Skull Session: Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate Impress at Ohio State Practice, and Ryan Day Wants to Name His QB1 “In the First Week to 10 Days” of Preseason Camp

By Chase Brown on August 2, 2024 at 5:00 am
Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Football season is here, Buckeye Nation.

Have a good Friday.

 OBSERVATIONS. Ohio State had its first preseason practice on Thursday. I have thoughts on three Buckeyes. Allow me to share them.

Jeremiah Smith

Toward the end of practice, Will Howard dropped back to pass and scanned the field. Recognizing Jeremiah Smith had a step on Calvin-Simpson Hunt, Howard tossed the ball in his direction. The pass would have sailed over the head of most wide receivers. But Jeremiah Smith is not most wide receivers. No, the freshman leaped 10 feet in the air, snatched Howard’s pass, landed on both feet and ran 50 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.

Ladies and gentlemen, get used to moments like that from Smith in 2024.

“He had a great offseason. He did some things that freshmen haven’t done before in terms of recognition,” Day said when asked about Smith on Thursday. “We’re excited he’s out there every day. We’re all excited about it. I don’t want to get too far in front of this one, but he’s got a very bright future ahead of him.”

Carnell Tate

This offseason, Smith has been the talk of Ohio State’s wide receiver room. Yet, the Buckeyes have several other pass-catchers who deserve attention as the 2024 season approaches. One of them is Carnell Tate, who reminded Ohio State coaches, fans and media of what makes him special in Ohio State’s first preseason practice.

“The limit for Carnell is through the roof,” Day said. “I don’t think there is a limit to what he can be. He is not someone that you hear, but you feel him out there. He takes a lot of pride in his route running. He’s certainly gifted.”

Day’s compliments didn’t stop there.

“He takes pride when he gets out there, knowing exactly what he’s doing,” the head coach continued. “He comes in well-prepared. He’s tough. The guys on the team really like who he is. And he showed last year he could do it. He’s gonna have to be a major contributor for our offense this year if we’re gonna do what we want to do.”

Carson Hinzman

In the Thursday Skull Session, I named Carson Hinzman Ohio State’s Offensive Player to Watch this preseason. A few hours after that Skull Session went live, I arrived at the Woody Hayes Atletic Center and Hinzman was nowhere to be found. Knowing my prediction, I gulped. Thankfully, Day said Hinzman is expected to return to the program soon, perhaps as soon as Friday.

“He wasn’t here today because of an illness,” Day said. “We helped him. He came in and checked in, but he wasn’t feeling right. The trainers decided to hold him today. We expect him to be back out there tomorrow.”

No new Offensive Players to Watch here!

 HERE’S HOPING. In addition to his comments on Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Carson Hinzman, Day also expressed hope that Ohio State can determine its starting quarterback “in the first week to 10 days” of preseason camp.

As Dan Hope and Andy Anders mentioned in their Practice Observations, Howard looked good at the start of practice but tailed off toward the end. Devin Brown had the most consistent performance of the scholarship quarterbacks – which also include Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Air Noland – though none of his throws were memorable. 

That said, where does Ohio State stand in the competition?

Who knows. 

But Day would like to have a clearer picture soon – much sooner than the one he had at this point last season when the competition between Kyle McCord and Brown was so unclear that the battle lasted until the third game of the 2023 regular season.

“It has to happen. You can’t force it,” Day said. “Ideally, we’d like to have someone as the starter and then go into the season. How that shakes out, I’m hoping that happens in the first week to 10 days. … But we’ll see how it shakes out. I think all the guys are doing a good job. I think we’re gonna need them all, but we’d like to have that done in the first couple of weeks.”

May the best man win.

 THREE-STRAIGHT CUPCAKES. Ohio State will start the 2024 season with three straight Group of 4 teams, welcoming Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall. In a recent article for ESPN, Chris Low said that the combination of teams gives the Buckeyes the “easiest Power 4 nonconference schedule” in America.

Easiest Power 4 nonconference schedule: Ohio State

Last year, Michigan got the nod here. This year, it's Ohio State that shouldn't break a sweat in its three nonconference games, all at home against non-Power 4 opponents. The Buckeyes open the season against Akron and Western Michigan, then have a week off before facing Marshall on Sept. 21. In other words, Ohio State is already 3-0. The Buckeyes do have a brutal Big Ten schedule with road games at Oregon and Penn State and home games against Iowa and Michigan. Ohio State was originally scheduled to face new Big Ten member Washington in 2024 and 2025 but canceled that home-and-home series in 2023 and paid a $500,000 penalty to get out of those games and add an eighth home game this season.

I’ll admit – I knew Akron, Western Michigan, and Marshall were bad, but I didn’t know how bad until I looked at articles from Athlon Sports, CBS Sports, College Football Network and USA TODAY where their college football staff writers ranked all 134 FBS teams. When combining those articles, Akron’s average rank is 130, Western Michigan’s is 104 and Marshall’s is 93.

That’s bad.

That’s really, really bad.

But, as Low wrote for the Worldwide Leader, Ohio State should be 3-0 when the team completes its non-conference schedule. Also, those three wins should be blowouts, which means Ohio State can develop the depth that could prove crucial as the Buckeyes work toward their first national championship in a decade.

“It’s gonna be a long season this year. We want to maximize every single day – every meeting, every walkthrough, every practice. Today is the first day, but we know it’s gonna be a long road to the end of the season,” Day said after Ohio State’s practice on Thursday. “We have to bring it. We’re gonna do everything we can to maximize our team and play really good football down the stretch.

“When you look at the way the season is designed at the end of the year, you’re looking at four, five, six, eight games of top-10 football back-to-back-to-back. The only way to be ready for something like that is to train at a high level and challenge ourselves to be really good at both sides of the ball. Running the ball, stopping the run, taking care of the football and then being balanced in the passing game.”

 SILVER LINING. OH, MY GOD! OK! IT’S HAPPENING! EVERYBODY STAY CALM! EVERYBODY STAY CALM! STAY F— CALM!

A new Big Ten "Maps" commercial must be in the works!

Please let it be true!

EDITOR'S NOTE: IT WAS TRUE!

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Silver Lining” - Guards.

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