Skull Session: Ryan Day Agrees With Nick Saban About Ohio State’s Defense, Zen Michalski Needs to Take the Next Step and Dylan Raiola Has “A Lot of Respect” For the Buckeyes

By Chase Brown on October 24, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

OK, DeForest Bucker. This was good.

Have a good Thursday.

 “WHEN IT DOESN’T WORK, IT’S ACCURATE.” It’s been almost 48 hours since Ryan Day’s Tuesday press conference. As the hours have passed, I’ve reflected on Day’s demeanor and tone in the media session and considered whether it bears significance. I think it does, especially when he discussed the defense.

Day made it clear Tuesday that he is not pleased with Ohio State’s defensive performance in the Oregon game. He’s dissatisfied that the pass rush couldn’t get to Dillon Gabriel and that Denzel Burke wasn’t at his best in matchups with Evan Stewart and Tez Johnson.

The sixth-year head coach said he had “hard conversations” with his staff last week to address how to handle the defense moving forward. He has a plan in place, one he believes will instill confidence in the coaches and players to be at their best against opponents with similar talent – or, in other words, a plan that looks less “antiquated,” as Nick Saban called it on the Pat McAfee Show last week.

“When it doesn’t work, it’s accurate. It’s not working,” Day said when asked Tuesday if Saban’s assessment was on point. “There’s a lot of ways to do it. There are different strategies on how to go do that. When you have the results we have right now, it’s not working and that has to change.”

Day said those changes will come with himself at the forefront. Now that Chip Kelly is running Ohio State’s offense, Day can go where he’s needed the most. That’s on defense, working with Jim Knowles, Larry Johnson, James Laurinaitis, Tim Walton and Matt Guerrieri.

“I was in there more in the last week than I have been in the past,” Day said. “It’s my job to make sure all three phases are the way they’re supposed to be. I’ll make sure that gets done.”

That’s a promise made.

We’ll see if that becomes a promise kept.

 FIND YOUR ZEN. Day confirmed Tuesday that Josh Simmons will be out for the rest of the season. The injury comes as a significant loss for Ohio State, who had seen Simmons become one of the team’s best offensive linemen alongside Donovan Jackson and Seth McLaughlin.

With Simmons on the sidelines, Day and offensive line coach Justin Frye will turn to Zen Michalski at left tackle. The fourth-year lineman from Floyd Knobs, Indiana, will make his first career start against Nebraska after recording 46 snaps in the Oregon game. Michalski was good not great in the one-point loss to the Ducks, allowing two pressures and committing one penalty in 30 passing reps and 16 rushing reps.

With a chance to take the “next step” on Saturday, Day expressed confidence in Michalski for his veteran presence and readiness.

“He’s a veteran guy who has been in the program and knows what we’re doing. He was ready,” Day said. “Was it perfect? No, but he did some good things. When you go against Jack (Sawyer), JT (Tuimoloau) and Kenyatta (Jackson) every day, you should be able to go out there in those environments with confidence.”

It’s good that Day has confidence. 

It’s also good that Day has contingency plans.

On the Ryan Day Radio Show last week, Day said Michalski would receive the bulk of the first-team reps at left tackle; however, George Fitzpatrick, Tegra Tshabola, Luke Montgomery or even Donovan Jackson could also rotate in and take reps. I think – I think! –Michalski will be fine, but Day said it himself on Tuesday, “It’s one thing when you’re in there to finish a game, but now he has to be the starter.”

Saturday will be Michalski’s one shot and one opportunity.

Will he capture it or let it slip?

 R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Former Ohio State commit Dylan Raiola will face off against the Buckeyes on Saturday as Nebraska’s QB1. In seven appearances for the Cornhuskers, Raiola has completed 141 of 213 passes (66.2 percent) for 1,592 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He looks forward to appearance No. 8 inside the Horseshoe this weekend.

“I have a lot of respect for their program and what Coach Day did. Still do,” Raiola said Tuesday. “But I’m happy where I’m at today. It’ll be fun to go back and kind of be on the other side – if you want to say – and see some guys after the game. It’ll be a cool atmosphere to go into.”

Raiola, who committed to Ohio State in May 2022 and decommitted in December of that same year, attended three Buckeye games while in high school. While in Columbus, Raiola said he established good relationships with Ohio State’s coaches and several members of the program’s 2024 class.

“I know a lot of them through recruiting and everything,” Raiola said. “It’s a cool place. Never played there. Always grew up wanting to play there, so my opportunity’s here.”

When asked about Raiola on Tuesday, Day said he has no hard feelings toward the 18-year-old freshman for choosing Georgia and then Nebraska over Ohio State.

“I think I heard a stat the other day that of the starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten, like 14 or something have been transfers,” Day said. “Whether it’s decommitments or transferring, it’s part of the world that we live in right now. You just have to adapt to it. … When it comes to Dylan, I think he’s got an opportunity to be a great player. I think he’s already playing at a high level. He’s got a lot of talent, and he’s got a great family.”

 WHAT DID SHE MISS? This week, a social media post went viral in which an X user, Bruke Fasil, revealed his aunt woke up from a 13-year coma. While I cannot confirm whether Fasil’s aunt had been unconscious for a baker’s dozen years, I can confirm that their tweet led to some hilarious replies from sports fans:

How'd that last one get in there...?

To end the Skull Session, here’s some Ohio State football-related stuff Fasil’s aunt would have missed since October 2011:

  • Two-time national champion Urban Meyer became Ohio State’s head coach in 2012 (and later retired in 2018, becomes a television analyst in 2019, became the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach in 2021 and returned to television in 2022)
  • Ohio State went undefeated in 2012 but cannot compete for a national championship because of a postseason ban
  • Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014
  • The Bowl Championship Series ended and the four-team College Football Playoff started in 2014
  • Ohio State won the 2014 national championship with its third-string quarterback, Cardale Jones, after Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett suffered season-ending injuries
  • The NCAA launched the transfer portal in 2018
  • Ryan Day became Ohio State’s head coach in 2019 after two years as an offensive coordinator
  • Ohio State fell to Alabama in the 2020 national championship after a pandemic-shortened season (that the Buckeyes battled tooth-and-nail with Kevin Warren to have)
  • The NCAA adopted name, image and likeness (NIL) policies in 2021
  • The NCAA launched an investigation into Michigan for a sign-stealing scandal involving low-level staffer Connor Stalions
  • Gene Smith retired in 2024 after 19 years as Ohio State’s athletic director
  • Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington joined the Big Ten in 2024
  • The College Football Playoff expanded from four teams to 12 teams in 2024

I’m sure there’s some I missed. Feel free to mention them in the comments. Also, if there’s non-football stuff that deserves a look, please mention those, too. 

Here are the ones I can think of off the dome: Ohio State won national titles in wrestling (2015), women’s hockey (2021, 2023) and pistol, rifle and synchronized swimming (too many to count); Ohio State men’s basketball reached the Final Four (2012) before Thad Matta retired (2017), hired and fired Chris Holtmann (2017-24) and, finally, hired Jake Diebler (2024); and Ohio State women’s basketball hired Kevin McGuff (2013) reached four Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight (2023), its first regional final appearance since 1993.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Zen" - X Ambassadors, K.Flay, grandson.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. German police say pizza order came with a side of cocaine... NASA’s Europa Clipper will scour Jupiter moon for the ingredients for life... Tubeworms and other weird creatures found under the seafloor... The future of film may just be old movies... British government issues official passport for Paddington Bear.

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