\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tThis is aura:\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tpic.twitter.com\/3lCtHeVbhw<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Tuesday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cIT\u2019S DEFINITELY DIFFERENT.\u201d Will Howard is the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 QB1 \u2014 for now.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the Steelers have not received word from Aaron Rodgers about his potential return in 2026, and \u201cthere is no expectation of a final decision prior to the NFL Draft.\u201d That leaves Howard as the team\u2019s starting quarterback entering minicamp.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe #Steelers<\/a> have not received word from Aaron Rodgers on his future and there is no expectation of a final decision prior to the NFL Draft, per me and @TomPelissero<\/a>.<\/p>\n When minicamp begins today under new coach Mike McCarthy, Will Howard will be QB1. pic.twitter.com\/niphLVfT3w<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRapoport\u2019s report comes at an opportune time, as I was already planning to write about the former Ohio State quarterback and 2024 national champion in this Skull Session.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHoward recently told The Athletic\u2019s David Ubben<\/a> he made more money during his lone season at Ohio State than he did as a rookie in the NFL. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard said the same about his year at Notre Dame.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cI\u2019m definitely making less with the Colts,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cAnd you see the numbers flying around college football. The money\u2019s doubled since I\u2019ve been there.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tLeonard declined to say how much he was making in his final season at Notre Dame but said reported numbers of $1.5 million were \u201covershooting it a little bit.\u201d He said he made more than 10 times at Notre Dame what he was making the previous year at Duke.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tHoward, too, said he made less as an NFL rookie than he did leading Ohio State to the national title as a transfer from Kansas State in 2024.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cIt\u2019s weird,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely different.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tLeonard and Howard also pointed out a key difference between college football and the NFL when it comes to compensation.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cIn college, the money is way more guaranteed,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cOnly like $200,000 of my contract is guaranteed. You have to make the team every year for four years straight to earn it all.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tTo be clear, Howard and Leonard aren\u2019t complaining.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cYou\u2019re still in the top .0001 percent for people my age,\u201d he said.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tLater in the article, Howard detailed his decision to transfer from Kansas State to Ohio State. In his fourth season with the Wildcats, he learned his successor, Avery Johnson, would make more money than he did despite Howard being the team\u2019s starter. That realization ultimately pushed the Pennsylvania native to seek a new opportunity for his final college season.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cI was a naive kid. I didn\u2019t know. The nature of myself, I didn\u2019t want anything or need money. I said I was good,\u201d Howard said. \u201cThere were a lot of politics the last year. There were games I was splitting time with him for no reason that I knew other than there was money going to him that wasn\u2019t going to me.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tHoward said he never signed a deal with Kansas State\u2019s collective, though he did secure a few smaller deals through community businesses.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cEverything I did was on my own. They kind of took advantage of me and got me for cheap, so I decided to go somewhere else and make a little money,\u201d Howard said. \u201cIt\u2019s different when you go to a school, and you\u2019re the guy getting money. It\u2019s amazing how different you\u2019re treated. It was the best decision I ever made.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tHoward\u2019s decision paid off in both the short and long term.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn the short term, his deal with Ohio State included an apartment, a car (he chose a Ford Bronco) and seven-figure compensation. In the long term, he\u2019s an Ohio State football legend who will probably never have to pay for a meal in Columbus again.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNow, the question is whether that success carries over to Pittsburgh. If Howard takes advantage of his opportunities, it won\u2019t be long before his NFL contract makes his NIL deal look like chump change.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0A RINGING ENDORSEMENT. A Basketball Hall of Famer attended Ohio State\u2019s spring game on Saturday.\n<\/p>\n \n\tYes, six-time NBA champion and seven-time All-NBA honoree Scottie Pippen was in the Horseshoe this past weekend with his son, Justin, who committed to head coach Jake Diebler<\/a> and the Buckeyes earlier this month.\n<\/p>\n \n\t10TV\u2019s Adam King interviewed Pippen to discuss the visit and share his excitement about Justin playing for Ohio State.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t“We wanted to come to a team that is ready to compete for a national championship… the comfort of being around Diebler”<\/p>\n Scottie Pippen loved the atmosphere at the Shoe. He said he’s looking forward to his son being a part of the Buckeye family, and what Diebler is building. pic.twitter.com\/vxW8I75Ib2<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s great. It\u2019s a great atmosphere here. It\u2019s a great visit for us,\u201d Pippen said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to seeing my son become a part of the Buckeye family.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tPippen said \u201ca lot of things\u201d drew him and Justin to Ohio State, including the program\u2019s current trajectory and the family\u2019s relationship with Diebler.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think we wanted to come into a team that\u2019s ready to compete for a national championship,\u201d Pippen said. \u201cThe comfort of being around Coach Diebler. He recruited my son Scottie out of high school and never got a chance to coach him. He told me before he recruited Justin that he would like to coach a Pippen, so I have confidence and a belief in what he\u2019s doing here, and I\u2019m giving him my son and looking forward to some great things.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s quite the endorsement.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDiebler is 46-31 (.597) in roughly two seasons as Ohio State\u2019s head coach and led the Buckeyes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years this past March. He\u2019ll look to build on that success in 2026-27, but he\u2019ll need to assemble a competitive roster through the transfer portal.