\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tThoughts from an epic College Football Playoff semifinal:\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tHaving a quarterback willing and able to use his legs is an X-factor in college football. Always has been, always will be.\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) January 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tI hope Julian Sayin saw Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown run!\n<\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Friday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cI TRULY BELIEVE THAT.\u201d After Ohio State\u2019s loss to Miami in the Cotton Bowl, Caden Curry<\/a> said the Buckeyes would beat the Hurricanes nine times out of 10. When asked about Curry\u2019s statement on the Downs 2 Business podcast, Caleb Downs agreed with his teammate.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI truly believe that,\u201d Downs said. \u201cIf we would\u2019ve won that game, I definitely think we would\u2019ve won the whole thing. And, yeah, I think we played bad football. We didn\u2019t play good football, like we had been playing the whole season.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tHe added, \u201cIn the last two games (of 2025), we did not execute well enough. If we executed the way that we needed to, we would\u2019ve won that game.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tDowns\u2019 brother, Josh, pushed back.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt\u2019s hard to say something like that,\u201d Josh said. \u201cDo you think y\u2019all were a better football team than Miami overall? Yeah, I think that y\u2019all were. \u2026 I\u2019m just saying in this situation I don\u2019t know if that is entirely true because of how I think ya\u2019ll lost the game. \u2026 (Miami\u2019s) D-line is crazy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn Thursday\u2019s Skull Session<\/a>, I called Caleb one of the all-time Ohio State greats. I don\u2019t love disagreeing with all-time greats, but I have to here. If the Buckeyes and Hurricanes played 10 times, the results would be much closer to 5-5. Yes, Ohio State is the more talented team. But football is won and lost in the trenches, and when it mattered \u2014 not in a hypothetical, but face-to-face in Dallas \u2014 Miami was better there.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Hurricanes were better again on Thursday, beating Ole Miss 31-27<\/a> in the Fiesta Bowl. Now, Mario Cristobal and Co. have a chance to win a national championship in their home stadium! (Go Hoosiers… or Ducks!)\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0STILL WIDE RECEIVER U. With Brian Hartline at USF and Quincy Porter, Mylan Graham and Bryson Rodgers in the transfer portal, some people believe Ohio State\u2019s reign as Wide Receiver U is coming to an end.\n<\/p>\n \n\tChris Henry Jr. is not one of those people.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn a podcast with his siblings \u2014 current Ohio State women\u2019s basketball player Seini and five-star basketball prospect DeMarcus (please make it 3-for-3 for the Buckeyes, DeMarcus!) \u2014 Henry said the Buckeyes\u2019 WRU title ain\u2019t going nowhere<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI feel like Ohio State is still gonna be Receiver U and it\u2019s still gonna stay the same,\u201d Henry said. \u201cWe\u2019re still gonna be, you know, producing guys. \u2026 It\u2019s like a machine for receivers.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tNo kidding.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State has had a wide receiver selected in the first round in four straight years. Carnell Tate will extend that streak to five in 2026 when he becomes the school\u2019s sixth first-round receiver since 2022, joining Garrett Wilson (2022), Chris Olave (2022), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2023), Marvin Harrison Jr. (2024) and Emeka Egbuka (2025).\n<\/p>\n \n\tHenry said Ryan Day reminded him of that pedigree \u2014 and more \u2014 when he talked with Ohio State\u2019s head coach before recommitting to the Buckeyes on Dec. 5.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cUltimately, what made me stay is really just talking with Coach Day,\u201d Henry said. \u201cI just understood that, you know, I couldn\u2019t pass this up. It\u2019s too much of a blessing to go to Ohio State, learn from guys like Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tHenry may or may not have the opportunity to learn from Tate \u2014 that depends on where Tate chooses to train for the NFL Combine and Ohio State\u2019s pro day \u2014 but there\u2019s no question he\u2019ll learn from Smith and Inniss, both of whom announced this week that they\u2019ll return for the 2026 season. UTSA transfer Devin McCuin<\/a> can also guide him as a veteran wide receiver with proven production across three seasons with the Roadrunners.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIf those three Buckeyes (plus Tate, if available) can help Henry acclimate to the college game, his path to becoming an immediate impact player will look like a Mario Kart speed booster.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0THE BEST OF THE BEST. MaxPreps<\/a> named two future Buckeyes high school All-Americans this week: linebacker Cincere Johnson (first-team defense) and offensive tackle Sam Greer (second-team offense).\n<\/p>\n \n\tJohnson is the latest member of the Glenville-to-Ohio State pipeline. As a senior, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound linebacker who looks like the next Arvell Reese recorded 134 tackles with 25.5 tackles for loss (!) and 9.5 sacks for a Tarblooders team that won the Division IV state championship.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe 2025 High school football MaxPreps All-America Team<\/p>\n Full teamhttps:\/\/t.co\/vm74UBLj3b<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hWTarA9Q3S<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tGreer is an offensive lineman and therefore has no cool stats to discuss. Sorry, Sam. I\u2019m sure you were great! No, I know you were great! All-American great!\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe MaxPreps National Player of the Year was running back David Gabriel Georges, an Ohio State target in the 2027 class. Georges rushed for 431 yards and seven touchdowns (!) in a playoff game this past season. In 2024, he carried the ball 114 times for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns in 10 games.\n<\/p>\n \n\tRunning back SaRod Baker also has an Ohio State offer. This season, the Texas native had 342 carries for 3,096 yards and 42 touchdowns while adding 22 receptions for 350 yards and four scores as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Oh, he also completed 19 of 29 passes for 471 yards and four touchdowns, while returning 10 kickoffs for 297 yards and two more scores.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIf Ohio State doesn\u2019t land Georges, Baker would be an incredible pick-up for the Buckeyes. Heck, why not land both?!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0FEEL GOOD FRIDAY. Let\u2019s end this chaotic week with some feel-good stories involving Carnell Tate and Kayden McDonald. This week, ABC6\u2019s Dave Holmes had features on both Buckeyes: Tate inspiring 13-year-old Treyvon Brown and McDonald connecting with Nationwide Children\u2019s patients staying in Columbus at The Ronald McDonald House.\n<\/p>\n \tCarnell Tate<\/p>\n \n\t\t“They say you should never meet your heroes, but what if your hero is the only one who understands how you feel.”<\/p>\n This is the incredible story of 13-year-old Treyvon Brown and Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate. @wsyx6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/wnRIts7btm<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) January 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \tKayden McDonald<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State defensive lineman Kayden McDonald has a soft spot in his heart for The Ronald McDonald House (@RMHCofCentralOH<\/a>), and their connection goes far beyond his last name. pic.twitter.com\/CngJPv8oZP<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Dave Holmes (@DaveHolmesTV) January 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tI love to write about Ohio State players and their accomplishments on the football field, but these are the stories that really make me proud of the Buckeyes!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0NEW DUBCAST. The final Eleven Dubcast of the week welcomes back Dan Hope to discuss the latest transfer portal imports, exports and targets of interest relative to Ohio State as the chaos around switching schools heats up across the country.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Working For The Weekend” – Loverboy.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0100 skulls and mummified body parts found in a Pennsylvania grave robbery case<\/a>…\u00a0Some dogs can expand their vocabulary by eavesdropping on their owners<\/a>… “He has a sixth sense”:\u00a0How Indiana\u2019s Curt Cignetti hacked college football recruiting<\/a>… Lincoln University football head coach steps down, suspends program<\/a>… “The Pitt”\u00a0is back for another harrowing 15-hour shift. Is it possible to up the ante<\/a>?\n<\/p>\n