Welcome to the Skull Session.
Question:
If you had 1 meal for the rest of your life... what're you picking pic.twitter.com/97KFZmflFr
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 28, 2025
My answer: The Chicken Caesar from Wario's Beef and Pork.
OHIO STATE LEGENDS. Ohio State football has had some excellent quarterbacks since 2000: Craig Krenzel (a national champion!), Troy Smith, Terrelle Pryor, Braxton Miller (a national champion!), Cardale Jones (a national champion!), J.T. Barrett (a national champion!), Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud and Will Howard (a national champion!).
This week, Bill Connelly of ESPN ranked Miller, Barrett, Smith, Fields and Stroud on a national scale, naming the five Buckeyes among the top 90 quarterbacks of the 2000s with a top five of Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Cam Newton (Auburn), Vince Young (Texas), Tim Tebow (Florida) and Joe Burrow (LSU).
Here’s where Connelly ranked Ohio State’s quarterbacks:
No. 86 – Braxton Miller
Years: 2011-15
Stats: 5,295 passing yards, 59% completion rate, 52 TD, 17 INT, 3,314 rushing yards, 33 rushing TD
Miller posted seasons of 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in 2012 and 2013 while winning the Big Ten's offensive player of the year award both seasons. He also finished fifth in the Heisman voting in 2012. But a shoulder injury altered his career; after missing 2014, he moved to receiver for his senior season in 2015.
No. 73 – J.T. Barrett
Years: 2014-17
Stats: 9,434 passing yards, 64% completion rate, 104 TD, 30 INT, 3,263 rushing yards, 43 rushing TD
He broke the Big Ten record for most passing TDs and total TDs, won 38 games in 3.5 seasons as a starter, and, perhaps most importantly, went 4-0 against Michigan.
No. 38 – Troy Smith
Years: 2003-06
Stats: 5,720 passing yards, 63% completion rate, 54 TD, 13 INT, 1,168 rushing yards, 14 rushing TD
Ohio State went wire-to-wire in the 2006 regular season, and while Smith wasn't asked to do much in blowouts, he came through big-time when required and won the Heisman by more than 1,600 points. Of course, this would have all mattered more had Smith and the Buckeyes not gotten absolutely humiliated by Florida in the national title game. That'll knock down your ranking a bit.
No. 33 – Justin Fields
Years: 2018-20
Stats: 5,701 passing yards, 68% completion rate, 67 TD, 9 INT, 1,133 rushing yards, 19 TD
Thanks to the abbreviated 2020 season, Fields was a collegiate starter for basically 1.5 years. But in that time he proved startlingly accurate and dynamic, leading Ohio State to two CFP bids, one national title game and only two losses.
No. 21 – C.J. Stroud
Years: 2020-22
Stats: 8,123 passing yards, 69% completion rate, 85 TD, 12 INT, 1 rushing TD
He didn't have the longest career, but in 25 career games, he topped 300 yards 15 times, topped 400 yards five times, completed at least 70% of his passes 10 times and threw multiple INTs just twice. And he was the best player on the field in his final game, a CFP near upset of Georgia.
Question: Where the heck is Haskins?
Haskins completed 70 percent of his passes for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns in his lone season as Ohio State’s starter in 2018. Those incredible numbers make Haskins a top-90 quarterback since 2000.
Right?
Right?
What gives, Bill?
GOOD GUY WILL HOWARD. Reason No. 1,849 I love Will Howard:
After dropping dimes – dropping dimes! – at Ohio State’s pro day on Wednesday, Howard spent Thursday outside the Ohio Union honoring Charlotte “Charley” Bauer, an Ohio State student who died from complications related to a bone marrow transplant last month.
“Nothing I could ever accomplish on the field will ever be as big as something like this — being able to give back to the community, and give back to these cancer patients and these kids that need a match,” Howard told The Lantern at the event.
Howard partnered with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to raise awareness and funds for both organizations, which encouraged students to take a test kit, swab their mouths and register themselves as potential bone marrow donors for someone in need of a transplant.
