\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tMyles Garrett made history on Sunday.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tMYLES GARRETT IS THE NEW SACK RECORD KING.<\/p>\n
CLEvsCIN on CBS\/Paramount+https:\/\/t.co\/HkKw7uXVnt<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Jaa4aBGrIl<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\tBreak records, create new standards @Flash_Garrett<\/a> breaks the @nfl<\/a> single-season sack record. pic.twitter.com\/qccp0qdUrR<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Gatorade (@Gatorade) January 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tSorry, not sorry, Bengals fans.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Monday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0GONE PORTALING. Ohio State\u2019s transfer portal frenzy is in full swing.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tSince the transfer portal opened on Friday, 17 scholarship Buckeyes have entered in search of a new school to call home.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWe\u2019ve included updates for all these Buckeyes \u2014 plus several walk-ons \u2014 in our Transfer Portal Tracker<\/a>, which also features\u00a0other Ohio State transfer news, including planned visits from former Maryland cornerback La\u2019Khi Roland (Saturday), former Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee (Sunday) and more. We’ve made, I don’t know, almost 40\u00a0updates to the Tracker since we posted the article on Thursday? It’s been a\u00a0nuts\u00a072 hours in Columbus and the college football world in general.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOh, yes! The Tracker has\u00a0commitments, too!\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State landed its first two transfer commitments of 2026 on Sunday in former Ohio tight end\u00a0Mason Williams<\/a> and former UCF long snapper Dalton Riggs<\/a>. With so many Buckeyes gone portaling, more BOOMs are likely on the way. Keep tabs on our Transfer Portal Tracker as we continue to monitor this fast-moving story for Eleven Warriors.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CHANGES NEEDED. (PLEASE.) The college football calendar is stupid \u2014 just so stupid.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAllow me to fix it in one section.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s what the calendar should look like in 2026:\n<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 1: Aug. 29<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 2: Sept. 5<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 3: Sept. 12<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 4: Sept. 19<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 5: Sept. 26<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 6: Oct. 3<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 7: Oct. 10<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 8: Oct. 17<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 9: Oct. 24<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 10: Oct. 31<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 11: Nov. 7<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 12: Nov. 14<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 13: Nov. 21<\/p>\n \t\tWeek 14: Nov. 28<\/p>\n \t\tCFP First Round (games on college campuses): Dec. 5<\/p>\n \t\tCFP Quarterfinals (games on college campuses): Dec. 12<\/p>\n \t\tCFP Semifinals (games on college campuses): Dec. 19<\/p>\n \t\tCFP Final: Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl<\/p>\n \t\tTransfer Portal opens: Jan. 2<\/p>\n \n\tFourteen weeks with two byes for everyone. No more conference championship games (sorry, Tony Petitti, you\u2019ll live). No more 25-day layoffs for teams that earn a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff. A national championship game at the Granddaddy of Them All. A season completed before the second semester begins and before the transfer portal opens.\n<\/p>\n \n\tYou cannot tell me this schedule doesn\u2019t work.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHeck, I could make it even better. Let\u2019s move the transfer portal to April, when the academic year ends. That would make it easier for programs to clear scholarship agreements and companies to re-evaluate their NIL deals with players entering the transfer portal.\n<\/p>\n \n\tWhat about the Early Signing Period?\n<\/p>\n \n\tGood question!\n<\/p>\n \n\tGet rid of it!\n<\/p>\n \n\tI have never understood the early enrollment process. Let the kids be kids. Let them play baseball, lacrosse or run track. Let them go to prom. Let them walk at their graduation. We can allow coaches to send their incoming freshmen binders to learn the playbook, and we can schedule a rookie minicamp over the weekend in June before a week of OTAs with the rest of the team, \u00e0 la the NFL.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis isn\u2019t radical.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s common sense.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tBut\u2026 that\u2019s probably why it\u2019ll never happen.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0DEVELOPED HERE. Ohio State could have five first-round draft picks in April: Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, Carnell Tate, Sonny Styles and Kayden McDonald. According to ESPN’s Matt Miller,<\/a> only the first three Buckeyes are surefire top-32 selections \u2014 for now. Over the weekend, Miller broke down what makes Downs, Reese and Tate special, and the company he placed them in was elite.\n<\/p>\n \tCaleb Downs, Ohio State (No. 2)<\/p>\n \n\t\tIf you could create the ideal safety prospect, it would look like Downs. The 6-foot, 205-pound junior is an elite open-field tackler with the closing speed to run down ball carriers and dominate angles in space. Downs can do it all, often lining up in multiple assignments depending on where the defense needs him. His four interceptions the past two seasons speak to his ball skills but also to the fact that offenses avoid him.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tOne rival offensive coach told me that they identify Downs on pre-snaps over a linebacker or key pass rusher — he’s that impactful. Safeties are rarely drafted in the top five, but Downs should not be overlooked. He could have a Kyle Hamilton-like role immediately as a rookie starter.