Skull Session: Will Howard Says Ohio State is “Tired of Hearing How Talented We Are” and Jeremiah Smith Says He Wants to “Win Games and Win the National Championship”

By Chase Brown on July 22, 2024 at 5:00 am
Will Howard
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Carmen's Crew took care of business on Saturday. The Ohio State alumni team will face Dayton's alumni team, the Red Scare, on Monday at 8 p.m.

Word of the Day: Anticipation.

 “WE WANT TO GO OUT THERE AND PROVE IT.” Adam King of 10TV interviewed Will Howard at an NIL event on Friday. King asked the Ohio State quarterback what the program’s goals are this season and how the Buckeyes intend to meet each of them between August and January.

“I feel like if you’re not going for a national championship, then why are you doing it, especially at a program like this? We know that that is the standard for Ohio State football. We know that the expectations this year are really high because we have a lot of returning guys, a lot of older guys,” Howard said. “But as we’ve been saying, we’re tired of hearing how talented we are and how many stars everybody has and all of these different things that everyone is saying about us. We want to go out there and prove it – go out there and out-grit guys and out-tough guys because of what we’ve done this offseason with Coach Mick (Marotti).

"That’s what we want to be known for. We don’t just want to be a talented team. We want to be that tough, gritty team and outwork guys, too. That can really set us over the edge. I think we’re on the right path, and we have to keep going.”

I love Howard's answer.

However, I must admit I cringed a little when he mentioned Ohio State’s desire to win with grit and toughness – only because I am tired of the toughness discussion surrounding the Buckeyes. I don’t care if Ohio State wins “tough,” I care if Ohio State wins football games. If throwing the ball for 300 yards a game leads to victories, do that. If running the ball for 300 yards a game leads to victories, do that. 

Like Howard, I am also tired of hearing about – and writing about – how talented Ohio State is. We’ve been talking about it since January, and seven months later, I am more than ready to see the Buckeyes in action. 

Good news: Ohio State’s season opener with Akron is in 40 days.

Just six more Saturdays, Buckeye Nation. Just six more Saturdays.

 LABOR AND ITS FRUIT. King interviewed more Buckeyes than Howard on Friday. One of them was freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who – in case you haven’t heard – had an excellent winter, spring and summer at Ohio State. Nevertheless, Smith understands how much hard work remains before the 2024 season starts.

“You have guys that have been here like Emeka (Egbuka), Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss who have been here,” Smith told King. “If I have to wait my time, I’ll have to wait my time. If Marvin Harrison (Jr.) did it, why can’t I do it? It’s coming in and being the best teammate I can be and supporting them when they go out there and play.”

I admire those humble words for the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class. I also admire what he shared next.

“I come in each and every day and want to be the best player I can be. I give my all every day in practice. I show the coaches that they are able to trust me out there on Saturdays,” Smith said. “I know the pressure and hype around me is high, but I don’t feed into that. I just want to play football, win games and win the national championship.”

It’s like Ryan Day said on Big Noon Conversations two weeks ago: Ohio State’s roster is “coming together for a common purpose” this offseason. An 18-year-old freshman doesn’t share his desire to “win games and win the national championship” unless his coaches and teammates have preached that message 1,000 times behind closed doors.

That said, I believe Day when he told Joel Klatt the Buckeyes “could do something special” this season. The seeds have been planted, and now, it’s time to bear the fruit of the labor.

 “I FEEL AMAZING.” Smith mentioned Inniss when discussing the current Ohio State wide receiver room with King. That made me wonder, what’s the latest on Inniss’ recovery following his injury in spring practice? As it turned out, Joey Kaufman of The Columbus Dispatch provided an update last week:

Brandon Inniss was practicing during Ohio State’s second week of spring drills in March when he hurt his right foot. As he stopped along the sideline at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, he felt a tweak on the right side of his foot. It was not enough to sideline the sophomore wide receiver in the immediate aftermath, though later it proved difficult to manage.

“I tried practicing on it more and I just couldn’t,” Inniss said.

Inniss was diagnosed with a hairline fracture, prompting him to miss the end of spring. When the Buckeyes held their spring game in April, his foot was in a walking boot as he rode a medical scooter along the sideline at Ohio Stadium.

“Being out there doing things not at 100%, it would just make it worse,” he said.

No surgery was needed. The rest helped him to return to full strength this summer and participate in the Buckeyes’ strength and conditioning workouts and catch passes from the quarterbacks during weekend throwing sessions. 

“It recovered already 100%,” Inniss said.

His recovery was swift enough that he set personal bests while running 10 and 20-yard splits and lining up for the vertical jump.

“It definitely wasn’t easy then,” he said, “but now I feel amazing.”

Inniss arrived on campus last summer as the No. 35 overall prospect in the 2023 class. He appeared in eight games for the Buckeyes last season, scoring a 58-yard touchdown on his only catch of the season in Ohio State’s road win over Purdue.

This fall, Inniss hopes to increase that production as one of Ohio State’s top pass-catchers along with Egbuka, Tate and Smith. While his yards per catch average will be hard to top, I have complete confidence that Inniss will improve in all other areas, and deliver week in and week out for the Buckeyes. He’s too good not to!

 LET HIM COOK. Ohio State athletics lead designer Joe Gemma made me smile over the weekend. Using the Team Builder game mode in EA Sports College Football 25, Gemma created Ohio Stadium’s old field design and the Buckeyes’ old grave sleeve stripe uniforms:

Those are incredible.

So are his next creations.

In the second post, Gemma asked Ohio State fans to make requests for additional uniform designs. I’ll ask him here and now to make the uniform the Buckeyes wore for The Game in 2016, complete with the cannonball helmet. Those, and the 1942 scarlet and white alternates are uniforms I neeeeeeed in EA Sports College Football 25. 

Please and thank you, Joe.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “I Will” – The Beatles.

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