Skull Session: Pete Carroll Calls Ryan Day and Ohio State “Incredible,” Jack Sawyer Still Thinks About His Scoop-and-Score and College Coaches Rave Over Max Klare

By Chase Brown on February 27, 2025 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day
Samantha Madar / Columbus Dispatch
25 Comments

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Sonny Styles and Brennen Schramm are Ohio State's DUDES OF THE WEEK.

Have a good Thursday.

 “IT’S INCREDIBLE.” A two-time BCS national champion and one-time Super Bowl champion, Pete Carroll knows how to coach some football. Because Carroll knows how to coach some football, he also knows when others can coach some football.

Earlier this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, Carroll said Ryan Day fits that description.

“It’s incredible,” Carroll said Tuesday of Ohio State’s championship run in 2024 and the program’s consistent success across several decades. “They continue to just fuel that thing with great players. Coach Day has got it going. He knows how to utilize those good players and make sure they continue to stay on top of things.”

Carroll hopes Ohio State’s run can help him as he returns to coaching for the Las Vegas Raiders following a 14-year tenure with the Seattle Seahawks. Last month, the 73-year-old hired Chip Kelly to be his offensive coordinator, a role in which Kelly will make over $6 million per season with the franchise.

“Amazing offense,” Carroll said of Kelly’s one year at Ohio State. “Two 1,000-yard rushers, two 1,000-yard receivers, national championship and the whole thing. It was incredible viewing throughout the season. I was watching them all year long.”

While Carroll credited Kelly for Ohio State’s offensive success, he also sees the success as a reflection of Day.

“The fact that he was able to roll Chip in there and roll Chip out of there that fast and have an immediate impact like he did, that’s philosophy and approach and vision for that program that they’ve been able to maintain,” Carroll said.

I’m still not over Ohio State’s losses to Carroll and USC in 2008 and 2009. Those are haunted memories from childhood. Still, when real recognizes real, I must recognize real for recognizing the real.

You know what I mean?

Shout out to Pete Carroll.

 “IT’S JUST COOL.” Jack Sawyer had a 19-minute press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday. Between questions about JT Tuimoloau and Jeremiah Smith, one inquiry stood out: How many times has he watched his 83-yard scoop-and-score in the Cotton Bowl?

“I’ve seen it a few times,” Sawyer said with a smile. 

Yeah, same.

Just a few times.

Not like 100.

Same.

“It’s just cool, man,” Sawyer said of the scoop-and-score. “I was just happy to be able to make a play like that and ultimately help my team win a national championship a week later. It was a special moment – definitely one I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life – but really, it’s all about finishing it off and and winning the national championship.”

Sawyer added that it still doesn’t feel real that Ohio State bounced back from its bitter end of the regular season to win a College Football Playoff title.

“I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet. I think it will once we get the rings,” Sawyer said. “But it’s starting to sink in a little bit more, realizing what we were able to do. It was really cool and still a special moment.”

I agree.

That national championship was cool.

Ohio State should win them more often!

 “HE’S A PROBLEM.” This week, Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic interviewed 13 college football coaches and staffers to learn more about what went down in the winter transfer portal window.

One of the questions Morales and Khan asked the six coaches and seven general managers, recruiting coordinators or directors of player personnel: Which school’s portal class did each of them like the most?

Two answered Ohio State.

“Ohio State did a great job,” a Power 4 director of player personnel said. “They just get really, really good quality. They’re very efficient with what they need in the portal. And Oregon. Both of those squads took some surefire guys and helped the areas they needed.

Added a Power 4 general manager, “Ohio State, to me, killed it.”

The Buckeyes landed six transfers in December and January: Running back CJ Donaldson Jr. (West Virginia), tight end Max Klare (Purdue), offensive tackles Ethan Onianwa (Rice) and Phillip Daniels (Minnesota), defensive end Logan George (Idaho State) and linebacker Ty Howard (Duquesne).

Of those half-dozen Buckeyes, the Power 4 director of player personnel wished he could have added Klare to his roster this offseason.

“He’s improving in all facets of his game, but as far as what he does with his pass-catching ability and his route running, he’s a problem,” he said.

With 51 catches, 685 yards and four touchdowns for a 1-11 Purdue team... yeah... Klare is a problem.

He'll be an even bigger one in Columbus with Day as his head coach and Brian Hartline as his offensive coordinator.

 CELEBRATING HISTORY. Before February ends – and with it, Black History Month – I wanted to share a few of Ohio State’s social media posts celebrating some of the football program's prominent Black athletes.

All of those posts include a link to an article that Ohio State has created for each Black athlete. Click on them to read more about them and their accomplishments for the Buckeyes.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Awake My Soul" - Mumford & Sons ft. Jon Batiste.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Dramatic rescue saves horse from icy pond in New York... Baby white rhino Nova makes her public debut at Belgium’s Pairi Daiza zoo... Thieves nab pricey bulldogs from a Colorado pet store after faking a seizure, sheriff says... Colombian police catch a man smuggling packets of cocaine under toupee... Luxury home at risk of tumbling into Cape Cod Bay over removal dispute is demolished.

25 Comments

Michigan Defensive Tackle Mason Graham Knew Ohio State Could Win a National Title in 2024: “It Hurts Me to Say That”

Mason Graham

Ohio State Survives Second-Half USC Comeback in Critical Game for NCAA Tournament Life, 87-82

Bruce Thornton
View 25 Comments