Welcome to the Skull Session.
Oh, yeah. It's all coming together.
Also, BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Have a good Tuesday.
“THAT WAS POETIC.” Last week, Will Howard appeared on The Ryen Russillo Podcast to discuss Ohio State’s national championship and his NFL future.
Amid a conversation about Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff title game, Howard broke down all that went into the 3rd-and-Jeremiah play that helped the Buckeyes clinch their ninth championship all time.
“I mean, I love talking about that play. That’s one of my favorites from the year. That one triggers a good memory for me,” Howard told Russillo.
How did the play come to be?
Howard started from the beginning.
“We go out there (on the final offensive drive), and we were kind of in a four-minute drill mode there, so we’re trying to run the ball. I think Coach Day wanted to call that play earlier on in the drive, but Coach Kelly was like, ‘Let’s see if we can get some with the run. Let’s push it and see what we can get with the run.’ We get stuffed twice, and it’s 3rd-and-11.
“Then, we knew we had that play in on 3rd-and-extra-long because we had seen guys that hit some go balls against them. It was quite literally – we call it, ‘Grill Grill.’ It means go balls on either side. It’s mirrored go balls and Emeka (Egbuka) has a middle read route where he can take the middle if it opens up to two-high (safeties) or break it off like a basic if it’s one-high.”
But wait! There’s more!
“Dos Left was our formation, our two-by-two deal. And we had a 73 protection, so we had a seven-man protection,” Howard continued. “We were saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to block this thing up and we’re freaking launching.’ I looked out to the boundary and Carnell (Tate) had a little tighter coverage, and 29 (Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray) was off and soft to the field. He was damn near looking right at me. I was like, ‘Alright, I think this is the time to let this thing rip.’
“Emeka had said on the sideline, he’s like, ‘When 29 is inside leverage, we have to take advantage of it.’ All week, 29 and 15 (Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore), if I had my choice, I was going at 29. He was out there on an island. I knew they probably would bring some sort of pressure, but we had it blocked up because we had a seven-man protection called, 73 Grill.”
Once Howard received the snap and took a three-step drop, he knew exactly where to throw the football: Far out in front of Jeremiah Smith.
“I’m taking my three-step and a hitch and putting it on a cone, man, and No. 4 will be there every single time,” Howard said. “That was electric. I was so fired up that (Day and Kelly) called that because, you know, in that situation, I want the ball in my hands to seal the game. I love it, man. Bring it on. Throw a freaking go ball to No. 4 to seal the natty? That was poetic.”
3rd-and-Jeremiah was an iconic moment to cap off an iconic season for Ohio State football. We’ve heard Day break it down. We’ve heard Howard break it down. Now, we need to hear Smith break it down. Whenever that happens, you best believe I’ll have it here in the Skull Session!
“WE’RE HERE TO BLOW THESE GUYS OUT.” Another great moment from Howard’s appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast was how he described Ohio State’s dominant win over Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
When the Buckeyes and Ducks faced off in the 2024 regular season, Howard balled out, completing 28 of 35 passes (80 percent) for 326 yards and two touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. However, the lasting image of the game, which Oregon won 32-31 in Eugene, was Howard sliding as time expired during Ohio State’s potential game-winning drive. That final score and that moment added extra motivation for Howard and his teammates as the Buckeyes prepared for a rematch with the Ducks in Pasadena.
“Coming out of that game, we knew that we should have beaten those guys. We knew that if we got another chance at them we didn’t have to make it close. I didn’t know it would be 34-0 before halftime, but I knew that coming into that game I felt really good about our game plan. We were going to be aggressive. I mean, the first play of the game, Coach Kelly’s calling the Smoke Screen and Go. Like, from that moment, I was like, ‘OK, we’re not here to just win. We’re here to blow these guys out.’”
That last line is incredible.
It feels like that’s how Ohio State treated all four opponents on its run to the championship. Whether it was Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame, none of them stood a chance. Ohio State didn’t plan on just beating them, it planned on blowing them out – or planned on going, as Billy Butcher said, scorched earth.
I like it when the Buckeyes go scorched earth.
“HE’S A GENERATIONAL TALENT, FOR SURE.” Oregon cornerback Brandon Johnson covered Smith twice this season.
In an appearance on The Sitdown Podcast last week, Johnson shared what it’s like to defend the Big Ten Receiver and Freshman of the Year. The short answer? It’s not fun! The long answer? Well, just look at how Johnson describes Smith and you’ll understand.
“I think it’s his mixture of size and speed. It’s size, speed and athletic ability. These are all different things,” Johnson said when describing what stands out about Smith. “I mean, he can jump out the gym, but he’s also 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, and he runs as fast as anyone on the field. Now, he may not be the most crisp receiver, but when you have all these other abilities, they can make up for wherever you lack.”
Johnson expects Smith to develop his hands and route running throughout his college career. As that happens, Johnson sees no limit to what Smith can accomplish at Ohio State or in the NFL.
“He’s a generational talent, for sure,” he said. “You don’t see many football players like Jeremiah Smith. You may see someone who has two out of three. You may see someone who is (athletic), a crisp route runner, has great hands – Jeremiah Smith has good hands –but, you know, he’s definitely a good football player, good young player. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in the future. … He has all the things you can’t teach.”
And with Brian Hartline as his wide receivers coach, he'll learn all the other stuff, too!
WELL, THAT'S NEAT! Last week, an Eleven Warriors user with the YouTube channel Golden Buckeye Nation posted compilation videos for each of the first touchdowns Ohio State scored in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. I thought it was cool to look back on some of the scores I remember, and the ones I don't, so I decided to share the videos here in the Skull Session. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
1990s
2000s
2010s
That Devin Smith catch in 2012 was my iPod Touch wallpaper for months.
To this day, I watch that highlight and yell, “Aye!”
SONG OF THE DAY. “Stupid Deep” - Jon Bellion.
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