Welcome to the Skull Session.
Who wants to see another angle of Jack Sawyer's scoop-and-score?
TD celly 1, camera 0.@jacksawyer33 @ryandaytime#CFBPlayoff @OhioStateFB #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qDeBVMS6sC
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 15, 2025
He breaks quarterbacks.
He breaks hearts.
He breaks cameras.
Jack Sawyer.
Have a good Thursday.
“F YOU. WE’RE GONNA DO IT.” When asked Wednesday how Ohio State’s offensive line room has responded since losing Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin to season-ending injuries, Josh Fryar had the perfect response: “We look adversity in the eye, and we just say, ‘F you. We’re gonna do it.’”
That’s such a good quote.
It encapsulates the resilience and toughness Ohio State’s offensive line room has had all season. While most programs would crumble with their future top-10 pick and Rimington Trophy winner sidelined, the Buckeyes have persevered against some of the top defensive fronts in college football.
“I’ve got to give all the credit in the world to those guys,” Will Howard said. “They’ve stepped up in a huge way. I’ve seen a different look in their eyes. Carson (Hinzman) and Josh Fryar and (Donovan Jackson)... those three have led the way, man. Austin (Siereveld) has done some really, really good things. Luke Montgomery is playing some really good football right now. Tegra (Tshabola) graded out a champion last week.
“I mean, there were a lot of people who said a lot of different things about those guys. They’ve stepped up in a huge way. I’m just so proud of them.”
Fryar said Justin Frye deserves credit, too.
“Coach Frye is a great offensive line coach,” Fryar said. “He knows what technique to use on every single play. He busts his ass for us. Even though people give him hate all the time, I don’t understand it. I don’t see why. He’s a great human being. He just wants the best for us; I think that’s what you see out of him every single day.”
Chip Kelly shares Fryar’s sentiment, explaining Tuesday that Frye has been crucial toward Ohio State overcoming adversity and having success in the trenches.
“Justin deserves a ton of credit for what he did and how he worked with all those guys. I think they have a really good understanding of what we’re trying to get accomplished,” Kelly said. “I think our job is to try and put them in a position to make plays and then let them go play. I think they’ve done a really good job of that.”
Still, Fryar, Howard, Kelly and Ryan Day all agreed — the offensive line needs to have their best performance of the season in an Ohio State win over Notre Dame or else their resilience will be forgotten in the sands of time.
“They have to be at their best this week. They’ve got to finish the job,” Day said. “A big part of this game is gonna be up front on both sides of the ball. (Notre Dame) is physical, the way they play. (The offensive line) needs to have a good week of practice. … Justin and that whole group have stuck together, and because of that, they’ve become stronger in the back end, and now it’s gotta pay off in this game.”
"I COULDN'T BE PROUDER." Jim Tressel is a mentor to both Day and Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. As the matchup nears, Tressel appeared on 97.1 The Fan's "Morning Juice," where he told Bobby Carpenter and Brandon Beam he "couldn't be prouder" of the coaches for leading Ohio State and Notre Dame to the national championship game.
Here is a video and recap of Tressel's interview:
On his experience coaching in the I-AA playoffs at Youngstown State
“It’s something Ryan and I have been talking about really all year. We grew up in I-AA, which was the playoffs. You knew if you could get to the end of the season and get in the tournament you had a chance. And then you’re gonna probably have to beat four top-10 teams in a row. You get into a little bit of a rhythm. I remember talking to Ryan last week, and he said, ‘I’m starting to get the feel for this playoff thing.’ You really have to be careful with how much physically you ask of your guys over this run because whoever is healthiest certainly has an advantage. But it’s also the emotional part of things. Getting up every seven to 10 days for a great team, needing to be at your best and knowing the games are gonna hinge on the slightest things. Now you’re at Week 4 or whatever it has to be, and you’re trying to keep your emotional gas tank full and stay as physically ready. That’ll be the key.”
On how it will feel watching Ohio State face Notre Dame in the championship game
“I spent one year with Mark Dantonio in the 80s at Ohio State, then I spent five years with Mark Dantonio at Youngstown State, then I spent three more years with Mark Dantonio at Ohio State in the 2000s, and then all of a sudden we were playing against them. It was a weird feeling. It was kind of a feeling like, ‘Oh, man, I want to win, but I can’t wait until this game is over.’ I have such strong feelings for Marcus and Ryan. And then I think about (James) Laurinaitis, (Brian) Hartline, C.J. Barnett and Devin Jordan on (Ohio State’s staff), and then I look over on the other sideline, and there’s Marcus and Joe Rudolph over there. I’m thinking, man, I’ve rooted for those guys all year long, and it’s, ‘Oh, shoot, now they’re playing each other.’ It’s a strange emotion, but I couldn’t be prouder.”
