\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tOhio State plays a football game this week.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tAlways Hungry pic.twitter.com\/TYxelOZdWO<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tOK, an exhibition.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOK, OK, an intrasquad scrimmage.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut still (!) it\u2019s football in the Shoe.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAlso, Rory McIlroy won another Masters, and I\u2019m a happy camper.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tA special moment between father and son. #themasters<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ahzJW00i0d<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THE STANDARD IS THE STANDARD. I thought I had moved past Ryan Day\u2019s appearance on Cam Heyward\u2019s podcast. I thought wrong.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDay\u2019s comments about Ohio State\u2019s recruiting standards made waves on social media over the weekend. Here\u2019s what he said: \u201cAcross the board at Ohio State, there\u2019s an expectation when you come here, you are coming to be a first or second rounder regardless of your position. That\u2019s it. Just like if we don\u2019t win games and championships, they\u2019re gonna find a new coach. Well, if you\u2019re not a first or second rounder, then this probably isn\u2019t the right place for you. That\u2019s just the reality of it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnonymous X accounts with limited comprehension skills grilled Day for the remarks. Steele Chambers explained what his head coach meant.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tHes talking about a recruits mindset coming in. If you commit to Ohio State, your dream is to be a 1st rounder. I thought Id come in as a freshman and split carries with JK Dobbins then I got my ass kicked, switched positions, and found my role. https:\/\/t.co\/XtFZnxq4oU<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 steele chambers (@steeleC22) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tWhen someone asked Chambers whether it was him or Master Teague who split carries with J.K. Dobbins in 2019, Chambers said it was Teague, whom he called \u201cthe Mighty Morphin Master Ranger.<\/a>\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tChambers has quickly become one of my favorite former Ohio State players in the media. For those who don\u2019t know, he replaced Anthony Schlegel on the Bobby Carpenter Show after Schlegel joined the Buckeyes\u2019 strength and conditioning staff this offseason. He\u2019s been excellent in relief \u2014 and I think (?) good enough to earn a full-time role.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhile I\u2019m on the topic, I\u2019ll share a post he made on April 3 in which he tried to name as many Ohio State players as possible during a two-hour flight. He got to 287, starting with Mitch Rossi and ending with Jayden Fielding.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tSeeing how many Ohio State football players I can name during 2 hour flight. Let me know who I missed #OhioState<\/a> #Buckeyes<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YVohdBFmNx<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 steele chambers (@steeleC22) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tI love \u2014 just love \u2014 that Rossi was the first name he rattled off.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat rocks.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cTHAT\u2019S CALEB DOWNS.\u201d I view Jake Butt as the consummate professional. Still, it\u2019s a treat to hear a Michigan Wolverine praise an Ohio State Buckeye whenever it happens.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn a conversation with Covers\u2019 Joe Osborne last week, Butt called Caleb Downs the best player available in the 2026 NFL draft.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tBest football player in the draft? \t\u2014 Jake Butt (@Jbooty88) April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLook, I think (Notre Dame running back) Jeremiah Love has a case, but I think the best player is a guy that will not get drafted inside the top five and maybe not inside the top 10, and it\u2019s Ohio State safety Caleb Downs,\u201d Butt said. \u201cI think the ultimate compliment you can give somebody is to be just a pure football player, and I covered Caleb Downs at Ohio State, and that Buckeye defense, which was the best in the country, was built around what he could do. He played middle-high safety. He played nickel at times, linebacker, he lined up at the line of scrimmage, he lined up over the center, he did everything.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe is one of the most intelligent football players I\u2019ve ever covered, and I think a lot of people echo that. He\u2019s not a 6-foot-4, 220-pound, 4.4 (second 40-yard dash) freak of nature. He\u2019s a little bit undersized, but I still think that does not matter at the next level. NFL teams want to be able to play two-high shell coverage but still be able to defend the run. You need extremely smart and quick-triggered safeties to do that successfully. That\u2019s Caleb Downs.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tButt added one more thought, wondering if teams might start rethinking the value of safeties after the Seattle Seahawks weaponized 2025 second-round pick Nick Emmanwori en route to a Super Bowl this past season.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis is a copycat league, and maybe the positional value of safeties starts to come back a little bit because of what the Seahawks did,\u201d Butt said.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI agree with everything Butt just said, except one thing: Downs will be a top-five pick in 10 days. If he\u2019s still on the board at No. 5, the New York Giants will have their pick submitted to the league seconds after the team is on the clock.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cNEVER REALLY DID THIS.\u201d Sonny Styles broke down his film with ESPN\u2019s Benjamin Solak<\/a> last month. Last week, Arvell Reese followed suit.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou want to see your fastest play all year?\u201d Solak asked in a clip posted to social media.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYeah, let me see that,\u201d Reese responded. \u201cLiterally, like, I didn\u2019t have a name for what I just did.