Skull Session: PFF Calls Jeremiah Smith “The Best Returning Player in College Football,” Arvell Reese’s Targeting Ranks Among Top 10 Worst Officiating Calls in 2024

By Chase Brown on February 19, 2025 at 5:00 am
Arvell Reese
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

#DevelopedHere

Have a good Wednesday.

 “THE BEST RETURNING PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.” Like all of us, Pro Football Focus loves how Ohio State’s wide receiver room will look in 2025. In a recent article that ranked the top 10 returning receivers entering this fall, Max Chadwick of PFF ranked Jeremiah Smith No. 1. 

Good choice.

“Smith entered Columbus as the highest-rated recruit from the 2024 class and the highest-rated wide receiver recruit in Ohio State history. Suffice to say, the Florida native faced sky-high expectations. And he lived up to them. Immediately,” Chadwick wrote. “As a true freshman, Smith was the most valuable receive in college football, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. His 89.8 PFF receiving grade in 2024 ranked third and is more than four points higher than any other returning wideout. He also led the Power Four with 15 receiving touchdowns while trailing only Tetairoa McMillan in receiving yards (1,311).

“Smith is an athletic freak at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds with an incredibly refined skill set for someone who turned 19 years old in November. Not only is he the best returning receiver in college football, but he’s the best returning player in college football.”

While Chadwick didn’t mention Carnell Tate or Brandon Inniss in his article, he did mention Inniss in a recent episode of the PFF College Football Show and said, “I think he will be a big-time breakout player for Ohio State next season.”

Ohio State’s fourth receiver behind Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Tate in 2024, Inniss appeared in all 16 games for the Buckeyes. He collected 14 catches for 176 yards and one touchdown in those appearances while also returning 14 punts for 107 yards.

With Egbuka off to the NFL, Inniss seems poised to become Ohio State’s next slot receiver and settle into a WR3 role behind Smith and Tate. And remember: WR3s are non-factors at other schools, but not at Ohio State, where the Tates (2024), Jaxon Smith-Njigbas (2022) and Garrett Wilsons (2019) of the world have emerged as consistent threats with Ryan Day as their head coach and Brian Hartline as their position coach.

 WHERE WE CAN AGREE. Americans disagree on politics, religion and all kinds of miscellaneous topics. However, Americans can agree on this: Officials are the worst.

If that sounds harsh, good.

Officials are the worst, especially when they make calls against my teams!

This college football season, “college coaches expressed their disdain for bad officiating calls,” Pete Nakos of On3 wrote this week. So, Nakos asked college football fans on X to share their opinions of the worst officiating calls of 2024. From those responses, he created a list of the top 10 worst calls from this past season, and a call against Ohio State made the list.

  • No. 10 - Nebraska run spotted incorrectly, forced to use a timeout against Ohio State
  • No. 9 - Ohio State’s Arvell Reese called for targeting, NCAA later overturns the call
  • No. 8 - Alabama called for illegal touching on Ryan Williams’ touchdown
  • No. 7 - Tulane’s game-winning touchdown against Kansas State called back
  • No. 6 - Miami (FL) not called for targeting against Cal
  • No. 5 - Virginia Tech’s Hail Mary attempt overturned
  • No. 4 - Controversial pass interference called late in Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
  • No. 3 - Texas pass interference overturned
  • No. 2 - Personal foul denies South Carolina a pick-six
  • No. 1 - Texas not called for targeting against Arizona State

Here is what officials deemed targeting by Arvell Reese:

While the penalty was not overturned after an in-game review, the call drew immediate scrutiny from Ryan Day and Ohio State fans. Day received a sideline warning for protesting the call, while several fans threw trash on the field, following the actions of Texas fans who committed the same actions one week earlier against Georgia.

Following Ohio State’s win over Nebraska, the program appealed Reese's targeting penalty to the Big Ten, arguing that he should not have been ejected. The Big Ten then went to the NCAA, which determined, upon review, that Reese should not have been penalized and subsequently vacated his suspension.

That call was horrendous.

I can name a few others that were also horrendous.

How about when officials called offensive pass interference on Smith against Oregon?

Or when officials missed Northwestern defensive back Robert Fitzgerald twisting Smith’s ankle?

Or when officials missed a defensive pass inference call on Tennessee defensive back Arion Carter, who blanketed Smith and forced a Will Howard interception?

Or – and I promise these don’t all have to do with Smith – when officials missed what was probably dozens of holding calls against Ohio State’s defensive line all season?

These officials…

They’re turrible.

 THE PERFECT DESTINATION. ESPN's Field Yates and Mel Kiper Jr. have named the San Francisco 49ers the perfect NFL destination for former Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons.

What makes the destination perfect?

Simmons, who tore his ACL in Ohio State’s regular-season loss to Oregon, has time to acclimate himself to the professional level while the 49ers land their heir apparent to Trent Williams, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer who has two years left on a three-year, $82.66 million deal with the franchise.

“He’s there at No. 11. He could have gone No. 5, No. 6 if he’d been healthy all year, but he gets hurt against Oregon in October, and now he’s available,” Kiper said on ESPN First Draft. “The medical (evaluation) at the combine will be important for a lot of players this year, probably more so this year than ever before. So many guys in our top 25, or were in our top 25 at some point, are medical question marks, ‘Are they going to be ready next year?’ Josh Simmons is one of those guys.

“(This move) makes so much sense that it probably won’t happen. It’s one of those things. It looks great. It makes sense for the 49ers. We’ll see. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. … Josh Simmons, as a left tackle, was well on his way this year to becoming maybe the third, fourth, fifth pick in the draft. But he didn’t finish out the year. He had cleaned up all the issues with penalties. He had developed into an elite left tackle – probably ahead of (LSU’s) Will Campbell had he been healthy. But he’s not, and when is he going to be ready? We’ll see. But yeah, for the 49ers? Makes perfect sense.”

Yates added: “They’re the rare team that is picking this high who also can afford to wait on a player, not the Chicago Bears or the New England Patriots up even higher at No. 4. You need reinforcements right away. … The 49ers have an insurance policy for Josh Simmons, who would also be an incredible tutor. If Trent Williams only has one more year left, who better to learn from than a future first-ballot Hall of Famer? Trent Williams for Josh Simmons.”

Who better?

The answer: No one.

In 14 NFL seasons, Williams is an 11-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro and one-time second-team All-Pro. When he retires in San Francisco, he has a one-way ticket to Canton, Ohio, where he will be enshrined alongside Orlando Pace, Anthony Muñoz and other all-time great blind-side protectors.

If Williams can impart a fraction of the wisdom he has gained in the NFL onto Simmons, the former Ohio State tackle would benefit tremendously.

 IT’S ALMOST HERE. In a week-and-a-half, Ohio Stadium will host an NHL Stadium Series matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. As the weeks turn to days and days turn to hours, the NHL will continue to make preparations for the game. Those preparations started, as Blue Jackets insider and Rob Gronkowski’s best friend, Jeff Svoboda, reported Tuesday.

In an Ohio State press release shared earlier this month, athletic director Ross Bjork said he is excited for the school to host the historic matchup.

“We really pride ourselves on the ability to host these events,” Bjork said. “We are really proud to host such a prestigious event and partner with the NHL and our very own Columbus Blue Jackets, the McConnell Family and the Columbus Sports Commission to really make this type of event come to reality. … This is the first-ever outdoor hockey game played at our historic stadium. We say: Defend the Shoe. I think the Blue Jackets are ready to defend the Shoe.”

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Let Things Go" - CAAMP.

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