Welcome to the Skull Session.
This Ohio State team has taken years off my life.
This is March. #Team126 | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/qItB1FMZTG
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) March 5, 2025
But the Buckeyes are still alive!
Have a good Wednesday.
MATT PATRICIA *HANDSHAKE* TIM WALTON. Last week, Ryan Day and thousands more boarded the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer. As the cruise sailed from Grand Cayman to Jamaica and the Bahamas, Dom Tiberi of 10TV interviewed the Ohio State head coach to learn more about his experience on the cruise following a national championship, as well as the football program's plans for the offseason.
On whether Ohio State's national championship has "sunk in"
"I think it's been great for our current players to be around this family and be around Buckeye Nation and let them put their hair down a little bit. But also, it's spending time and seeing what it means. Last night at the event, (Caleb Downs, Lincoln Kienholz and others) all stood up and gave $500 to fund a need. That speaks to the culture of Ohio State in general. That was great.
"In terms of it sinking in, there's been times when it has sunk in and other times when it hasn't. Sometimes you wake up in the morning and say, 'We really did this.' You know, the thing to me that has been great is just hearing the stories: where everybody was, how it brought generations together and how proud everybody is."
On Ohio State's 2025 team rebuilding the culture
"We had a leadership meeting and the first thing on the board was, 'Reinforce the culture.' By the end of the meeting, it was, 'Rebuild the culture.' This group in particular hasn't done anything as a group, coaches and players included. That's what we're gonna do. Spring ball is gonna be an important part of that. We feel like we just got done with the season, so spring ball may look a little bit different. We're gonna still kind of work through that. It will only be four weeks this year as opposed to five. We'll adjust. But spring will be important for us."
On Matt Patricia, Ohio State's defensive staff
"Well, the first thing was we want to continue with what we've been doing on defense. We don't want to bring in a whole new defense. Tim Walton is gonna be a huge part of this. He and Matt are gonna work together. Tim and Matt (Guerrieri) and Larry (Johnson) and James (Laurinaitis) all work together really well, and so bringing Matt into this thing was important. But he also had to understand that there were certain things in place that are gonna continue. He also brings three Super Bowl rings, an unbelievable amount of experience, an expertise — anybody you know who's spent time with him will tell you he's a very smart guy.
"He's had a ton of energy so far. He's dove into our coaches, dove into our guys on defense and got a chance to know them. We're gonna be doing everything we can to run a defense that fits what we have. There's a lot of things that we're gonna do that are gonna carry over from last year, but some other things we have to look at based on our personnel. I think that's what coaching is all about."
On what he learned from the 2024 season
"It is a long season. You're talking about preparing for 16 games. The thing that's different for us this year is now we're coming off a 16-game season. What does that mean? We got done on Jan. 20, but a lot of people had been done Dec. 20. We're at a month of catching up a little bit. It's allowing some of the guys who played a lot of football to recover, but we also got to get some of these younger guys going. Building depth will be very, very important. It looks like we're gonna be down to a roster limit of 105 (from 120), which brings a whole bunch of challenges to the table. A lot of things that are changing here. Revenue sharing is gonna be right around the corner here. A lot of change, but we're gonna do everything we can to stay ahead of the curve."
You love to see Downs, Kienholz and other Buckeyes use their platform and resources for good.
You also love to see (or at least I love to see) Day discuss Ohio State's defense as a collaborative effort between Patricia and Walton. The former can provide fresh ideas, and the latter can reinforce what's worked for the past two to three seasons. In other words, he can be the OG!
And I know we all love OG Walt.
Free Game Friday : Run it back ! pic.twitter.com/LF9dH3PmBs
— Tim Walton (@OGWalt_) January 2, 2025
THE NEXT CURTIS MARTIN? This week, I learned some ball. I have Scott Dochterman of The Athletic to thank for that. After the NFL Combine, Dochterman named some high-ceiling comparisons for the draft's top running back prospects:
Ashton Jeanty → Edgerrin James, Omarion Hampton → Ezekiel Elliott (hmmmmmm), Kaleb Johnson → David Johnson, TreVeyon Henderson → Curtis Martin, Quinshon Judkins → Josh Jacobs, Cam Skattebo → Arian Foster, and Dylan Sampson → Kevin Faulk.
I knew all those names except for one: Curtis Martin.
A quick Google search revealed him to be one of the greatest running backs of all-time —both for his performance on the field and his leadership off of it.
Dochterman's comparison of Henderson to Martin made complete sense.
In 168 appearances across 11 NFL seasons, Martin carried the ball 3,518 times for 14,101 yards (4 YPC) and 90 touchdowns and hauled in 484 passes for another 3,329 yards (6.9 YPR) and 10 scores. He was the 1995 Offensive Rookie of the Year, as well as a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro.
2/8 day calls for Curtis Martin highlights
— New York Jets (@nyjets) February 8, 2025
roll the tape! pic.twitter.com/z0wPVxL3Rq
A 2012 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Martin's bio on the Hall of Fame website features several career notes and quotes.
Notes
Curtis Martin let his talent do the talking for him during a career which ranks him among the finest running backs ever to carry a football on an NFL field. He is one of just two players to start his NFL career with 10 straight 1,000 yards seasons.
