Welcome to the Skull Session.
Three more sleeps.
Game 01
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 27, 2024
3:30
Ohio Stadium
Akron pic.twitter.com/HdsMb1TM5P
Have a good Wednesday.
THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF. In Netflix’s Untold: Sign Stealer, Connor Stalions wants viewers to believe he’s a victim.
He’s not.
He’s the villain.
Connor Stalions claimed no wrongdoing in his sign-stealing operation despite admitting to receiving footage of opposing sidelines from friends he sent to games. https://t.co/L5whBrevu2
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 27, 2024
Around the 40-minute mark of the 87-minute film, Stalions recounts his departure from the Michigan football program after the NCAA and media exposed his sign-stealing operation. In the first 39 minutes, viewers learned how obsessed Stalions was with the Wolverines. From childhood, he dreamed of coaching for – not playing for – his favorite team. (At 7 years old, he dressed as Bo Schembechler for Halloween, not Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Braylon Edwards or another Michigan great.)
Then, after two years as a low-level staffer and seven years as a volunteer assistant, he resigned to keep from “being a distraction for the team,” his lawyer Brad Beckworth said in a November statement.
“Ever since I could remember, Michigan has been a huge part of my life,” Stalions said in the documentary. “For that to be stripped away overnight, that was pretty devastating.”
I am sure it was.
But the 132 FBS programs Stalions and the Wolverines defrauded were devastated all the more – and so were their fans.
They are the real victims.
This documentary, in which some of Stalions’ final words were, “I don’t break the rules, I exploit them,” mocks those victims time and time again. Thankfully, the NCAA delivered its Notice of Allegations to Michigan on Sunday. Sooner or later, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth will be revealed. All that was done in the dark will come to light – and not the one Stalions continues to cast as the boy who cried wolf.
GET HIM, JERMAINE! This week, Jake Trotter of ESPN wrote about how Michigan motivated Ohio State to build a $20 million “national championship or bust” roster for the 2024 college football season.
The article, which includes quotes from Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork, head football coach Ryan Day, former quarterback Cardale Jones, former defensive back Tyvis Powell, defensive back Caleb Downs, defensive end Jack Sawyer, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, cornerback Denzel Burke and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
I could talk about the contents of the article, but it’s all stuff you’ve heard a thousand times this offseason: Bjork said he loves Day’s leadership, Jones called Ohio State’s season “national championship or bust” and an NFL scout fawned over the team’s talent – you know, all that good stuff.
Still, the reason I mention the article is because Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin posted a link to it on Monday.
How Ohio State built a $20 million, 'national championship or bust' roster - via @ESPN App https://t.co/HF9OAXKRf3
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) August 26, 2024
The post has over 700 replies, including a now-deleted post from Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr.
I loved Mathews’ response for two reasons.
One, Kiffin is a social media troll, so it’s about time someone handed him a taste of his own medicine. Two, Kiffin has been obsessed with how Ohio State built its team this season, fixating on how much the roster cost while seemingly ignoring that Ole Miss added 25 (!) transfers this offseason, a total that couldn’t have come cheap to the Rebels’ boosters.
So, Lane, please stay in your lane.
And, as Mathews posted, you have a game to coach on Saturday – time to lock in.
YOU’RE A STARTER! AND YOU’RE A STARTER! The Ohio State football program does not release official depth charts. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Still, after Tuesday’s press conference with Day, we have answers to the burning questions surrounding the Buckeyes’ starting lineup: Who will start at right guard? Who will start at Will linebacker? Who will Ohio State’s third wide receiver be?
The answers: Tegra Tshabola, Sonny Styles and Jeremiah Smith.
The #TeamTegra crowd cheered in unison on Tuesday as Day named Tshabola, a 6-foot-6, 327-pound athlete from Cincinnati, as the team’s final starter on the offensive line next to Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin and Josh Fryar. While Day and Justin Frye intend to “roll reps” at the spot in the season opener, Tshabola looks to be the clear frontrunner to become a starter in his third year with the Buckeyes.
Day said Styles “separated himself” in the linebacker competition with C.J. Hicks. “He has done a nice job in this transition for us from safety,” Day said.
While Styles will be first on the field at the position, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said he views Hicks as a No. 1 linebacker like Cody Simon and Styles. “All three of those guys should be considered ones and should play equally,” he shared. Knowles later said Simon, Styles and Hicks are versatile at the linebacker spots, explaining that the three Buckeyes could mix and match at Mike and Will.
This feels wild to write, but when looking at the three spots (right guard, Will linebacker and wide receiver), the least surprising decision Day made was naming Smith Ohio State’s third receiver behind Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. That’s a tribute to how dominant Smith has been this offseason, becoming the first freshman to be named Iron Buckeye in addition to making circus catches look routine. This kid is the real deal. He will prove that on Saturday against Akron.
With Tshabola, Styles and Smith in place, Ohio State’s 2024 depth chart – though not official – looks clearer. This past weekend, Eleven Warriors beat reporter Dan Hope took a crack at naming the team's three-deep at each position. You should check it out.
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY… MONEY! According to records The Columbus Dispatch obtained, Ohio State will spend a combined $4.05 million for its football team to demolish Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall this fall. The Zips will collect $600,000 for their loss, as the Broncos receive $1.85 million and the Herd $1.6 million.
The Dispatch reported the $4.05 million is Ohio State’s most total guarantees to nonconference opponents since the 2021 season, when the school shelled out a combined $6.4 million to Oregon, Tulsa and Akron. The Ducks received $3.5 million for their game in the Shoe – which, of course, the Ducks won – as a negotiated sum for the pandemic-canceled meeting between the teams at Autzen Stadium in 2020. Ohio State paid a combined $3.6 million to its nonconference opponents in 2022 and $2.6 million in 2023.
Not included in Ohio State’s 2024 total is $950,000 in damages paid to Southern Miss. It’s of note, however, that the $950,000 in damages and the $600,000 the school will hand Akron combine to $1.55 million. That’s around $350,000 less than the $1.9 million it would have paid the Golden Eagles…
So Ohio State trimmed off $350,000 from its 2024 total – oh, and it also held some of that total in-state.
An Ohio State spokesperson told the Dispatch those were the reasons the Buckeyes replaced Southern Miss with Akron in the season opener. With the exception of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season that canceled nonconference games, the Buckeyes have hosted another school from Ohio in each season since Day took over as head coach in 2019.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Luxury" - Jon Bellion.
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