Welcome to the Skull Session.
Marshall recap?
Marshall recap.
3 : Marshall pic.twitter.com/D2T6VWJ6Sh
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 23, 2024
Have a good Tuesday.
LET CHIP KELLY COOK. Chip Kelly cooked on Saturday – well, a few times, at least (at least!). As I rewatched Ohio State’s 49-14 win over Marshall on Monday, I noticed Kelly’s creativity on several occasions; however, there are two plays that stood out more than others. Both of them occurred on the same drive. Moreover, the plays were back-to-back.
With four minutes left in the second quarter, the Buckeyes led the Thundering Herd 21-7. The Ohio State offense, which had popped off a 68-yard touchdown from Emeka Egbuka and an 86-yard touchdown from Quinshon Judkins to that point, was five plays into its fourth scoring drive of the game. Facing 3rd-and-4, Will Howard motioned TreVeyon Henderson out of the backfield. The Marshall defense, expecting Howard to pass the football, looked unprepared for what happened next: Howard pitched the ball to Emeka Egbuka in misdirection, and Egbuka followed a pulling Austin Siereveld and Jelani Thurman to pick up the first.
Then, with a fresh set of downs, Ohio State went back to the misdirection.
This Super Counter, which Coach Dan Casey showed from another angle on X, was well-executed. With a similar action shown in the previous snap, Ohio State pulled three players instead of two, as Siereveld, Thurman and Bennett Christian cleared a path for TreVeyon Henderson. When Henderson reached the second level, he made a calculated cut back toward the field and sprinted into the end zone untouched in the final 5 yards.
Those reps (and some others) have given us a taste of what Kelly brings to Ohio State’s offense this season. I cannot wait to see what he has planned for the Buckeyes’ more formidable opponents, such as Iowa, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan. Whatever it is, I hope Ryan Day and Ohio State let him cook.
WIDE RECEIVERS BLOCKING? IN THIS ECONOMY? On The Ryan Day Radio Show last week, Paul Keels asked Day how he evaluates wide receiver coach Brian Hartline.
“I remember Coach (Urban) Meyer used to say all the time, ‘How do you evaluate a wide receiver coach? By how (their receivers) block and how they run their routes.’ The jumping and catching and all of those things are God-given,” Day responded. “I think Brian has done an unbelievable job with this group. You’re seeing the receivers play at a high level.”
While Ohio State’s receivers left much to be desired with their run blocking against Akron, that’s been far from the case in the team’s wins over Western Michigan and Marshall –especially in the latter.
If Day were to evaluate and grade his receivers coach with that criterion after Ohio State’s win on Saturday, I have to imagine Hartline – whom Day also called “the best in the country at what he does” on the radio show – would receive an A+. That’s because the Buckeyes’ receivers were terrific against the Thundering Herd. Though there are several examples for that Saturday, here’s one from Quinshon Judkins’ 29-yard run in the second quarter:
Carnell Tate took about one second to reach Marshall defensive back AG McGhee and shove him a couple of feet inside the hash mark. Judkins used Tate's block to bounce outside toward the numbers, smash the NOS button and reach the goal line to set up a Will Howard 1-yard touchdown run (out of the T-formation!) on the next snap.
"Zone 6, those dudes are dudes," Howard said. "It's not just about getting catches or scoring touchdowns. It's about executing every play."
Howard's quote continues, but I'll interrupt him real quick.
Ohio State's receivers did have catches, yards and touchdowns on Saturday. Emeka Egbuka had five receptions for 117 and one score, Tate had four receptions for 64 yards and Jeremiah Smith had three receptions for 70 yards and one score. That trio also racked up an incredible number of yards after the catch, as Egbuka had 124, Smith had 45 and Tate had 27.
"I've never seen a more selfless group of receivers and a more selfless talented group of receivers," Howard said. "All of them are unbelievably talented. They all want to genuinely see each other succeed. They block for each other because they know (the other receivers) could have to do the same thing on the next play. ... Whoever it is, man, it doesn't matter. I think that shows the selflessness of those guys and the character of the guys in that room."
SAY THAT AGAIN? I don't think enough people paid attention to Marshall head coach Charles Huff's comment about how talented Ohio State's 2024 offense is now and can be for the rest of the season. Therefore, I will share that comment here:
"Offensively, I don't know, 2019 LSU, 2020 Alabama – they're probably in that realm," Huff said.
He said 2019 LSU and 2020 Alabama?
I like how Huff thinks.
Those close to me can attest that I have floated the idea in recent weeks that Ohio State's 2024 offense feels similar to 2020 Alabama. I mean, think about it:
- QB: Mac Jones → Will Howard
- RB: Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. → TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins (the Ohio State duo is much better)
- WR: DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle and John Metchie → Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith
- OL: Landon Dickerson, Deonte Brown, Alex Leatherwood and Evan Neal → Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin and Josh Fryar
All of the Alabama players I mentioned became NFL draft picks. I would expect each of the Ohio State players I named to follow suit (save for Josh Fryar, who looks like the weakest link on the Buckeyes' offensive line at the moment but could turn it around).
IN DEFENSE OF OHIO STADIUM. OK. For some reason, there's been some discourse about how Ohio Stadium's broadcasting booth looks. To close the Skull Session, I have a defense to make for Ohio State and the Horseshoe.
During Ohio State-Marshall, the FOX broadcast cut to Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt standing in the broadcast booth at Ohio Stadium. The environment surrounding them looked... gross...
They have to do something about the Shoe. It desperately needs a massive renovation/upgrade. @RossBjorkAD pic.twitter.com/0i9tWbhdVn
— JBook. (@JBook_37) September 23, 2024
... but there's a reason for that – and it doesn't have to do with the Buckeyes' lack of upkeep and spending.
No, the reason is that, with multiple television partners like Big Ten Network, CBS, FOX and NBC and their crews entering the broadcast booth week in and week out, the tiles above Johnson and Klatt have been torn through so those partners can patch in their hundreds of cables to their equipment, remote broadcasts, trucks and more.
Think about the times you've seen broadcasters in the booth. The camera faces them with the field as a backdrop. If that's not the case, networks will use a green screen background to cover up the mess of cables behind the commentators.
So, all of that said, did that angle make Ohio Stadium's broadcast booth look amazing and comfortable?
No.
But that aesthetic is not unique to the Shoe, so cut the stadium some slack!
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Going to the Country" - CAAMP.
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