Curtis was named the NFL’s Rookie of Year after leading the AFC in rushing with 1,487 yards. He joined exclusive company as only six other runners to date had led their conference in rushing and won Rookie of the Year honors. Jim Brown, Abner Hayes, Paul Robinson, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders have led their conference in rushing and won Rookie of the Year honors in the same season.
In 2004, Martin became the oldest player in NFL history (31) to win a rushing title. He finished the season with a career-best 1,697 yards—one yard more than Seattle’s Shaun Alexander. Following a Week 16 game in which he rushed for just 33 yards, Martin erupted for 153 yards in the regular season finale against St. Louis. Alexander, who had rushed for 154 yards in Week 16, mustered 80 yards on 19 carries in Week 17, falling just shy of Martin.
Martin finished his storied career with exactly 100 touchdowns. He scored the first 37 with Patriots and the final 63 while playing for the Jets. Fifty-one of his touchdown runs came on rushes of three yards or less.
Quotes
“Curtis Martin is one of the greatest running backs ever to play the game, and his impact on the New York Jets and the National Football League will never be forgotten.” - Jets Owner Woody Johnson
“Curtis is one of the most inspirational players I have ever seen. I always judge players by their ability to inspire others. I've seen Curtis Martin inspire numerous players and coaches and I was fortunate to be among those he inspired. He's one of the greatest players I have ever coached.” - former Jets and Patriots head coach Bill Parcells
“The ability to play at such a consistently high level every week he took the field will be the enduring football legacy of Curtis Martin. He is a man of unparalleled integrity who treats everyone who crosses his path with a great deal of respect.” - Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum
“When Curtis Martin stepped on the field, you knew one thing - whatever he had in his heart or in his body he was going to give.” - former Jets head coach Herm Edwards
“You might call Curtis an old-schooler. His values are a little different than a lot of young men. The guys who carry themselves with dignity get overlooked. This kid has had a great career. He should be in the Hall of Fame, no doubt about it.” - Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown
I love that most of the quotes are more about Martin the person than Martin the football player. If I had to describe Henderson, I think I would follow a similar formula.
If Henderson has a career like Martin – woooooah, man, I would be one happy camper. I think we all would be!
BODY BY MICK. Remember when Ohio State football players would share offseason transformation photos? I have memories of Elliott, Joshua Perry and some others sharing them. Heck, Elliott reshared his in 2020, well after his time with the Buckeyes had ended. His caption? "Coach Mick got me right."
A decade after Elliott's college career, Ohio State strength coach Mick Marotti continues to transform bodies in the winter, spring and summer. The latest proof came when freshman cornerback Devin Sanchez revealed he's added 17 pounds to his 6-foot-2 frame since January.
Devin Sanchez pic.twitter.com/KKNPIvBSU4
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) March 4, 2025
The No. 8 overall prospect in the 2025 class, Sanchez has the potential to earn snaps in OG Walt's cornerback room as a freshman. All the buzz around Sanchez is that he has some Jeremiah Smith to him; that he is a generational prospect with freakish athleticism, polish, instincts and technical acumen as an 18-year-old.
If Sanchez can consistently showcase those characteristics this offseason, there's reason to believe – I think a lot of it – he could compete for snaps alongside Davison Igbinosun, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Aaron Scott Jr.
PEACOCK IS POPPYCOCK! An Ohio lawmaker has had enough of Peacock!
This week, Ohio Sen. Bill DeMora has made another attempt to ban Ohio State football games from airing on NBC's streaming platform. DeMora's legislation, Senate Bill 94, would prevent state universities from signing media deals allowing for streaming exclusive games in the future. It would also seek to have universities grant students free access to games.
To the extent permitted by federal law, no state university shall enter into or renew a contract under which the media rights to broadcast a university athletic event are granted exclusively to a streaming service. This division applies only to contracts entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of this section.
Each state university shall provide enrolled students, at no cost to the students, with access to observe any university athletic events that are broadcast in accordance with a contract entered into or renewed in accordance with division of this section. Each state university shall determine the manner in which such access is provided to students.
According to NBC4 in Columbus, this is at least the second time DeMora has introduced legislation to ban streaming games. His desire to create the bill came because he was frustrated having to watch Ohio State face Purdue (2023) and Michigan State (2024) on Peacock.
“It was the first time in over 20 years that I couldn’t watch an Ohio State football game on a regular channel,” DeMora said. “I refuse to pay all these streaming networks to watch Ohio State and other sports. … Streaming television is not good for sports.”
While I agree with DeMora that streaming television is not good for sports, his chance to keep Ohio State off Peacock ended the moment Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti signed his name on a billion-dollar contract between the conference and its media partners FOX, CBS and NBC.
As a result of that contract, the Buckeyes will be back on the streaming service this fall, and the fall after that, and the fall after that, and the fall after that...
It stinks, but it's like Don Draper said in Mad Men: "That's what the money is for!"
SONG OF THE DAY. "Holy" - Jon Bellion.
CUT TO THE CHASE. One moment, calm waters. The next, a 900-pound dolphin landed on their boat... Crowds cheer as runners with frying pans race to mark annual Pancake Day... Winners of the 2025 World Nature Photography Awards... Timber over Tinder: Bridegroom’s Oak in a German forest has connected lovers for over a century.