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHe\u2019s off to a strong start with Pippen, who averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game at Cal this past season. Diebler has also added former Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavi\u0107 and former Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams, and the Buckeyes have been connected to other prospects, including guards Jalen Reece (LSU) and Abdi Bashir Jr. (Kansas State).\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cTHIS IS LEGACY.\u201d In another section about a father and son, I have to share this video of Lorenzo Styles Sr. speaking about Lorenzo Jr. and Sonny<\/a> ahead of the NFL draft.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe Styles brothers are ready to carry on their family legacy<\/p>\n 2026 NFL Draft April 23-25 on NFLN\/ESPN\/ABC \t\u2014 NFL (@NFL) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFootball has given me everything that matters: resilience, discipline, relentless effort when nobody\u2019s watching. Over time, the game gave me something more: perspective,\u201d Lorenzo Sr. said. \u201cBecause my greatest pride was never going to be what I accomplished. It\u2019s what I get to witness now: my sons.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cSonny arrived (at Ohio State) at 17. Skipped his senior year. Stepped into college football early. No easing in, no waiting his turn. When his moment came on the biggest stage, he didn\u2019t just compete \u2014 he belonged. From there, he grew into more. A leader.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLorenzo made his impact in a variety of ways. At Notre Dame, he caught passes on offense, being dynamic with the ball in his hands. And at Ohio State, he locked in on defense, bringing speed, range and toughness. Game-changing moments \u2014 and when the moment opened, he hit it.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cTwo different paths, but the same foundation. When the lights came on at the NFL combine, what people saw were years of hard work on display. Sonny: size, speed, power. Lorenzo: 4.27, elite speed, undeniable. The discipline, the consistency, the early mornings, the late nights. They didn\u2019t just follow it \u2014 they embraced it. And now, seeing the NFL draft become the moment to accomplish their dreams? This is legacy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat is so dang cool.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Styles family is one of a kind.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI look forward to seeing Sonny and Lorenzo\u2019s lives change forever this week!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0ANOTHER ONE COMING. Ohio State\u2019s wide receiver pipeline will continue Thursday with Carnell Tate.\n<\/p>\n \n\tLast week, ESPN\u2019s Elizabeth Merrill <\/a>detailed Tate\u2019s rise from Chicago to Columbus and, soon, to the NFL. His journey has been shaped by both elite production and unimaginable adversity.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Buckeyes have sent a parade of first-round receivers to the NFL since 2022, and Tate appears poised to follow that trend when the draft begins this week. While his 4.53 40 time at the NFL combine drew some outside criticism, those around him know his game will translate to the next level.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe\u2019s actually brilliant,\u201d Will Howard told Merrill. \u201cCarnell is kind of a little bit of a Swiss Army knife. He plays bigger than he is. He\u2019s strong as hell, and he\u2019s really sneaky fast\u2026 He is a hell of a blocking receiver, and he\u2019s super unselfish.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat combination of intelligence, toughness and versatility is exactly why Tate is projected to be one of the top receivers off the board \u2014 and why his impact at Ohio State went far beyond the box score.\n<\/p>\n \n\tStill, the story behind Tate is what truly sets him apart.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBefore he ever caught a pass for the Buckeyes, Tate faced unimaginable adversity. In July 2023, just months after arriving in Columbus, his mother was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago. Despite that, Tate never wavered.\n<\/p>\n \n\t“The whole time I was like, ‘Man, are you good?'” Brian Hartline told ESPN. “He wasn’t, you know, he just never let it affect him and what he does and the people around him. And he just had a very pro approach to it. But the receiver room was heavy around him. I was as heavy as I could be around him, but I just\u00a0… That still to this day has not really left me, to be honest.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t109 seconds of Carnell Tate winning downfield pic.twitter.com\/atVWDcMbYN<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tThat \u201cpro\u201d mindset carried over to the field. Tate played in every game as a freshman, then blossomed into a key contributor on Ohio State\u2019s national championship team. As a junior, he hauled in 875 yards and nine touchdowns \u2014 with zero drops \u2014 while finishing among the nation\u2019s leaders in explosive plays.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd even as his star rose, Tate never lost sight of what mattered most.\n<\/p>\n \n\tLast season, he mentored a young Columbus boy who had also lost his mother, offering advice rooted in his own experience.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think about her every day,\u201d Tate said he would tell the boy. \u201cThere\u2019s not going to be a day where you don\u2019t think about her\u2026 And it\u2019s OK to accept those feelings \u2026 You’re younger than I was, obviously, so the emotions are definitely different. But just let it out, bro. You’ve got a lot of people in your family that’s going through the same thing, and you’re all going to depend on each other.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tThat perspective \u2014 shaped by both success and heartbreak \u2014 is what NFL teams are really buying.\n<\/p>\n \n\tTate has always let his play do most of the talking. But when asked at the combine to describe himself, he didn\u2019t hesitate:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf you want a game-changer,\u201d he said, \u201cyou\u2019ve got one right here.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnother Ohio State wide receiver is headed to the league.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis one just happens to come with a story that\u2019s impossible to ignore.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Beast of Burden” – The Rolling Stones.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO<\/a>…\u00a0Hot air balloon with 13 aboard makes emergency landing in California backyard<\/a>…\u00a0See video of Earthset that an Artemis II astronaut filmed on his iPhone while circling the moon<\/a>…\u00a0Humanoid robot beats human half-marathon world record in Beijing<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n
Stream on @NFLPlus<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/a9mejrCsVJ<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n