\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe Silver Bullets are still Silver Bulleting.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tThe Best Defense in America pic.twitter.com\/MYTuAMz1jm<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Thursday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0UNFINISHED BUSINESS. Eleven Warriors editor Dan Hope plans to write an article about the legacy Ohio State\u2019s current senior class wants to leave behind. But I just had to share this quote from Caden Curry on Wednesday to kick off the Skull Session because it fired me up.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhen Hope asked Curry how he wants Ohio State\u2019s seniors to be remembered, Curry said: \u201cIt\u2019s great that we have a national championship, but we\u2019re also a team that doesn\u2019t have Gold Pants, we\u2019re also a team that doesn\u2019t have a Big Ten championship. I mean, I feel like we definitely have things that we still need to get done, and I feel like I want to be known as somebody that\u2019s gotten everything they needed to get done here.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tLast year\u2019s Ohio State team was motivated. This year\u2019s Ohio State team is exactly the same. The Buckeyes are, as Ryan Day called them on Wednesday, business-like, locked in and focused.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEvery year is different. It\u2019s a different group of guys, but I think the mindset of this team is that they\u2019re business-like, they\u2019re locked in, they\u2019re focused right now on what they want to get done, and that\u2019s the most important thing. We know we want to be playing our best football down the stretch, and that\u2019s it.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnd I think these guys embrace it, man. They want to bring it every day. We\u2019re chasing history here at Ohio State, and they know that. That was the vision early on in the season, and then the challenge is to focus every week on being your best\u00a0and being the hardest-playing team in the country and getting our job done.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cDifferent group, different dynamic, different coaching staff, different chemistry \u2014 just everything about it is different. That\u2019s what I said to the guys the other day. We\u2019re writing a different story right now, and we\u2019re in control of that. That\u2019s what\u2019s great about being at Ohio State, you\u2019re in control of what\u2019s going on, and that\u2019s it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re going to focus on, what we can control. And the rest of it is just noise, and we have to stay focused this time of the season.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tExcuse me, I have to find a brick wall.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DEVELOPED HERE. Ohio State\u00a0could have four (maybe even five!) first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis week, ESPN\u2019s Matt Miller<\/a> released a new mock draft featuring four\u00a0Buckeyes in his top 32 picks. The list starts with Arvell Reese and continues with Caleb Downs, Carnell Tate, and Kayden McDonald.\n<\/p>\n \tNo. 6 – Arvell Reese, New Orleans Saints<\/p>\n \n\t\tIf the Saints move forward with Tyler Shough at quarterback, they’ll be left with two obvious needs: edge rusher and wide receiver. Drafting the best player available from those positions is the move for GM Mickey Loomis, and Reese is arguably the nation’s top player this season. He aligns at both linebacker and edge rusher for Ohio State, with 6.5 sacks, 17 pressures and 58 tackles this season. His ability to impact the game with an explosive first step would bring a spark to the Saints’ front four that has been missing since Trey Hendrickson left in free agency after the 2020 season.\n\t<\/p>\n \tNo. 9 – Caleb Downs, Arizona Cardinals<\/p>\n \n\t\tDowns is the top player on my board and the Cardinals could use a safety upgrade, so this would be a marriage of need and value. Safety might not be Arizona’s biggest need — that depends on what happens with Murray at QB — but stealing the best player of the draft while improving the back end is how smart teams are built. Jalen Thompson will be a free agent this offseason and Budda Baker turns 30 in January, so adding Downs — who has deep range and the strength to play in the box — would make sense. He’s commonly compared to the Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton, but Downs is more physical as a hybrid safety.\n\t<\/p>\n \tNo. 19 – Carnell Tate, Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe Steelers could flip a coin to decide whether to draft a quarterback or wide receiver, as both are of equal need. Quarterback would be the ideal pick, but the Steelers wouldn’t be in range for a starting-caliber prospect here and would likely add a veteran in free agency if Aaron Rodgers retires or doesn’t return. That leaves wide receiver, a position the Steelers have historically drafted very well. Trading for DK Metcalf gave Pittsburgh a true WR1, but the team now needs a WR2. At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Tate has the vertical ability to win over the top and make plays on 50-50 passes. More importantly, he has succeeded in the No. 2 role next to superstar sophomore Jeremiah Smith. Tate has seven touchdowns on 39 receptions this season.