Welcome to the Skull Session.
Whose hit was better?
Denzel Denzel
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 24, 2024
The real question is who had the better celebration after the tackle! #B1GFootball x #B1GMediaDays pic.twitter.com/QHXvbx3fkZ
I'll take Denzel's...
... ba dum tssssss.
Have a good Thursday.
RIGHT PEOPLE, RIGHT SEATS. I've watched all the interviews Ryan Day completed on Tuesday – and there are a lot of them. Whether it was Day's press conference, breakout session, one-on-one with Dan Hope or appearances on Big Ten Network, SportsCenter and "Late Kick" with Josh Pate, Day shared a consistent message of what he learned this offseason: "You have to have the right people in the right seats."
"Whether it's a player, whether it's a coach or whether it's a staff member, you have to make sure you have the right people in the right seats," Day told Eleven Warriors. "And then you have to coach the heck out of them, empower them to do their job and continue to build that. I think we've done that this year. I'm excited about this group."
And he should be!
This offseason, Day added Chip Kelly, Carlos Locklyn, James Laurinaitis and Matt Guerrieri to his staff and Will Howard, Julian Sayin, Quinshon Judkins, Seth McLaughlin, Will Kacmarek and Caleb Downs to his roster.
Still, that's not what excites Day the most.
"It's the fact that so many guys decided they wanted to come back," Day said. "We've been talented in the past, but we've also been young. To lose some of these guys after three years who would go on to the NFL – not only are they bringing experience and production, but also leadership. When a guy like Paris Johnson (Jr.), Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison (Jr.) or even Luke Wypler comes out after three years, it leaves a mark. Even like Jeff Okudah. Those guys are having unbelievable NFL careers. They deserve it. I think it's great they went onto the NFL. But a lot of those guys could have been in the same boat that are on our team now. They decided they wanted to come back.
"So you see yourself as a mature group who has experience playing. I think that probably makes the biggest difference across the board. It's the number of guys that have played football and have maturity."
Talent. Experience. Maturity.
This 2024 Buckeye team has it all.
“WE’RE HERE TO WIN IT ALL.” Day, Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer and Denzel Burke represented Ohio State at Big Ten Media Days. Of those four Buckeyes, it’s no secret that Burke is the boldest when around a microphone. That was evident on Tuesday as Burke shared his desire to become the greatest cornerback in Ohio State history.
More than that, Burke said he didn’t return for another season with the Buckeyes to leave college empty-handed; he returned to win a pair of Gold Pants, a Big Ten Championship Game trophy and a College Football Playoff national championship trophy.
“Understand that I ain’t come back for no BS,” Burke said when asked to share his message to Ohio State’s locker room this offseason. “We’re here to win it all, and we’re going to need everybody. We have to hold each other accountable, and every game is a matchup game this year. No matter who we’re playing, it’s our job to take them out and dominate them.”
For Ohio State to accomplish its goals this season, Burke understands that he and his teammates will need to “win the moment,” a mindset he referenced several times during his 30-minute breakout session in Indianapolis.
“It's a blessing to be here, getting a taste of Lucas Oil Stadium, getting my feet wet and visualizing being back here at the end of the year and winning it all and putting a banner up,” Burke said. “We want to get our Gold Pants, win every single game and win a national championship. But most important is winning the moment and taking care of what's in front of you right now, and everything will take care of itself.”
“THEY HATE US, WE HATE THEM.” In the Wednesday Skull Session, I mentioned Day’s televised press conference at Big Ten Media Days – specifically the head coach’s comments that Ohio State cannot let “distractions grab our focus from what we need to do day in and day out.” (That’s what Burke described in the previous paragraph).
With a complete focus on the practice or game ahead of them, the Buckeyes can accomplish their three goals this season: beat “The Team Up North,” win a Big Ten title and win the College Football Playoff national championship.
On Tuesday, Egbuka, Sawyer, and Burke discussed how Ohio State will bounce back from three consecutive losses to Michigan. Of the three, Sawyer had the best comments on how he’s handled the defeats and used them as motivation to beat the Wolverines in 2024.
"I think for me, being the type of guy I am, I felt like I let not only Ryan Day down, but I let the city down," Sawyer said of Ohio State’s 2023 loss to Michigan. "For me, it's all about coming back, and a lot of us feel the same way, too. We weren't going to leave here without having one more shot at doing this the right way and leaving here better than what we came here for.
"I'd be lying if I told you it didn't burn a fire inside of us. It's definitely something that we think about, and we know what's at stake when we play those guys. All of our goals and aspirations for the season ride on that one game in November. They hate us, we hate them. That's the way it's got to be. That's the way we want it to be. That's what makes that rivalry so fun, and we're just looking forward to that game this year."
With the look on his face and the sound of his voice, one can tell Sawyer hates Michigan with a passion and that the fire inside him burns HOT.
ANOTHER REASON TO HATE? If I can start another section and take a tangent here (I don’t need permission – I am the author of the article), the fire inside me burned HOT on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Chargers posted a video in which Harbaugh introduced his team to fans. As the video’s narrator, Harbaugh used a phrase Ohio State fans will remember well.
sincerely, coach harbaugh pic.twitter.com/IXmJP3k3Fw
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 24, 2024
“We want to compliment all who have earned the opportunity to get here and recognize the journey traveled to now be playing at the highest level of football,” Harbaugh said. “None were born on third base but rather had to work their way to first, then second, then third.”
After he predicted that “those who produce will stay” and “those who stay will be champions,” echoing the motto Bo Schembechler introduced at Michigan in 1969, Harbaugh continued his speech.
“A piece of advice, if I may? Treat others how you would want to be treated,” Harbaugh said. “Respect that you give will be returned and then some. We’re all now on third base together, poised to bring (a championship) home.”
Whether Harbaugh’s third base analogy is another dig at Day or a figure of speech he loves to use, I am not sure. But I am sure of this: Ohio State needs to beat Michigan so Buckeye Nation can use the same analogy for Harbaugh’s hand-picked predecessor, Sherrone Moore.
Wouldn’t that be fun?
SONG OF THE DAY. "Feathered Indians" - Tyler Childers.
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