Welcome to the Skull Session.
You made it to another Friday.
Make it a good one.
SEVENTH-BEST IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL?! Three weeks ago, EA Sports ranked Ohio Stadium as the fourth-toughest environment in college football behind Kyle Field (Texas A&M), Bryant-Denny Stadium (Alabama) and Tiger Stadium (LSU). Most Eleven Warriors readers agreed with the list. However, would those same readers agree that the Horseshoe is the seventh-best stadium in college football?
I doubt it!
From the Worldwide Leader in Sports:
Whether you're a fan of Death Valley (the orange-and-white version or the purple-and-gold), Touchdown Jesus or just playing between the hedges, you understand the unique experience college football stadiums provide. We asked 14 of our college football writers to rank the best stadiums in the sport. No parameters, no criteria. Writers were asked to submit their top 20 stadiums in order. We then awarded points: 20 for first-place votes, 19 for second and all the way down to 1 point for a stadium voted No. 20.
First came Tiger Stadium, then came the Rose Bowl, Michigan Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium, Beaver Stadium (Penn State) and Husky Stadium (Washington). And then, at long last, Ohio Stadium – all the way down at No. 7.
Arguably no college football stadium is more synonymous with its original shape than Ohio Stadium. The venue opened in 1922 as the nation's first horseshoe-shaped stadium with double decks. Architect Howard Dwight Smith went with a horseshoe shape to accommodate track events in the open end, and so that all seats could face the field. The stadium is famously "on the banks of the Olentangy River," as legendary college football announcer Keith Jackson would say, but a bend in the river had to be straightened to accommodate the venue, and natural drainage was rerouted into sewers. Although "The Horseshoe" has been filled in by a grandstand behind the south end zone, Ohio Stadium will forever be known by its original shape. Before each game, the band famously performs Script Ohio, culminating with the dotting of the "i."
Adam Rittenberg
It’s hard to beat Death Valley. It’s even harder to beat the Grandaddy of Them All. But please, oh please, ESPN (and all other college football outlets), never place Ohio Stadium behind Michigan Stadium and Beaver Stadium. (I’m fine with Husky Stadium – that venue looks incredible, and I would like to go sometime).
The Big House is a Big Bowl, and Beaver Stadium needs $700 million in renovations. The Horseshoe is better in all aspects.
Period.
BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL. Including Alabama transfer safety Caleb Downs, the Buckeyes have nine returning starters on defense this season with defensive linemen Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton and defensive backs Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock and Lathan Ransom. That leaves the Sam and Will linebackers as the two positions where Ohio State will have first-time starters in 2024; Cody Simon and either C.J. Hicks or Sonny Styles will fill those roles.
While Simon has made 42 appearances in four seasons at Ohio State, collecting 147 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, four pass breakups and one interception, he lacks considerable experience as a front-line defender. It’s same-same but different for Styles, who has made 23 appearances and 13 starts in two seasons for the Buckeyes, recording 62 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and one pass breakup as a defensive back. That’s experience, but not linebacker experience. Last but not least, Hicks has seldom seen the field in two seasons and has 14 tackles and one tackle for loss in 15 appearances.
Given the uncertain nature of the Ohio State linebacker position following the departures of All-Big Ten defenders Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers, Pro Football Focus ranked the Buckeyes No. 10 in their list of the top linebacker rooms in college football.
After learning that ranking, Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis used it as “Bulletin Board Material” this offseason, Hicks told Bobby Carpenter and Joshua Perry over the weekend.
“The PFF grades came out and ranked all the linebackers. Coach Laurinaitis put it up on the board,” Hicks explained. “I think we were No. 10 in the country. He said, ‘By the end of the season, we need to be top three,’ but all the linebackers were like, ‘No, we need to be No. 1.’ We all know what we are capable of doing. We all know that we are versatile. We all can run. We all can hit. We all are smart. We all can stop the run. But we all need to jell together and come together.
