\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tArthur Smith: loves tight ends, hates tights.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\tArthur Smith Mic’d Up pic.twitter.com\/3mXc4mXLv7<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Thursday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0ALIENS AND LAB EXPERIMENTS. With the NFL draft in three weeks, MOCK DRAFT SZN storms on.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs always, I don\u2019t want to flood the Skull Session with a million mocks \u2014 just enough to keep you in the loop. This one technically centers on The Athletic\u2019s Bruce Feldman<\/a>, but the real value is the #content he gathered: anonymous coach quotes on Ohio State\u2019s top prospects.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThose prospects: Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, Carnell Tate, Caleb Downs and Kayden McDonald.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFirst, the projected landing spots:\n<\/p>\n \t\tArvell Reese \u2192 New York Jets (No. 2)<\/p>\n \t\tSonny Styles \u2192 New York Giants (No. 5)<\/p>\n \t\tCarnell Tate \u2192 New Orleans Saints (No. 8)<\/p>\n \t\tCaleb Downs \u2192 Cincinnati Bengals (No. 10)<\/p>\n \t\tKayden McDonald \u2192 Houston Texans (No. 28)<\/p>\n \n\tNow, the good stuff \u2014 what coaches are saying:\n<\/p>\n \tArvell Reese: \u201cAn alien\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cThey asked him to do a ton, and he\u2019s elite at everything that they asked him to do,\u201d said a Big Ten offensive coach. \u201cHe\u2019s playing stack linebacker better than the guy who only plays stack linebacker, and then he goes to edge and rushes the passer better than the guys who only have to rush the passer. He\u2019s setting the edge and is just as good as guys who are 40 pounds heavier than him. Then, he\u2019s covering just as well as the nickel and Caleb Downs are covering.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cThis guy is an alien. And he\u2019s clearly very smart because he\u2019s doing so much for them. He\u2019s playing that \u2018adjustor\u2019 spot, which is what they call that position in the (Bill) Belichick tree. You\u2019ve got to be really smart to play that spot. I think he\u2019s incredible. I hope he goes somewhere that is going to be aggressive in how they use him. The same way as Mike Macdonald with (Nick) Emmanwori and Dallas was with Micah Parsons.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cMan, he is super impressive,\u201d said a Big Ten offensive coordinator. \u201cThey did so much different stuff defensively. He was so dangerous as a spy. He is really freaky. He\u2019s different.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tSonny Styles: \u201cCreated in a lab\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cOn the film, he\u2019s massive,\u201d said a Big Ten running backs coach. \u201cThey just stuck Sonny in the middle and let him roam. He was really good and he can fly, but you didn\u2019t feel him as much as you did Arvell.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe\u2019s a beautiful athlete, like he was created in a lab. He looks like a power forward,\u201d said a Big Ten OC. \u201cI just can\u2019t believe he was a safety, but you see that frame and that closing speed, it\u2019s impressive, man. He\u2019s not the same kind of player (Reese) is. He doesn\u2019t have that kind of violence to his game, and I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s that instinctive out there.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tCarnell Tate: \u201cSmooth and polished\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe\u2019s really smooth and polished,\u201d said a Big Ten DB coach. \u201cHe\u2019s not (Jeremiah Smith) where you\u2019re just floored by his size and physical ability. Tate\u2019s a very good wide receiver. I do wonder about his top end, and I didn\u2019t think he was as quick as some of the other top guys they\u2019ve put out lately. If he played at Minnesota or Michigan, I\u2019m not sure if people are talking about him as a top-five or top-10 pick.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cI like him. He runs really good routes and he finds a way to get behind people,\u201d said a Big Ten DB coach. \u201cBut he doesn\u2019t scare you. He\u2019s not a speed threat. We didn\u2019t roll coverage or anything, and we probably still wouldn\u2019t if (Smith) wasn\u2019t on their team. I hear people saying he\u2019s gonna go top-10. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s top-10 good, but I don\u2019t think this is a good draft.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tCaleb Downs: \u201cAn extremely high floor\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cInstincts-wise, he\u2019s elite,\u201d said a Big Ten assistant coach. \u201cHis zone awareness is as good as I\u2019ve seen. But he doesn\u2019t play man-to-man. I didn\u2019t see him covering anybody and that alarmed me. They used him very well. You don\u2019t see him making plays in the deep part of the field.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe has an extremely high floor,\u201d said a Big Ten offensive coach. \u201cI think he\u2019ll start immediately and you won\u2019t have to worry about him. He\u2019s really smart and consistent, a good tackler, but I don\u2019t think he can cover well enough in man on a legit slot or one of these freaky tight ends in the NFL.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \tKayden McDonald: \u201cHeck of a player\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u201cHe\u2019s a heck of a player,\u201d said a Big Ten OC. \u201cHe was so physical, tough and violent, and he can run better than you\u2019d think.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tCaleb Downs might be the most undervalued player in this entire group. The critiques (mostly about his man coverage) feel a little nitpicky when you consider how dominant he is everywhere else. He\u00a0processes the game at an elite level, rarely takes a false step and consistently puts himself in position to make plays. In a league that increasingly values versatility and reliability on the back end, his floor is incredibly high \u2014 and there\u2019s still room for growth in his game. He may not be the flashiest prospect in this class, but there\u2019s a strong case he ends up being one of the most impactful.