On how Freeman and Day should prepare for the title game
“It’s an evolution. Your team isn’t the same at any point and time. You learn more about yourselves. You have to tip your cap to Ohio State (because) they had a dark moment. That adversity, they handled it. … And you think about the dark moment Marcus and his guys had early in the year, and everyone wanted to cry ‘Off with their heads!’ But they handled it. The key will be figuring out who you are now, what you do best, how you matchup, what they do well. That chess game is fun. You never know if you’re right, but still, I come back to the key being emotion. Where is your mind? Where is your emotional gas tank the day you take the field for the championship? It’s been a long run. They’ve spent a lot of time, energy, emotion, and now it culminates to see if you can stand at the top of the mountain.”
On what it will take for Ohio State or Notre Dame to win the title
Football is a game of pressure. You’re either applying it or you’re reacting to it. You got to make sure you’re the team applying the pressure. But also the game is about momentum. … In 2007, when we were playing LSU in the championship game, we prepared well, we came out, we got on top… but then we didn’t execute down in the red zone. We could have had a touchdown. We went for three to extend the lead, but then we didn’t execute on special teams. We got our field goal blocked. Then, the momentum changed. We didn’t handle the momentum change as well as we could have. I remember vividly. We were in the Sugar Bowl, and LSU had the home crowd, and you could feel the energy and momentum going the other way.
"We didn’t handle it as well as we could have. We bounced back and had a chance to get the momentum back and really swing it the other way. We could have blocked a punt, but it went right under (Austin Spitler). I mean, Spit did a great job. He was right there. He could have blocked it. Those momentum moments, you got to make sure you get the play done. These kinds of games really flow on the momentum of a game. … You got to be the one applying the pressure and executing.”
The whole time I watched the video and transcribed the quotes, I wondered, Will Tress wear a vest that has both Ohio State and Notre Dame's logos on it for the national championship game? I can accept his Ohio State and Youngstown State vest, but one that combines the Buckeyes and Irish? I don't know about that. That's a move reserved for Laura Quinn and Laura Quinn only!
JUST IN CASE. Jeremiah Smith is good at football. Jeremiah Smith knows he is good at football. Therefore, Jeremiah Smith has purchased insurance to protect his future earnings in the National Football League.
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Smith’s family bought him permanent total disability insurance (via Southern California’s Leverage Disability and Life Insurance) before the College Football Playoff. The insurance will last until Aug. 1, 2027, or until he signs an NFL contract, whichever comes first. It will protect him from a career-ending injury both on and off the field; however, he does not have a loss of draft value coverage as part of his policy, Dodd reported.
Jeremiah Smith gets snubbed for another national award as South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers wins the FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year award. https://t.co/T8z1JOX9Dl
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 15, 2025
Sources told Dodd that Smith’s premiums cost the family $7,500-$8,000 per million of coverage. It’s presumed that Smith’s policy is worth $20 million, the same value Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. had when the former Alabama quarterback and defensive end signed with Leverage in 2022, making it one of the most expensive policies in college football history.
Smith is one of four or five freshmen at the collegiate level to ever receive PTD coverage. While rare, I think we all can agree it’s in the Smith family’s best interest to have the policy despite its considerable cost, considering Smith has collected 71 catches for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first year with the Buckeyes. The Big Ten Freshman and Receiver of the Year will have a chance to add to those numbers in the CFP championship game on Monday.
JUST KIDS FROM PICKERINGTON. I made the title of this week’s Skull Session “Just a Kid from Pickerington” because of Jack Sawyer’s incredible scoop-and-score in the Cotton Bowl.
At Ohio State’s Wednesday press conference, I was reminded that Sawyer is not the lone Buckeye who can claim the moniker. Ty Hamilton, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Sonny Styles and Sam Williams-Dixon could, too. (Williams-Dixon remains with Ohio State for its national championship run despite a previous report that he would leave the team to enter the transfer portal.)
When asked why Pickerington produces elite athletes, Sonny Styles laughed.
“There might be something in the water,” he said.
As a native of Worthington, a suburb located 30 minutes from Pickerington, I am 100 percent certain that’s true. Pickerington dominated sports when I was in high school. Football? Basketball? Baseball? It didn’t matter. Those dudes whooped other schools, including mine, six ways to Sunday.
Oh, and Pickerington has two schools, Central and North. But their youth programs? It was all one unit, so Central graduates Hamilton, Lorenzo Styles and Sonny Styles — even basketball standout Devin Royal — could have been on the same travel teams as Sawyer and Williams-Dixon if all were the same age. Sonny Styles and Royal were on the same teams their whole lives and won a Division I state title in basketball!
It was absurd how good Pickerington was — and still is.
But I digress.
Pickerington has powered Ohio State’s College Football Playoff run. Sonny Styles said that has been a source of pride for him, his brother, Hamilton and Sawyer.
“Just being an Ohio guy in general, you want to represent Ohio well,” he said. “It’s funny. A lot of guys from other states, they don’t respect Ohio football enough sometimes. You know, the Florida guys, the Texas guys. But it’s a blessing to be able to represent Ohio and represent Pickerington. You want to represent them well.”
Here’s to another round of stellar performances from The Pickerington Kids on Monday.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Richest Man in the World" - Ben Rector.
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