Skull Session: Carlos Locklyn Calls Out Michigan, Arvell Reese is “Gonna Be a Monster” and Seth McLaughlin Stands Out As a Blocker

By Chase Brown on September 10, 2024 at 5:00 am
Carlos Locklyn
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ohio State is onto the next one... in 11 days.

Have a good Tuesday.

 BLOOD AND THUNDER. I love Carlos Locklyn.

Since Ryan Day hired him to be its running backs coach in April, the Walk-On Coach has proven to be an excellent addition to Ohio State’s staff. Feeling “like a kid on Christmas” from the moment he stepped foot in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Locklyn has brought tremendous energy to the program over the past five months. 

He certainly did on Saturday.

At the Skull Session inside St. John Arena, Locklyn challenged Ohio State fans to be “so loud that the entire country” — especially Michigan — could hear them as “Hang On Sloopy” played at the end of the third quarter.

“I want you to get up on your feet. I want you to be so loud that the entire country — especially up I-75 North, three-and-a-half hours, 195 miles from here — I want you to let them know that we comin’, and we bringing blood and thunder with us,” he said.

Locklyn completed his speech with a comment for Ohio State’s opponent.

“When Western Michigan leaves the Shoe tonight, it’s gonna know what it feels like to be in a fight with the Buckeyes,” he said.

Now, I won’t give Locklyn and his motivational words all the credit for the Buckeyes' 56-0 win over the Broncos. However, his position room combined for 32 carries, 265 yards and five touchdowns in the contest, so it deserves a lot of credit!

Again, I love Carlos Locklyn. He took the mic, called out Michigan and then called out one of the state’s directional schools. I think it’s safe to write that he doesn’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan.

 THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE. Arvell Reese is here to stay.

In Ohio State’s Week 1 win over Akron, Reese received the same number of snaps as C.J. Hicks. While he had less production than Hicks — Reese recorded four tackles and one tackle for loss to Hicks’ six tackles and one tackle for loss — I’d argue Reese had more of a presence than the former five-star from Dayton and made a case to be the Buckeyes’ third linebacker behind Cody Simon and Sonny Styles.

One week later, that’s how it worked out.

As Ohio State’s defense dominated Western Michigan, recording its first shutout since 2019 and holding an opponent to under 100 yards of total offense for the first time since 2017, linebackers coach James Laurinaitis called upon Reese more often than Hicks. Reese rewarded Laurinaitis’ decision with another impressive performance, looking decisive and sharp in a three-tackle performance behind Simon (three tackles, one sack, one pass breakup) and Styles (four tackles).

“It’s kind of scary,” Simon said of Reese after the game. “When he starts getting more and more seasoned and into his roles, he’s gonna be a monster. I’m just excited for the future and what he can do here. … He’s taken another level to his preparation. I think he’s coming in ready, learning to take better notes, learning to watch film. When it comes to being a linebacker, you have to know almost everything now. He’s doing a really good job. I’m really proud of him.”

A monster?

Yes, please.

Look out for Gabe Powers, too.

“I think people underestimate Gabe Powers a little bit,” Styles said after the game. “I think he’s a really good player. I think Payton Pierce, once he gets going — he’s a young guy, but he’s still learning — he’s going to be a good backer as well. We’ve got a lot of depth.”

 A 305-POUND BULLDOZER. Ohio State ran the ball 33 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener. While the offensive line and running backs had what Day called “good snaps,” the head coach also said there were plays the Buckeyes “didn’t quite make” in Week 1.

“We’re looking to be more explosive,” Day said last Tuesday. “Everybody has got to own it. Everybody has got to be a part of it. We have to see more improvement in Week 2.”

They did.

Against Western Michigan, Ohio State ran the ball 39 times for 273 yards and six touchdowns. Quinshon Judkins had nine carries for 108 yards and two scores. TreVeyon Henderson had 10 carries for 66 yards and two scores. James Peoples had 10 carries for 51 yards and one score. And Sam-Williams Dixon had three carries for 40 yards.

What led to such improvement?

Well, there were a lot of factors — one of them being Seth McLaughlin being a 305-pound bulldozer at the center position.

I mean, look at what McLaughlin accomplished on Judkins’ second touchdown on Saturday.

That’s absurd.

But it’s all McLaughlin wants to do whenever Ohio State hands the ball off to a running back.

“It does a lot when you know and have faith in those guys,” McLaughlin said. “If I just block my guy really hard where I’m supposed to with the right targets, they’re going to make a play. Sometimes if you got a guy back there that you’re not 100 percent confident in, you’re like, ‘OK, if I make this block, we may (still) not get a good run.’ (But) if you’re making your blocks and everyone is on the same page, there’s gonna be explosive runs, It makes it really easy to keep going hard.”

Seth, please keep going hard — and please keep making blocks like that.

 PLAYERS OF THE GAME. Ohio State names its Players of the Game on Sunday, with Judkins earning the award on offense, Ty Hamilton on defense and Lorenzo Styles Jr. on special teams.

ICYMI: Eleven Warriors implemented a new award system for the 2024 season. Rather than name an offensive, defensive and special teams player of the game like the Buckeyes, we will name Three Stars of the Game. The selection process mirrors the hockey tradition of naming Three Stars after each game to honor the contest’s top performers. The “first star” is the game’s MVP, while the “second star” and “third star” recognize Ohio State’s next-best performers.

This week, Judkins, Jeremiah Smith and Jack Sawyer received top honors for their performances in Week 2.

Follow along with our Three Stars of the Game after each Ohio State win this season. New posts will arrive on Sunday afternoons.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Come As You Are" - Nirvana.

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