\n\t<\/p>\n \tArvell Reese, Ohio State (No. 3)<\/p>\n \n\t\tReese wasn’t on the NFL radar entering the season, as he had limited starting reps coming in. But he might be the No. 1 pick in April. Reese’s production exploded in new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s scheme. Working as both a linebacker and a pass rusher, Reese posted 69 tackles, 18 pressures and 6.5 sacks while showing speed and power around the edge reminiscent of Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter in their transformations from linebacker to edge rusher.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tReese is still a work in progress, but his production and impact this season point to a player with the talent to quickly be an NFL difference-maker at linebacker or on the edge.\n\t<\/p>\n \tCarnell Tate, Ohio State (No. 7)<\/p>\n \n\t\tAnother Ohio State first-round wide receiver? Yep. Tate exploded this season, at times eclipsing superstar sophomore teammate Jeremiah Smith. Tate’s impact was obvious, with 51 catches for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games despite a lack of targets late in games due to Ohio State’s domination.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tOn tape, Tate looks like a Justin Jefferson-level prospect when comparing their college games. Tate is a polished, crisp route runner with the body control to adjust midroute or attack the ball in the air. He had zero drops on 67 targets this season and showed he can consistently win in contested-catch situations.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tKyle Hamilton, Micah Parsons (or Abdul Carter) and Justin Jefferson are some lofty comparisons for Downs, Reese and Tate. I write that more about Reese and Tate than Downs, as the Downs-to-Hamilton comp might undersell what a two-time unanimous All-American is capable of becoming at the next level.\n<\/p>\n \n\tRegardless, I\u2019ll watch all of their careers with great interest<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0JOE. THOMAS. BARRETT. J.T. Barrett needs no introduction around these parts.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe former Ohio State quarterback threw for 9,434 yards and a school-record 104 touchdowns while rushing for another 3,263 yards and 43 scores from 2014-17. Buckeye Nation knows him well as a national champion, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and three-time Big Ten Quarterback of the Year.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNow, Barrett is becoming a coach to watch in the NFL.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis week, The Athletic\u2019s Kevin Fishbain<\/a> detailed Barrett\u2019s growing impact as the Chicago Bears\u2019 quarterbacks coach \u2014 particularly his significance to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Several of Barrett\u2019s colleagues, including Bears head coach Ben Johnson, wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and others, offered glowing praise.\n<\/p>\n \tBears quarterback Caleb Williams<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe\u2019s been awesome,\u201d Williams said. \u201cEarly on, our relationship and bond has grown. We\u2019re laughing and joking all the time. We\u2019re closer, similar in age, than obviously some of the other coaches. We connect on that level, and then us having some bumps in the road, where we\u2019ve got to sit down and have talks and communicate to each other has helped us get to this point. That\u2019s my guy. He\u2019s been tremendously helpful to me. We\u2019re gonna keep growing that.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tBears quarterback Tyson Bagent<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cThe energy he brings is huge,\u201d quarterback Tyson Bagent said. \u201cHe loves his job, in there early. \u2026 All I can ask for is the energy part, somebody who loves being in there as much as I do.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tBears head coach Ben Johnson<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cJ.T. is a guy I\u2019ve known from the moment he decided to hang up the cleats and pick up a whistle instead,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe has gotten better, and it\u2019s because he loves the game. It\u2019s because he wants to do a great job. I think he\u2019s going to continue to ascend here in this league. Whatever he wants to become, whether that\u2019s a play caller, or whether that\u2019s eventually a head coach, whatever that is, I think he\u2019s capable of all those things.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tBears wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe wants to learn more, wants to know more,\u201d said Randle-El, the Bears\u2019 assistant head coach and receivers coach. \u201cThis idea of, \u2018Give me anything to do. I want to do anything to learn and master it and be able to teach it.\u2019 When you see those traits, the want-to, but then just the eagerness to be able to coach. Then, with his background, he knew ball, he just had to learn the back-office stuff, which he learned pretty quickly. Being a quarterback, we knew he wouldn\u2019t take long anyway.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tBears passing game coordinator Press Taylor<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cI think J.T. is somewhat similar to Ben [Johnson] in that there\u2019s a certain intensity to him,\u201d passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. \u201cHe takes his work very seriously. He\u2019s very mature and serious in his approach. He wants to do a great job. He\u2019s hungry to learn. It feels like there\u2019s no ego.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State fans would love to see Barrett return to Columbus as the Buckeyes\u2019 quarterbacks coach \u2014 I\u2019d love to see it too \u2014 but it looks like Barrett is destined for a long, successful career in the NFL, whether as an assistant or even one day as a head coach. But never say never!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0NEW DUBCAST.\u00a0The first Eleven Dubcast of the week\u00a0discusses the beginning of the 2026 transfer portal period for Ohio State, the host of departing Buckeyes and if OSU fans should panic relative to last year in tandem with other schools’ signings.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0“One Man Band” – Old Dominion.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Rhode Island firefighters rescue a yellow Lab from an icy pond on New Year\u2019s Day<\/a>…\u00a0Hubble Space Telescope spies dusty debris from two cosmic collisions<\/a>…\u00a0Olivia Dean’s viral “Man I Need” remains a chart-topping hit into 2026<\/a>…\u00a0Boston Dynamics is training an AI-powered humanoid robot to do factory work<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n