Skull Session: Buckeyes Abound in Another Big Board, Exodus Names to Watch, and Tate Martell Bets on Himself

By D.J. Byrnes on February 3, 2017 at 4:59 am
Ohio State five-star Shaun Wade answers a question for the February 3rd 2017 Skull Session
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Word of the Day: Bawd.

ICYMI:

 MOAR RANKINGS. Now that another crop of talented #teens is in the books, we can turn our attention to the basketball team NFL Draft, which will help lure the cream of the 2018 crop to Columbus.

NFL teams have over two months to prepare their own big boards. Until then, the draft-industrial complex must rank and mock.

Despite the rampant chicanery in such affairs, there are voices to which it's worth paying attention.

One is NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler, who released his Top 50 Big Board yesterday. 

From cbssports.com:

RANK PLAYER POSITION COMMENT
3 MALIK HOOKER SAFETY "His ball production this past season was remarkable due to the natural instincts, athletic range and ball skills, displaying difference-maker potential."
9 MARSHON LATTIMORE CORNERBACK "Twitchy athlete, the redshirt sophomore has the lower body explosiveness and speed to attach himself to receivers in man coverage."
34 CURTIS SAMUEL RUNNING BACK "He projects very well as a slot receiver with his routes and reliable ball skills, but also averaged 7.9 yards per rush in 2016 and is a true hybrid weapon in the NFL."
36 REAKWON McMILLAN LINEBACKER "Although he isn't a top-tier athlete and needs to better keep himself clean near the line of scrimmage, McMillan projects as a sturdy MIKE linebacker."

I don't know what's worse: Hoping Hooker's surgery will cause him to fall to Cleveland or that I'm wishing him to Cleveland in the first place.

People knock McMillan's athleticism, but he's capable of making astounding plays for a guy his size:


And Samuel will probably be the steal of the second round. #JustMyTake 

Todd McShay added his initial #take late Thursday night:

 NAMES TO WATCH. Ohio State signed 21 players on Wednesday, which puts it at 89 scholarships—four above the NCAA limit. The Buckeyes have until August to whittle that down, and the brass doesn't seem concerned about their ability to do that.

It's somewhat unfair to speculate on departures, but the fact remains there are four dead men walking in the WHAC.

From 247sports.com:

“There are three names in particular,” the source began. “I just can’t see Johnnie Dixon on the roster next fall. He just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. I also can’t see Dylan Thompson playing next season. And I would be surprised if James Clark were playing next fall. He’s been here awhile and I just can’t see it working out for him at this point.”

Dixon told cleveland.com back in January he'd be playing football "somewhere" next year, which seems ominous. Meyer said of Thompson back in March, "Do something. And underline that. Do something." Ohio State ruled him academically ineligible in July.

Clark got his four years, so that's a name that makes sense too.

That means Ohio State would need one more. Given medical issues and the likelihood of a transfer once some starting spots are determined in spring, it's easy to see why Mark Pantoni isn't worried.

 LAS VEGAS MAN PLACES BET. J.T. Barrett's return creates another logjam at quarterback. There's a 99% chance he'll start this fall, which pushes Joe Burrow's, Dwayne Haskins', or Tate Martell's debut back until at least 2018... when Emory Jones, the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the class, is slated to arrive on campus.

Martell, the four-star prospect signed Wednesday, is the most disadvantaged due to lack of familiarity with the offense (for now). Still, he was under no illusions when he came to Columbus.

From sportingnews.com:

"I was preparing myself for (Barrett) to come back," Martell said. "I have no issue competing with whomever. To make it to the NFL, you have to compete anyway. This is not where I want to stop. I want to play in the NFL, so this isn't going to be the last time I have to compete against the best guy out there."

Tate is also starring in a new documentary, QB1, from the producer of Friday Night Lights. It features Georgia signee Jake Fromm and Wake Forest signee Tayvon Bowers.

It's a 10-part series that premieres on go90, Verizon's streaming site and app.

If Martell pulls down the starting spot, it will be hilarious to watch him immediately become the most reviled Buckeye since Aaron Craft:

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk // I'm a woman's man: no time to talk

 $EC GETS PAID. Drinks on the SEC tonight:

It's going to be wild if the college football bubble bursts.

 STEP YOUR GAME UP COLUMBUS CHICKEN SHACKS. Ohio State fans want to know why their team can't seem to land an earth-eating defensive tackle. It would appear it's because Columbus' chicken shacks can't bang with Tallahassee's. 

Here's Marvin Wilson breaking it down, via orlandosentinel.com:

Beforehand, ESPN showed an interview where Wilson praised the honey fried chicken he ate while visiting Florida State as the best meal he had “by far” as a recruit.

“I was like that sounds suspect, so I grabbed one piece,” Wilson said. “I finished that one piece of chicken. I went grabbed the whole pan, and put it on the table, and we killed that whole pan of honey fried chicken.

“That’s probably the best fried chicken I’ve ever had.”

Do you remember the best fried chicken you've ever had? Of course you do. It's clear Ohio State needs to hook up recruits with something more hench than Cane's. And if there isn't a clear option, Buckeye Nation needs to recruit a restaurateur interested in making their first six million bucks.

 THOSE WMDs. The Army thought he was dead. Fifty years later, he reappeared... How designers engineer luck into video games... An editor allegedly used Vice Canada to recruit drug mules... Review: Black Edge, an account of a hedge fund magnate and insider trading... Don't kid yourself, the Alabama dynasty is only getting stronger.

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