Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State's national championship recap is cinema.
National Championship, pic.twitter.com/i8ULnz5b2t
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 26, 2025
Have a good Monday.
IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED. When Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Jim Knowles would leave Ohio State for Penn State, I responded like Chicken Little: There's, there's, it's a, you have to, do, doo-wah.
I then gained enough composure to consider this question: Did this news have to break the same week Ohio State won a national championship, an hour after the championship celebration?
Knowles, the Mad Scientist, had been Ohio State's defensive coordinator since 2022. The Buckeyes made him one of the highest-paid assistants in college football, his $2.2 million annual fee ranking third behind LSU's Blake Baker ($2.5 million) and Michigan's Wink Martindale ($2.3 million).
Yet, Knowles left for Penn State.
Not Oklahoma, where his fiancée lives.
Not the NFL, where both head and assistant coaches have flooded to since college sports implemented a transfer portal and name, image and likeness.
But Penn State...
... make it make sense.
There's speculation as to the reason(s) Knowles chose to leave Columbus for State College. You've heard them all at this point.
He never meshed well with Larry Johnson.
He took offense toward Ryan Day's defensive involvement after the Oregon loss.
He wanted to be free of the pressure at Ohio State.
None of those reasons could be true. Some of those reasons could be true. All of those reasons could be true. Regardless of what is true, Ohio State needs a new defensive coordinator in 2025.
As Dan Hope examined Sunday, the Buckeyes could make an internal hire like Matt Guerrieri or Tim Walton, pursue familiar names like Jim Leonhard or Randy Bates, or see if Jeff Hafley and Luke Fickell would be interested in the position.
Whoever replaces Knowles – from the rumored leader in the clubhouse, Guerrieri, to a coach "worth a call" like Hafley – that person will inherit a defense that must replace eight starters but returns unanimous All-American Caleb Downs, All-Big Ten honorees Sonny Styles and Davison Igbinosun and several depth pieces from this past season.
In other words, it's not a picture-perfect situation like Knowles, but it's a defense that, with the correct hire, should still be one of the best in college football. Even if it isn’t, I can guarantee the Silver Bullets will perform like it on Nov. 1, when Knowles and the Nits are scheduled to face Ohio State in Columbus.
"FOR YEARS TO COME." OK, I'm done with the Knowles stuff. Ohio State won a national championship a week ago! The Buckeyes celebrated that national championship on Sunday! Tens of thousands of people were at the Horseshoe for the celebration!
There were lots of loud cheers from the crowd on Sunday. One of the loudest was when Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork called Ryan Day "the Buckeye coach for years to come." After the event, I asked Ted Carter if that meant a contract extension for the head football coach was around the corner.
"We're working on it. We don't have any announcements yet, but we have intent," Carter told me. "I know Ryan wants to stay here, so we're working on the details."
There are several reasons a contract extension makes sense for Day. He led Ohio State to a national championship this season (duh), he's 70-10 as the Buckeyes' head coach and his .875 winning percentage is the best in the nation. More than all of that, he's a good man. This video Ohio State posted last week is the latest example of that:
Moments thatll last a lifetime pic.twitter.com/IAdD9VxMB4
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) January 23, 2025
"You did it," Day's wife, Nina, said.
"We did it," Day corrected her with a wide smile.
When Ohio State wins, he takes none of the credit.
When Ohio State loses, he takes all the blame.
He's a good coach; he's a good man.
Give him a lifetime contract!
"I'M COMING BACK FOR MY FIFTH YEAR." Oh, Jack Sawyer, the man that you are.
When the defensive end delivered his speech at Ohio State's championship celebration, he called it "an honor to play for this university, play for these coaches and play with these brothers." He added that the 2024 Buckeyes embodied what it's like to be from Ohio. "When you get punched in the mouth, you always get back up," he said.
That was great stuff.
Then, he delivered his greatest.
"I think it's a good time to announce that I'm coming back for my fifth year," Sawyer said, pausing as the crowd erupted in laughter.
He continued: "I'm just kidding. Coach Day and Coach (Larry) Johnson said it was time to come out of Columbus. But, man, what a special ride. ... I love this university. It's taught me a lot about how to grow, be a man and what it takes to do something legendary that's bigger than yourself. I thank God every day that I was born in Columbus, Ohio, and got to put on the scarlet and gray and bring a championship back to this great city."
Just a Kid From Pickerington, Sawyer was one of the reasons Ohio State brought a championship back to this great city. That 83-yard strip-sack scoop-and-score — my goodness, I'll remember that forever!
JACK SAWYER, THE MAN THAT YOU ARE pic.twitter.com/tQrhrXBqoF
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 11, 2025
What a legend!
O CAPTAIN, OUR CAPTAINS! Sawyer was one of five Buckeyes to speak at the national championship celebration. The other four were captains TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka and Cody Simon and quarterback Will Howard. Like Sawyer, each of those players delivered speeches that perfectly encapsulated their impact on the Ohio State football program.
Henderson continued to profess and share his faith from the podium:
"I"m thankful not just for this national championship, but I'm thankful for the lives that Jesus Christ saved and the lives that he transformed. I am thankful for my brothers, the coaches, the families and all the staff that was part of this championship team. ... I'm thankful that when people called us weak and counted us out for following Jesus, God kept us focused on Him, who reminded us that we are strong."
Emeka Egbuka, an Ohio State record holder, passed on individual praise in favor of the team:
"I just want to thank my brothers. You guys are truly what made these four years so enjoyable and memorable. There's nothing I can say that really embodies how I feel about you guys. I don't look at you any different than just extensions of my family. These four years have been amazing, and I will truly miss it, but I'm glad we were able to go out the right way."
Cody Simon, the Block O recipient, explained what it means to live out one of the program's pillars: "Fight."
"We break down our huddles with 'Fight.' It's not just for a word, it's for a reason. Every day, we come to the Woody and we know that every day is a fight for me. We're not just fighting for each other. That's not what it's about. It's fighting to be the best version of yourself and really putting your best foot forward every day, which gets our brother better and our coaches better. ... It's really for everyone in the Woody and Ohio. We don't just do this alone. We do this as a family of Columbus, of Ohio State, of a state of Ohio. We just love all of Buckeye Nation so much."
Will Howard, a quarterback who arrived in Columbus around this time last year, shared what it's been like to become a Buckeye:
"I'm just so thankful that I got a chance to be here and to be a Buckeye. I truly believe that God has a plan for all of us and that God's plan brought me here to Ohio State for a reason. I'm just so blessed that I got to share this with all of you, with my brothers out here, with my coaches, with my family in the stands and with my family that is all of you, Buckeye Nation and the state of Ohio. I love you guys, man. I'm a Buckeye forever. Go Bucks."
Our captains...
Our quarterback...
Our champions!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Carmen Ohio" from Ohio Stadium.
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