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tI was watching film with Arvell Reese and then he told me he never spent time at Ohio State working on pass rush and pretty much was making up all his moves on instinct alone. pic.twitter.com\/bd4DHu967E<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tSolak played a clip from Ohio State\u2019s win over Penn State. The Cleveland native zoomed past left tackle Drew Shelton and reached a top speed of 18 miles per hour as he pursued quarterback Ethan Grunkmeyer.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEven when I did this, I didn\u2019t even have a name for what I just did, but now that I\u2019m working on pass-rushing right now and studying everything, I\u2019m realizing right here I showed power, which made him shoot his hands, and that\u2019s when I threw the cross-chop,\u201d Reese said.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter Solak broke down the play, Reese shook his head.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThis was just kind of, like, out the blue. Never really did this,\u201d Reese said. \u201cI did a couple of times at practice, but I never really perfected this move to go out there and do it. But, yeah, that\u2019s what this is here \u2014 that cross-chop.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tYou\u2019re telling me Reese is about to be the No. 2 overall pick and was just out there relying on power and instinct alone? That\u2019s a testament to his talent, but it also raises a question: how did Matt Patricia, James Laurinaitis and Larry Johnson arrive at that approach? I\u2019d like to know more about how they came to that conclusion. Was it a matter of prioritizing other parts of his development or simply trusting his natural ability to take over?\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cLINCOLN\u2019S HUNGRY.\u201d Jeff Brohm sees potential in former Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLincoln\u2019s definitely in that position where he\u2019s paid his dues, sat behind somebody, learned and absorbed information, and now he knows it\u2019s time to go out and show what he\u2019s all about,\u201d Brohm told On3\u2019s Pete Nakos<\/a> last week. \u201cAnd you throw in that aspect with the fact that he\u2019s got a good arm and he\u2019s really athletic. He can do a great job for us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tKienholz flashed enough at Ohio State to make Brohm and his staff believe Louisville can win with him. According to Nakos, the Cardinals held off Cincinnati and others to land the Ohio State transfer. They identified Kienholz as their target early in the portal process and know he could help Louisville win games.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe try to identify a group of quarterbacks as we go searching the portal for what we think can help us win,\u201d Brohm said. \u201cThey\u2019re all different, and it\u2019s not that we necessarily need a certain exact type \u2014 we just ask, do we think this guy can help us win? He had some qualities we liked. From what we\u2019ve seen, he could throw the football, he had a good arm, and he had a lot of athleticism, which we have not had a whole lot of at that position here. That was very unique.”\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tJeff Brohm explains why ‘hungry’ Lincoln Kienholz was right fit for Louisville<\/p>\n How much does this guy really want it? That matters.https:\/\/t.co\/Fs1Byg70xJ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/40e2WGhzHK<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) April 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tBrohm said he and his offensive staff will spend the entire offseason committed to quarterback development. That means film sessions, one-on-one meetings and a rolodex of different on-field drills. Brohm told Nakos he will personally oversee Kienholz\u2019s growth along with his coaches.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe don\u2019t try to lock ourselves into, \u2018Hey, I need a guy with a strong arm,\u2019 or \u2018I need a guy that can run,’\u201d Brohm explained. \u201cWe identify \u2014 whether that\u2019s watching film, seeing people throw in person, or getting information from people we trust \u2014 a group of guys we feel like we can win with.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOnce we get them, between myself, my brother and our people here, we spend a lot of time with our quarterbacks in the offseason \u2014 going over football, watching video, working on the field. To me, even though it\u2019s the offseason, that’s a full-time job, and we make sure it doesn’t get overlooked. Normally, the individual is willing and ready to put in the work, especially when they\u2019re hungry. Lincoln\u2019s hungry. Miller Moss \u2014 it didn\u2019t work out the way he wanted, so he came in hungry with one year left to play. Tyler Shough \u2014 it didn\u2019t work out the way he wanted. He had one year left, he wanted to prove himself, so I knew he was hungry. How much does this guy really want it? That matters. As much time as they want to spend on the ball, we do that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tKienholz remains one of the more intriguing Buckeyes I\u2019ve covered in the past five years. A three-sport standout in South Dakota, he was named USA TODAY High School Boys Athlete of the Year at T.F. Riggs. He dominated on the football field as the nation\u2019s No. 191 overall prospect, but he could also windmill dunk on the basketball court and strike out the side on the mound.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019m more than comfortable with Julian Sayin as Ohio State\u2019s QB1 \u2014 he is a Heisman finalist, after all \u2014 but Kienholz\u2019s athleticism always made him a fascinating option if called upon.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI wish him the best in Kentucky. I have a feeling he\u2019s going to be really good.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0NEW DUBCAST AT 8 A.M. ET ON YOUTUBE. The first Eleven Dubcast of the week\u00a0discusses the continued trend of praise around Legend Bey from Ohio State staff members this spring and if the situation surrounding the health of the running backs could lead to him featuring in the spring game this weekend.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Buckeye Battle Cry” – TBDBITL.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Best moments as Rory McIlroy wins second consecutive Masters Tournament<\/a>…\u00a0Fire damages Thurman Cafe in German Village<\/a>…\u00a0Ichiro Suzuki\u2019s statue unveiling has a mishap as bat snaps during ceremony<\/a>…\u00a0Artemis II\u2019s record-breaking journey around the moon ends with dramatic splashdown<\/a>…\u00a0Accountability Culture is dead \u2014\u00a0ABS Is the exception<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
Caleb Downs pic.twitter.com\/zYzqnPmuNn<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n