“Coach Laurinaitis has been doing a good job rotating guys. You got me out there with Arvell (Reese). You got Sonny out there with Gabe (Powers). You got Cody out there with Sonny. Whoever is out there, we are making sure we are talking with each other and comfortable with each other so we are on the same page before the ball is snapped.”
When asked how good he thinks Ohio State’s defense can be this season, Hicks didn’t hold back.
“The linebacker room can be the best in the nation. The defense can be the best in the nation,” he said. “Our goal is that no team will score a touchdown on us all season. Why not blow everyone out? Why not score points? If the offense struggles, why can’t we score points on defense? The defense controls the whole aspect of the game. Our mindset now is stopping the run, stopping the pass, stopping (the offense) from scoring touchdowns and forcing turnovers.”
You heard the man.
No touchdowns allowed this season.
None!
TED CARTER. This week, Ohio State president Ted Carter made an appearance with the Columbus Metropolitan Club. Seated next to Matt Barnes of NBC4, Carter raised two questions about the future of college athletics.
“Will student-athlete be a phrase anymore?” he asked. “Are they just going to be farm system professionals?”
Provided a federal judge approves a legal settlement of three antitrust cases against the NCAA, colleges and universities will begin sharing revenue with their athletes next year. In June, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told The Dispatch the school has prepared plans for when the process starts. Though it is not mandatory, Ohio State will share 22% of its revenue (media deals, sponsorships and ticket sales) with its athletes. Those payments would reach around $22 million in 2025 and would increase year after year, Bjork said.
“We are leading in a lot of those areas,” Carter said on Wednesday. “But, you know, when you look at somebody getting more than $2 million as a five-star quarterback, is that right when an offensive lineman might get $100,000 in NIL if anything? Let alone talk about a lacrosse player, a pistol shooter or a synchronized swimmer. There’s a fairness level to all of this.”
Carter believes college athletics and college education should remain connected moving forward, sharing that he doesn’t “ever want to give up on the student-athlete concept.”
“What does the model look like when Ross has to figure out how to apportion $21 million starting in 2026?” Carter asked. “That’s a rough number, don’t hold me to that. By the way, that’s going to go up to probably closer to $31 million in just a couple of years. And yeah, we’re going to get more revenue from Big Ten media. Yes, we’re going to do well because our fans come and support us. But I guarantee you, at the end of the day, if we hold onto the idea of student-athletes, we’ll still be able to recruit all 36 of our sports even if we don’t have scholarships.”
No matter what the model looks like, Carter is confident Ohio State will be “a big voice in this conversation” surrounding NIL and revenue sharing.
“It’s going to be an exciting time,” Carter said. “It’s going to be a time of change. And we’re going to have to be ready to lead in it.”
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. You think I would write an entire Skull Session and not write about the massive BOOM that occurred in Columbus on Thursday?
No, no, no.
I had to, and I will.
Four-star Jarquez Carter became the sixth defensive lineman to commit to Ohio State and Larry Johnson in the 2025 class.
#BOOM Ohio State lands its sixth defensive lineman for the 2025 class with the commitment of four-star defensive tackle Jarquez Carter. https://t.co/lZ6NClZZNE
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 18, 2024
At 6-foot-2, 284 pounds, Carter describes himself as a defensive tackle that's "kind of like an Aaron Donald." That tells me he'll resemble Mike Hall Jr., whose teammates called him "Baby Aaron Donald" in his three seasons with the Buckeyes.
Last season at Newberry High School, Carter collected 67 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, nine sacks and 15 quarterback hurries while leading the Panthers to a 9-3 record. Two seasons ago, he recorded 78 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, eight quarterback hits, two pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Is that good?
As Garrick Hodge wrote in his commitment piece for Carter, the defensive tackle will need a year or two in Columbus before he becomes a core member of Johnson's defensive line rotation. However, he has obvious tools to become a consistent contributor for the Rushmen during his Ohio State career.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Strangers in the Night" - Frank Sinatra.
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