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNo matter where Downs and the others land, it\u2019s clear Ohio State is about to have another massive NFL draft showing. Reese and Styles feel like the headliners, but the range of opinions on Tate and Downs is what makes this class especially interesting. Either way, if these quotes tell us anything, it\u2019s that the Buckeyes aren\u2019t just sending talent to the league \u2014 they\u2019re sending guys coaches can\u2019t stop talking about.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0HE AIN\u2019T EVEN STRETCH DOE. This week, Ryan Day appeared on This Is Football with Kevin Clark<\/a> and shared a hilarious story about the moment Sonny Styles essentially forced him into basketball retirement.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWell, it started when he was in seventh or eighth grade because we were recruiting Lorenzo, his older brother,\u201d Day said. \u201cI remember it was really the last time I ever played basketball one-on-one. We were having an event before camp started, so we went to the basketball area and were messing around. And he took two dribbles and dunked on me. And that was the last time I played basketball.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tElectric story from Ryan Day: He retired from basketball when an eighth grader dunked on him. The brother of an older recruit. It was Sonny Styles.<\/p>\n A great scouting report on one of the best draft prospects a GREAT This Is Football with @ryandaytime<\/a>. ESPN2 today. pic.twitter.com\/4RBHM4gOm9<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tJust like that, Ryan Day retired. Not due to age, not due to injury \u2014 but because a middle schooler put him on a poster.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOf course, this is the same Sonny Styles who went on to become a national champion, a Block O recipient and one of the standouts at the 2026 NFL Combine. In between the dunk and those accomplishments, he was terrorizing opponents on the hardwood at Pickerington Central, throwing down dunks left and right alongside teammates like Devin Royal.\n<\/p>\n \n\tSo no, it\u2019s not exactly surprising Styles got the best of Day. Still, getting dunked on by a seventh grader is probably enough to make anyone quietly pack up the sneakers for good.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SNATCHED THEIR CHAIN. USA Today\u2019s Matt Hayes<\/a> dropped a column this week that had me cheesin\u2019 from start to finish. Titled \u201cBig Ten has stolen SEC mojo, and isn\u2019t about to give it back,\u201d it makes one thing painfully clear: the Big Ten isn\u2019t just competing with the SEC anymore \u2014 it\u2019s running the show.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFrom football to basketball and even baseball (yes, baseball), the now coast-to-coast conference is planting its flag everywhere the SEC used to claim as home turf.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s how it began:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tIt\u2019s undeniable now, a straight gangster move in this Wild, Wild West era of college sports.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe Big Ten has stolen the SEC mojo.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tBetter teams, better players, better stories. Better present \u2014 and more potentially damning \u2014 better future.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u2026\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThis is a paradigm change five years in the making, running parallel with the explosion of NIL and free player movement. This is the Big Ten flexing, and the SEC retreating.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tHere\u2019s how it continued:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tKill it, then eat it.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\u2026\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe Big Ten already has the better media rights deal, and delivers more money to a majority of its member institutions (not all of the newbies) than the SEC. The Big Ten has the bigger television markets, and the ability \u2014 though not yet realized \u2014 to dominate ratings.\u00a0\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tThere\u2019s the possibility of an all-Big Ten final in the NCAA Tournament, which hasn\u2019t happened since the Big 12 did it in 1988. If you think that\u2019s crazy, hold on to your tall glass of sweet tea.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tFor the love of all things Ess Eee See, the Big Ten currently has the No. 1 ranked team in college baseball \u2014 a sport the Big Ten didn\u2019t give two flips about prior to expansion. Before, that is, beginning this cutthroat philosophy of kill then eat.\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tAnd here\u2019s how it ended:\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tAbout the same time May’s Wolverines advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 2018, LSU was announcing the return hire of former disgraced coach Will Wade. The school trumpeted the move on social media by comparing Wade \u2015 the multi-level NCAA cheater \u2015 to Napoleon, and calling him, “General.”\u00a0\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t“We’re coming back to try to hang a banner, win a national championship,” Wade said, “Or I’m going to be the first coach fired from the same school twice.”\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t\tTell me you\u2019ve stolen the SEC\u2019s mojo without telling me.\u00a0\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tBrilliant. Just brilliant. The Big Ten snatched its chain \u2014 and it looks a whole lot better on the B1G than it ever did on the SEC.\n<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019m smiling through it all. I can\u2019t believe this is my life.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE. YouTube is great. Want to relive your favorite childhood cartoons? There\u2019s a video for that. Want to learn how to fix your car\u2019s air conditioning? There\u2019s a video for that, too.\u00a0 There\u2019s also a video of Ohio State\u2019s greatest plays since Ryan Day came to Columbus as an offensive coordinator in 2017.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tSo many good memories!\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. “Fool’s Gold” – Buffalo Traffic Jam.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0Hershey says it will shift back to classic recipe for all Reese\u2019s products after criticism<\/a>…\u00a0Artemis II astronauts bound for moon after rocketing away on NASA\u2019s first lunar voyage in decades<\/a>…\u00a0Rams’ Puka Nacua in rehab following alleged biting incident<\/a>… MLB umpire C.B. Bucknor is having a really rough week<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n