Skull Session: Ohioans (Apparently) Have No Opinion on Ryan Day, Larry Johnson Will Coach at Ohio State “Until God Says I’ve Got to Stop” and C.J. Hicks Moves to Defensive End

By Chase Brown on March 10, 2025 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day and Jim Tressel
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Oh, I'm so happy! I'm so happy! This is the best day of my life!

Have a good Monday.

 FIND FAVOR. According to a poll from YouGov and Bowling Green State University, the new home of Ohio State legend Eddie George (!), most Ohioans have no opinion on Ryan Day and Jim Tressel but have a favorable opinion of LeBron James.

The poll of 800 registered voters in Ohio revealed this about the Ohio State head football coach, the Ohio lieutenant governor and the NBA superstar:

Ryan Day

  • 62 percent have neither a favorable nor an unfavorable view
  • 15 percent have a somewhat favorable view
  • 13 percent have a strongly favorable view
  • 10 percent have either an unfavorable or strongly unfavorable view

Jim Tressel

  • 53 percent have neither a favorable nor an unfavorable view
  • 21 percent have a somewhat favorable view
  • 8 percent have a somewhat unfavorable view
  • 6 percent have a strongly unfavorable view

LeBron James

  • 37 percent have a strongly favorable view
  • 31 percent have neither a favorable nor an unfavorable view
  • 32 percent have either an unfavorable or strongly unfavorable view

I have no idea who these 800 registered voters were, but I find their responses interesting!

Especially the 10 percent who find the head coach fresh off a national championship unfavorable!

Very interesting, indeed!

 “IT’S AN HONOR.” In an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd last week, Day discussed several topics. The best was Day sharing that the first person he thought of after Ohio State won the national championship.was his late father, Raymond. The second best, however, was Day describing being the Buckeyes’ head coach as “an honor.”

“I remember the first press conference," Day said, "I was there with Urban and a lot of people kind of asked, ‘How do you follow up Coach Meyer, a legend?’ and ‘What if you don’t do this? Or, what if you don’t do that?’ I kind of had the mindset of, ‘What if we do? What an opportunity to be at a place with such great tradition.’ And my wife, that night, we were on the bed together (with) our three young kids, knowing we were probably the first family to go through this with young kids going through elementary school and now into junior high and high school. She cried and said, ‘This is the last time our family will be normal.’ I didn’t even understand at the time, but she did. She was right. 

“It’s part of the job. It’s part of the obligation. After the game, so many people have come up to me across the country when I’ve traveled to different places, and the first thing they say is ‘Thank you. Just thank you for what you did this year.’ They tell the stories of where they’ve been across the country and where they were when they watched the run that we went on. It just makes you realize Ohio State football is bigger than any one of us. It’s an obligation we have. It’s an honor to be the head coach at Ohio State.”

I feel like it’s our honor to have Day as a head coach.

He’s as good as it gets!

Those 10 percent who find him unfavorable be darned!

 “UNTIL GOD SAYS I’VE GOT TO STOP.” Each offseason for the past, I don’t know, five years (?), reporters have asked Larry Johnson this question: “When will you retire?” And each offseason in the past five years, Johnson has had the same response: “I haven’t thought about it.”

The same was true this offseason.

After some, including me, speculated Johnson would ride off into the sunset following Ohio State’s national championship, Johnson confirmed he’ll be back on the sidelines for the Buckeyes next season – and maybe a few seasons after that?

“I never thought about it,” Johnson said Friday. “It’s just on to the next guys, a group of guys I brought in.”

With Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton off to the NFL, Ohio State must replace all four starters on the defensive line. The leading candidates are Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston, but expect C.J. Hicks to make some noise. Johnson said Friday that Hicks has moved to his room following three seasons as a linebacker. (More on that in a moment.)

“That’s coaching,” Johnson said of replacing the starters. “That’s what coaching is all about. Each year, we’ve got a different group of guys, and now we have to rebuild from the bottom again. We’ve done it a couple of times since I’ve been here, so it’s another opportunity to see who’s going to step up and play.”

Like the rumors of his retirement, Johnson refuted reports he and Knowles had beef in 2024.

“There was no conflict,” Johnson said. “Jim and I had a great relationship. I didn’t have an ultimatum (of using a four-man front). It was never that. But the story got created, which is unfair, by someone on a podcast, I guess, trying to get clicks or something.”

Johnson’s comments align with Knowles' remarks on the matter.

“I have tremendous respect for what he does,” Knowles said, per The Columbus Dispatch. “He’s legendary. Yeah, he’s tied to the four-man front, and that was fine. I ran some of the Jack stuff my first year (here). We got away from it, but that was more me just saying, ‘This doesn’t work here. That’s not how we’re built. That’s now how we recruit. That’s not something we need to do.’ … It wasn’t anything with Larry. I think he’s great at what he does. He and I always had a good relationship.”

Soooooo…

A championship didn’t make him retire.

A brand-new defensive line didn’t make him retire.

A(n alleged) beef with Knowles didn’t make him retire.

How much longer will Johnson be at Ohio State?

“Until God says I’ve got to stop,” he said.

Amen…?

 THIS AND THAT. Another Skull Session, another This and That™.

You know the drill.

In his fourth season at Ohio State, Hicks will come off the f—g edge. Former Ohio State safety Tyvis Powell believes the transition could allow Hicks to become the next Abdul Carter, the Penn State edge rusher who recorded 68 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 12 sacks in his first season after moving from outside linebacker to defensive end in 2024.

In separate interviews with NFL media, Sawyer and Tuimoloau looked back at their best moments from Ohio State’s championship season. The former discussed his iconic scoop-and-score in the Cotton Bowl, while the latter discussed his dominant performances in the College Football Playoff.

Speaking of Sawyer’s scoop-and-score, Ohio State fans voted it as the best play of the 2024 season. That’s no surprise, considering the moment will be (and should be) remembered as one of the greatest in the program’s 134-year history.

Ohio State’s creative team delivered a few more hoop mixtapes over the weekend. This time around, they were for Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.

Those are simply too good!

That’s all, folks!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Over My Head" - The Fray.

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