Skull Session: Bucks Need a Go-To Receiver, Basketball Resurrection Will Take Time, and Blue's Italy Bill Comes Due

By D.J. Byrnes on June 15, 2017 at 4:59 am
Happy Jamarco blocks out for the june 15 2017 skull session.
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ICYMI:

Word of the Day: Penumbra.

 ONE MAN FOR THE JOB. It seems like a decade ago we scrutinized Ohio State receivers during repeated offensive ineptitude that culminated in a 31-0 loss to Clemson.

It's a new year, however, but once again receivers will be under the microscope. A go-to dominant receiver would go a long way to taking the onus off the receivers and make J.T. Barrett's job much easier.

One option is K.J. Hill. The other is sophomore Ben Victor.

From theozone.net:

The Buckeyes struggled to find a “go-to” receiver inside the 20 in 2016, but that could soon change. Sophomore Binjimen Victor (Pompano Beach, FL) possesses very good size at 6’4” and has the length to be a legitimate scoring threat near the goal line. Like Dixon, the impact of Victor will be maximized with improved strength which will widen his catch radius and allow him to use his length to create a mismatch.

Like everything, the success of the offense is synonymous with the play of the quarterback, so it will be up to J.T. Barrett to learn where to place the ball with Victor. (Note: I will emphatically applaud Barrett each time he overthrows Victor.) With 73% of last season’s receiving touchdowns gone, the 2017 team will need to find new ways to put the “six” back in Zone 6.

Despite his blend of size and skill, Victor wasn't strong enough to make an impact on the 2017 campaign.

Mickey Marotti said earlier this spring that this summer will be crucial to his development. If he handles his business, look for routine Mossings of hapless Big Ten cornerbacks in 2017.

 RESURRECTIONS TAKE TIME. This may be a controversial take, but I don't expect Ohio State basketball to compete for a national (or even Big Ten) title next spring.

Chris Holtmann seems like a fire hire, but Earth hasn't seen a miracle like that since Jesus turned water into wine.

From dispatch.com:

Smith’s remarks underscored the reality that Holtmann inherits a roster that, although comprised of players who seem to present few locker-room worries, is short on numbers and was widely expected to finish in the bottom third of an increasingly deep Big Ten.

No player on the roster has been named anything higher than honorable mention all-Big Ten. Of the nine recruited scholarship players, only six have played for the Buckeyes, with a third of the roster consisting of two freshmen and Derek Funderburk, who redshirted last season.

Nearly half their scoring and rebounding is gone — 47.6 percent and 48.1 percent.

What's the ceiling for this year? I have no idea. All I know is the Buckeyes lost to Rutgers at the end of last season, so it hopefully won't be as bad as that.

 BILL COMES DUE. Vacations are fun because they delude you into thinking money isn't real and neither are everyday responsibilities.

But then the bill comes due. Fortunately for Michigan football, they have a Sugar Daddy picking up the bill for its Italy excursion.

From detroitnews.com:

Grand Rapids — Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said the football team’s trip to Rome in late April will wind up costing between $750,000 and $800,000, all of which was covered by an unrestricted financial gift by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Football coach Jim Harbaugh took the Wolverines to Rome after finals for a week of sightseeing and team bonding, in addition to three spring practices. The trip was optional for the players and about three dozen went on to participate in three-week study-abroad programs, and internships internationally and in the U.S.

“It’s going to come in around $750,000, $800,000,” Manuel said Tuesday at Egypt Valley Country Club, where he participated in the Meijer LPGA Classic celebrity Pro-Am. “Waiting on a few numbers, so we don’t have it final, final, but it will be around 750, 800.

I'd rather burn $800,000 in a bath tub than send Michigan to Italy for spring break. It's a helluva idea by Jim Harbaugh; I still have no idea how it's legal. Not like donors are falling over themselves to send regular students overseas for a week.

 RECRUITING STARTS AT TOP. As the recent champions of the sport indicate, recruiting is the lifeblood of college football.

Luke Fickell developed a reputation as an ace recruiter on Ohio State's staff. Despite a promotion, he will lead by example when it comes to recruiting at Cincinnati.

From 247sports.com:

But perhaps more important than his personality, the former Buckeyes football player and three-time undefeated state wrestling champion is a guy that is always going to put the time and effort into everything he does. Over his college coaching career, recruiting has always been one of his biggest priorities.

“If the head coach doesn’t set the example and he isn’t the best recruiter on your staff and if he isn’t the hardest working guy on your staff, if he isn’t trying to build those relationships it’s a trickle-down effect,” Fickell explained. “And you can have one or two great recruiters but the reality is if you don’t have 10, if you don’t have 20, everybody in your office from (Director of Recruiting) Brian Mason to (Director of Player Personnel) Tom Phillips, to everyone in your recruiting department to all your secretaries, if everybody doesn’t understand it’s about recruiting then you’re going to struggle. Because you can’t be successful with just three or four recruiters. And I think that was the thing Coach (Urban) Meyer always talked about: yes we want good football coaches, but if you don’t understand it’s about getting players and getting the right players and giving you the right opportunities you’re not going to be able to out-coach a bad offense or bad defense and it truly has to start at the top.”

Seems like Fickell picked up some things while under the tutelage of Urban Meyer.

 MORE BAD NEWS OUT OF SPARTA. Michigan State police allege Curtis Blackwell, Michigan State's equivalent of Mark Pantoni, interfered in a sexual assault investigation.

The Ingham County Prosecutor decided no crime occurred, though.

From mlive.com:

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State University police say that former football staff member Curtis Blackwell attempted to investigate an alleged sexual assault involving three former football players.

Blackwell, though, told them that he was simply trying to find out what happened and if the alleged incident was consensual. The Ingham County Prosecutor ultimately declined to issue any charges in the case outside of those for sexual assault against three players.

According to a police report released to MLive this week through an open records request, Michigan State University Police interviewed Blackwell on Feb. 8, nearly a month after the alleged incident took place on campus.

Still, it's not a great look for the Big Ten's quickest deteriorating program. 

 THOSE WMDs. The Battle of Pelusium: A victory decided by cats... India builds a city from scratch... A mobster, a family, and a crime that won't let them go... The 10 best books of 2017 so far... How a 23-year-old with mild anxiety became the toast of Broadway.

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