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Skull Session: A Championship Could Cure All For Ohio State, The Buckeyes Class Of 2023 Lead The B1G And Scary Terry And Nick Bosa Are Pro Bowlers

December 22, 2022
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Winter is coming.

Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

Like, please. Nothing is worse than when it freezes over without snow in Columbus, which is precisely what the weather will be like in the capital of Ohio over Christmas weekend. I wish it was more like this:

Alas, that will not be the case.

Despite that, let’s still have a good Thursday, shall we?

PROGRAM STATUS. The Ohio State Class of 2023 recruits signed their names on national letters of intent on Wednesday to officially become Buckeyes. Around noon, Ryan Day met with the media to discuss the outlook and the impact he expects each of them will have in Columbus going forward.

Day was asked many questions. He provided many answers. However, a question of Patrick Murphy of 247 Sports and the Ohio State head coach’s subsequent response requires pause for thought.

Murphy: When we’re dealing with the fans, the people who read our stuff, there’s the Ohio State team that lost to Michigan twice in a row and lost some guys in class. This is the negative side. Then there’s the other side that sees it like you’ve gone 11-1, you’re in the college football playoffs, and you’re close to a national championship. From your point of view – from the point of view of this building – how do you see things at the moment?

For visual people reading the Skull Session, I’ve linked Day’s response in a video format, but if you’d rather see the words on the page – like in those old diaries – I’ll also write his quotes below the clip:

Day:We all have certain expectations and we all have goals. And when you don’t achieve those goals, you have to identify those things to address them. When you go through times like this, you first recognize the things you need to improve on. But it also gives you a really good idea of ​​where everyone is in the program and where you stand. Because when things are going well, everyone is with you. And when something goes wrong, you kind of find out where people are at. And so I think we have a pretty good feeling for that right now. But I can tell you that the program guys, they worked really hard last month.

I think, again, when you look at the 19 guys we’ve brought here, they’re some of the best players in the country. And these guys understand what’s going on here, and they understand what an incredible culture we have here. You see a lot of transfers going on, just like that. You look at our team, there really isn’t much going on. Why? I think it’s because we have a strong culture here. Guys appreciate how developed they are and all that kind of stuff, and the years and seasons and life don’t always turn out the way you expected. It’s about how you react to it and how you respond to it. And that’s what we’re focusing on right now.

We’re not going to overreact. Even though this loss hurts, we are not going to overreact. It’s not worth the shot. We have a game ahead of us against Georgia that we are focusing on. We’re hammering rookies and looking to adapt to what’s happening across the country. And I know that the program is well placed even if we lost this match and it hurts. I mean, it’s our goal every year, you can’t live without it. But at the end of the day, we have very good people in this program. We have very good talent, very good coaches and we recruit very good people.

I may have scarlet glasses, but I haven’t been overly concerned about Ohio State’s disengagements and lapses in recruiting. Do I think this is a good look for the program? Shit no. The Buckeyes should land the best players in each class. This is the basic expectation.

However, I also recognize that Ohio State is two wins away from being crowned the College Football National Champion for the 2022 season. Utah in the Pac-12 Championship, yes, but also because the Buckeyes have put themselves in a position to do the CFP every season since 2014.

This year, Ohio State has as much of a chance as Georgia, Michigan and TCU of winning a title. No other college football program can make the same statement. It must mean something. More importantly, it can change everything. What was considered by many to be a horrible past few weeks for the Buckeyes can quickly with Day and his players hoist a CFP trophy over their heads on January 1. 9, 2023.

As Day mentioned, that’s Ohio State’s current goal. It hurts not to beat Michigan, to suffer disengages and swing and miss big prospects, but all that pain can go away with a Peach Bowl win and a win in Los Angeles 10 days later.

Would a national championship heal all wounds? No, probably not. But I can say this: it would make a hell of a band-aid for someone.

B1G IS RECRUITING. One more note on Ohio State’s Class of 2023. Despite grumbling that the prospect collection isn’t up to the Buckeyes, the coaching staff has consistently achieved the Big Ten’s top recruiting class when it comes to top-end talent.

This is how the conference fits into the 247 sports team rankings nowadays:

  1. Ohio State, 5th (nationally)

  2. Penn State, 13th

  3. Michigan, 17th

  4. Michigan State, 25th

  5. Nebraska, 28

  6. Maryland, 34th

  7. Iowa, 37th

  8. Northwest, 39th

  9. Minnesota, 40th

  10. Illinois, 44th

  11. Rutgers, 55th

  12. Wis., 56th

  13. Purdue, 66th

  14. Indiana, 70th

When it comes to the top individual rookies headed to the Big Ten in 2023, well, Ohio State dominates this list as well.

Again, do I think the disengagements and lapses in recruiting look good for the program? No I do not. But that doesn’t mean I can’t throw out information that encourages people to take the glass-half-full approach to this stuff. Call me an optimist, call me anything – I just like to see people being positive!

PRO BOWL bound. It just happened: Uhhhhhhhh, Terry McLaurin and Nick Bosa are really, really good at football, and the former Buckeyes have been rewarded with NFL Pro Bowl nominations for the NFC on Wednesday.

McLaurin earns a Pro Bowl nod for the first time in his young career despite having been one of the league’s best wide receivers in recent years. This season, he’s had 68 receptions for 1,015 yards and three touchdowns as the Commanders are 7-6-1 in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, Bosa is in the midst of a monster season for the 49ers, recording an NFL-leading 15.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 38 quarterback hits, one forced fumble and one pass deflection. in 13 games for San Francisco. As it stands, Bosa is a frontrunner for NFL Defensive Player of the Year and has absolutely juicy games against Commanders, Raiders and Cardinals where he can flesh out his stats.

Bravo to McLaurin and Bosa for their efforts this season and for their well-deserved recognition. You just love seeing former Buckeyes kill it in the league and they’re the best of the best when it comes to Ohio State players in the pros.

A hand. On Monday, Ohio State freshman offensive lineman Avery Henry announced that he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. While he’s still planning travel with the team to Atlanta For the Peach Bowl, Henry will begin treatment as soon as possible, which may require him to travel to various hospitals in Columbus and possibly the United States.

With that in mind, Henry’s aunt Taj created a GoFundMe page for Henry’s family in an effort to cover the costs necessary to travel with Avery as he visits medical centers to receive the aforementioned treatment.

Here is what the Taj wrote to sum up the need for support:

On behalf of my sister, Tiffani, and her family, we are setting up this account to ensure she can attend all of Avery’s treatments. Nobody wants Avery to be 2 hours away from his family when he needs their support the most. They will make several trips, perhaps every week. As you can imagine, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions over the past 7 days. A few of those days, the family had to take turns supporting him due to financial obligations. His diagnosis is osteosarcoma. Dr. Alexander and his medical associates took special care of Avery and his family. His family and OSU football coaches are also with him every step of the way. In the end, it will be his fight, but with your prayers, love and support, we can beat bone cancer.

Thank you for everything.

When Ohio State fans talk about a Buckeye Nation, I believe there’s a real camaraderie associated with that. If you feel so inclined, please consider donating to GoFundMe for the Henry family – the other members of this Buckeye community. I’m sure I speak for the Henrys when I say anything helps and any generosity is appreciated.

SONG OF THE DAY. “The best is yet to come” by Ben Rector.

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