The former Ohio State quarterback spent hours taking pictures with and signing autographs for students, The Lantern sports editor Noah Weiskopf wrote in his article.
Football: Will Howard participates in community meet and greet, raises awareness for bone marrow transplantshttps://t.co/LuPiU6hbPk
— The Lantern (@TheLantern) March 28, 2025
“I know that there’s potential that one of these people can save someone’s life,” Howard said. “If I can stand out here and take pictures with them and do whatever, I’ve been saying, ‘A picture for a swab,’ all day. It’s just cool to be a part of this.”
Howard’s goal was to have 100 students register for NMDP, Weiskopf wrote. The final number was almost four times that.
“It means the world to me, man,” Howard said. “I’m so glad that even just my presence being here can attract people. It’s surreal. It’s a blessing that my platform is this big now, but it’s great.”
Howard also told Weiskopf he wants to start a foundation after the NFL draft.
“I don’t know what my foundation is gonna be, but it will probably be something around this: leukemia, lymphoma, blood cancer, drive stuff,” Howard shared. “There are so many people out there that need it, and for me to be able to use my platform and just spread the word, be able to maybe get some people out there that need matches, get the matches, it means the world.”
COME TO COLUMBUS! Take a break from the Skull Session.
Check out this Columbus tourism video from 1993:
From the moment I saw the swan, I was locked in.
And how about that pass from Bobby Hoying to Greg Beatty?
#KIPPSTRONG47. Three weeks ago, in my hometown of Worthington, a freak accident occurred when a driver struck 9-year-old Kipp McGlone as he crossed the street near his home.
Assessing that Kipp had suffered a traumatic brain injury, paramedics rushed him to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where he has since been in a medically induced coma to allow his brain time to recover from the severe swelling.
“I don’t care what religion you practice or god you report to – we need your prayers. I don’t care what kind of wizardry you may practice – we need your positive intentions,” Kipp’s father, Kevin, shared on social media following the accident. “We need them all in abundance, and we need them nonstop. Please. We thank you with everything we have for all the love and support. Keep lifting up Kipp in your hearts and minds.”
As of last week, doctors had been waking Kipp up to track his healing. Still, Kipp’s recovery is far from over, his uncle, Sean, told The Columbus Dispatch.
The McGlone family, of Worthington, has been receiving global support from the soccer community and beyond for 9-year-old Kipp. https://t.co/gYiyK1Qa2d
— Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) March 29, 2025
“He’s in a phase now where the swelling has started to come down. He still has significant swelling, but it’s heading in the right direction. It will probably be several more weeks before the swelling has come all the way down,” Sean said. “They’re slowly bringing him out of the coma. He’s still heavily sedated, but they’ve kind of turned the switch to dim, where they slowly bring him out to wake his brain up, which will eventually allow them to determine the extent of the damage.”
As Kipp and his family spend extended time at Nationwide’s pediatric intensive care unit, the Worthington community has come together to support the McGlones in several ways, including creating a CaringBridge, starting the #KippStrong47 movement and displaying blue LED lights on front porches, all of which warms my heart.
That support has extended to the Columbus Crew’s Nordecke and Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden.
I write this section to offer Eleven Warriors readers the chance to support Kipp. You can do that by donating to his CaringBridge, purchasing a #KippStrong47 T-shirt or sweatshirt from the Worthington Kilbourne soccer program, or purchasing a #KippStrong47 wristband from a group of moms among Kipp’s teammates with Ohio Premier.
Or, you could respond to Sean’s request:
“If you’re religious, you could pray. If you’re not religious, you could have a fleeting thought about this poor kid in a hospital bed, hoping he gets better. That is really what (Kipp’s parents) want,” he told The Dispatch. “I think they would want people to hug their own kids, to do something in their own community, be good humans, and we’ve seen so much of that.”
SONG OF THE DAY. "Our House" - Crosby, Stills & Nash.
(My wife and I moved into a new place two months ago, and we finally finished all of our projects... for now.)
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