Skull Session: "BIA" is Not a Slogan For Ohio State's Secondary, Marvin Harrison Jr. Thinks He's WR1 in Ohio State History and It's Two Statues for Two-Time Heisman Trophy Winner Archie Griffin

By Andy Anders on August 19, 2024 at 5:00 am
Davison Igbinosun
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Welcome to Skull Session.

Your friendly neighborhood Andy filling in while your usual skull session savant, Chase, takes some well-deserved rest and recovery.

Hoping everyone's Monday blues turn into white smiles.

 BIA: NOT A SLOGAN. Ohio State's secondary is going to be extraordinarily good in 2024.

Since the days of Kerry Coombs (the elite recruiter and developer of cornerbacks in the mid-2010s, not the later version who put Ohio State's defense in a two-year dark age as coordinator), the Buckeyes' defensive backfield has been known as "BIA," or Best in America.

In 2021, the last year of Coombs' DC tenure, that moniker held less weight than ever as Ohio State finished 97th in passing defense nationally, surrendering 246.2 yards per game. But these days it feels less like a nickname and more like a statement of fact, and starting corner Davison Igbinosun has been reminding the people at every turn.

"Best in America is not a slogan," Igbinosun said.

The numbers back him up on that. I've written in countless stories this offseason that Ohio State had the nation's No. 1 passing defense in 2023, yielding a meager 145.9 yards per game to opposing passing attacks – you'll note that's a full 100 yards fewer per game than a mere two years prior under Coombs.

But passing yards per game can be inflated. After all, Ohio State plays in the Big Ten and other conferences have a bigger reputation for passing. Well, the Buckeyes also ranked No. 1 nationally in opposing passing yards per attempt, allowing just an even 5 yards per throw from opposing quarterbacks. The Buckeyes were No. 3 in opposing completion percentage (52.7%) and No. 2 in opposing passer rating (99.22).

Ohio State now returns all three starting cornerbacks from that secondary in Denzel Burke, Igbinosun and Jordan Hancock. Starting strong safety Lathan Ransom is back. The lone departure from the starting unit, free safety Josh Proctor, with the nation's top transfer portal prospect in Caleb Downs, who could be one of the best individual defenders in the country this year.

Jermaine Mathews Jr. had such a good freshman year at corner that he'd probably start at all but one college football program in his sophomore year, yet he's a luxury option off the bench for the Buckeyes. Throw in the likes of Lorenzo Styles Jr., Calvin Simpson-Hunt and Malik Hartford for depth, it's almost inarguable that Ohio State's secondary truly is the Best in America in 2024.

 THE BEST. There have been a lot of great wide receivers to come through Columbus. The room has spat out first-round draft picks with undying frequency the past few years, and two Pro Football Hall of Famers are Ohio State alums in Cris Carter and Paul Warfield.

As for who was the best with the Buckeyes though? Marvin Harrison Jr. told The Trenches Show that he's taking himself.

Harrison expanded on some of his reasoning on the podcast, hosted by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin, at a joint practice between Harrison's Arizona Cardinals and the Colts.

"Look at it from a numbers standpoint, you do it on a per-game basis," Harrison said. "I think Michael Jenkins, Cris Carter, they started their freshman year. I didn't get to start my freshman year, I only started one game my freshman year. Then obviously my two years, the last two years, I did my thing.

"Then you look at the accolades, they're up there. Heisman finalist. We only had one other Biletnikoff Award winner, Terry Glenn. Two-time Receiver of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year. You go down the list. Unanimous All-American back-to-back years. I mean, I did it all."

Harrison isn't wrong that he's in the conversation for best Buckeye ball catcher all-time. His two-year peak with back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons and all the accolades he mentioned; Harrison is a Heisman Trophy finalist, Biletnikoff Award winner and two-time unanimous All-American.

On a per-game basis, Harrison does outpace many of Ohio State's greats including Carter and Jenkins as he mentioned, averaging 99 yards per contest in 2022 and 2023. Those also outdo fellow recent first-round draft picks Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. The notable wideouts of Buckeye lore with better peak per-game receiving yard marks are Jaxon Smith-Njigba (123.5 yards per game in his record-setting 2021 season) and Glenn (119.6 per game in 1995). Both players only had one year of being major contributors at Ohio State, however.

David Boston is a multi-year contributor who could have an argument on a per-game basis, racking up 98.3 yards per game combined across the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He had the exact same number of receptions (144) and just one fewer touchdown (27 as opposed to 28) in his two peak years than Harrison had in his, despite playing two fewer games in that time.

But there's certainly a case to be made for Harrison to top them all, especially if he follows up his place as the No. 4 overall in the 2024 NFL draft – the highest-ever selection for a Buckeye wideout – with a great NFL career.

There is still one argument to be had that bothers Harrison, however – the team never beat Michigan while he played.

"I did it all," Harrison said. "From an Ohio State standpoint, they always say, 'You didn't beat the Team Up North. I didn't. I mean, it's a team kind of accomplishment. But that'd be the only thing you can really say I didn't do. So that's why I think I'm the best, from an accolades and statistical standpoint."

 TWO HEISMANS, TWO STATUES. August will end up as a fitting month for perhaps the greatest player in Ohio State history.

Archie Griffin, who is the only college football player ever to win two Heisman Trophies, is receiving two separate statues to honor his on- and off-field greatness this August.

Griffin is a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame after being one of just two players to start four consecutive Grandaddies of Them All, and the Pasadena, California stadium unveiled a statue immortalizing Griffin in its Court of Champions on Saturday.

Shortly after the Rose Bowl statue was unveiled, however, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork proclaimed that the Buckeyes will be revealing their own statue of Griffin in the rotunda at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30. Griffin will dot the 'i' in Script Ohio the day after in OSU's season-opener against Akron.

Two statues in August, two Heisman Trophies. Stay elite as always, Archie.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "To Live & Die in L.A." - 2Pac (Under the alias Makaveli at the time)

 AROUND THE WEB WITH ANDY. Rapper Flavor Flav shouts out Worthington Kilbourne water polo... It's a tiny deer!... A stowaway groundhog is becoming locally famous... Candy with a potentially lethal amount of methamphetamine... Jail time for school worker who stole $1.5 million of chicken wings.

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