\n\t<\/p>\n \tNo. 23 – Kayden McDonald, San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe 49ers invested four picks in the 2025 draft along the defensive line, adding Mykel Williams (edge), Robert Beal Jr. (edge), Alfred Collins (DT) and CJ West (DT). But the 49ers are last in the NFL with 12 sacks, so more help is needed, especially at defensive tackle. McDonald, who lines up at nose tackle for the Buckeyes, has been an elite run defender as a first-year starter but also adds pass-rush ability, with three sacks and five pressures this season. At 6-foot-3 and 326 pounds, the junior has also added 44 tackles through 10 games, an unreal number for a nose tackle.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tFor those asking, \u201cWhere\u2019s Sonny Styles?\u201d I\u2019m right there with you. Miller has three linebackers in his first round: Arvell Reese, Georgia\u2019s CJ Allen (No. 31, Los Angeles Rams), and Texas\u2019 Anthony Hill Jr. (No. 32, Denver Broncos).\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhile Allen and Hill are excellent players, it\u2019s hard to believe either will go before Styles. He has the athleticism, intelligence, and production \u2014 57 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and zero missed tackles in 10 games \u2014 that NFL personnel are likely to rave about during the pre-draft process.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BO JACKSON, FRESHMAN PHENOM. Ohio State will look different next season without Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, Carnell Tate, Kayden McDonald, Sonny Styles and others, but the Buckeyes will still be loaded with talent. Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith will be the team\u2019s bona fide stars, and sooner or later, Bo Jackson could establish himself in a tier not far behind them.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAccording to ESPN\u2019s Billy Tucker<\/a>, Jackson has been the third-best freshman in college football this season behind Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney and BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Here\u2019s what Tucker wrote about the Ohio State running back:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe former four-star Jackson chose to stay home and attend Ohio State despite offers from Georgia, Alabama and plenty of other top-tier programs, then became the first Buckeyes runner to run for more than 100 yards in each of his first two games. The 6-foot, 217-pounder has been a revelation in Ryan Day’s offense, wrestling reps away from James Peoples and CJ Donaldson to lead the team in rushing (725 yards) at more than six yards per carry. In Saturday’s win over UCLA, he topped 100 yards for the fourth time this season. Jackson is a dynamic big-play threat who is also plenty willing to bang inside the tackles and also move the chains as a pass catcher. Jackson surged for 105 yards on 8.1 yards per carry in Ohio State’s 38-14 win over Penn State. He has handled the increased workload with ease as the Buckeyes try to keep the pressure off first-year starting QB Julian Sayin.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tIn case you were wondering, Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood ranks No. 7 behind Toney, Bachmeier, Jackson, Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Pitt quarterback Mason Heintschel and Maryland quarterback Malik Washington.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe single best freshman ever in college football, my you know what.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0ARE YOU READY FOR THE GAME? I\u2019m all for Ohio State taking it one game at a time, but when it comes to gameday style, it\u2019s all about now! And what you need now is to make sure you\u2019re looking your best for The Game in Ann Arbor on Nov. 29. Stock up on a few of our must-have shirts from Eleven Warriors Dry Goods<\/a> and show your Buckeye pride in style!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe Game draws near are you prepared? \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tWe have a Beat Xichigan<\/a> shirt.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe have a Beat Blue<\/a> shirt (and stickers!).\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe have an Ann Arbor is Burning<\/a> shirt.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe have an Anti Wolverine Social Club<\/a> shirt.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd much, much more<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOrder before the end of the work week for the best chance to have your shirt delivered in time to rock it in Ann Arbor!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DAILY DUBCAST. Today’s Eleven Dubcast enlists the aid of Andy Anders to discuss Gabe VanSickle out-snapping Tegra Tshabola against UCLA and if this development for Ohio State’s interior offensive line rotation can offer sustained success down the stretch of the Buckeyes’ season.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Believer” – Imagine Dragons.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0She plays “Amazing Grace” in the most remote practice room on Earth<\/a>…\u00a0Small alligator rescued in Boston after slithering into the city\u2019s heart on social media<\/a>…\u00a0MLB\u2019s new media deals with ESPN, NBC and Netflix total $800 million\u00a0annually<\/a>…\u00a0A $35 Million White House lookalike is the Atlanta area\u2019s priciest listing<\/a>… Which TV show has the best coaching tree<\/a>?\n<\/p>\n
Grab your gear today!https:\/\/t.co\/v1B4boF0Y0<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/jJAbQp23BQ<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n