garrick Hodge for his work on our EA Sports College Football 25 review. While, yes, Garrick's assignment was to play a video game all weekend (fun!), he also wrote a 2,400-word article and created a 14-minute YouTube video for our readers (not so fun!). All in all, he did an excellent job.
ICYM, here is Garrick's review:
SONG OF THE DAY. "Real Love Baby" - Father John Misty.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Amazon Prime Day deals are almost here. Should you take advantage of them?... Scientists have confirmed a cave on the moon that could be used to shelter future explorers... World’s rarest whale may have washed up on New Zealand beach, possibly shedding clues on species... Columbus debuted its first beer vending at Land-Grant Brewing. That's right: Beer. Vending. Machine... For the 107th year, the Franklin County Fair brings rides, food and more.
