Skull Session: KBD Puts Bucks on His Back, Bosa Wants a Drop-Back Passer, and Scouting National Signing Day

By D.J. Byrnes on February 5, 2018 at 4:59 am
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Remember, folks, vote for me for president in 2024, and the day after the Super Bowl will become a national holiday. If the people deliver a mandate, we may get rid of every Monday in February.

I dedicate this Skull Session to every Ohio State fan staggering into the office Monday wondering how they'll pay March rent after betting it on Tom "The G.O.A.T." Brady. 

A secondary dedication to the City of Brotherly Love, which apparently no longer exists:

Good run, Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the sun came up and the Browns are on the clock with two of the top four picks. The ensuing eclipse on New England will surprise Patriots fans.

ICYMI:

Word of the Day: Fink.

 KBD POWERS UP. Another day, another victory for Chris Holtmann's team, which suspended senior guard Kam Williams two hours before tipping off against Illinois.

Andre Wesson made his first start, and Keita Bates-Diop put the local team on his back to ward off a scrappy Illini team. The Buckeyes won, 75-67.

From Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors:

Keita Bates-Diop carried the Buckeyes on his back, scoring a career-high 35 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for his 10th double double of the season.

Andre Wesson made his first career on Sunday in place of Kam Williams, who was announced as being suspended indefinitely on Sunday morning for a violation of team rules, and the Buckeyes missed Williams' scoring ability, as his replacement in the lineup and the Buckeyes' bench combined to score just 10 points. But Bates-Diop, Jae'Sean Tate, Kaleb Wesson and C.J. Jackson picked up the slack enough for Ohio State to claw its way to an eight-point victory in front of a crowd of 18,473, Ohio State's largest crowd of the season to date at [the Schottenstein Center].

After putting together a strong start in its previous game against Illinois, Ohio State reverted back to its slow-starting ways on Sundays, as Illinois went on a 17-4 run to build a 30-15 lead midway through the first half. The Buckeyes had as many turnovers as it did field goals (six each) in the first 10 minutes of the game, in which the Illini hit well over 60 percent of their shot attempts.

This sets up a first-place showdown Wednesday against Purdue in West Lafayette. 48 hours out, and I'm confident this as as closest as I've ever come to visiting West Lafayette in February. Not sure I want to risk driving through Indiana. The only state worse to navigate is Pennsylvania.

I'm not expecting an Ohio State W. But this team can't be ruled out before the game. Let's just hope Purdue Pete doesn't feel the carnal urge to kill a man, as the FBI has yet to shown an interest in apprehending Indiana's most notorious serial killer.

 BEAR BOARDS DWAYNE TRAIN. Everybody knows about Nick Bosa's football talents, yet he keeps it real in the interview room as well. While most players are well-trained in offering platitudes by the time Ohio State lets them regularly interact with media, Bosa calls shots as he sees them.

From Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch:

“As long as there are leaders on the offense and leaders on the defense, you don’t even have to be a starter to be leader,” said Bosa, who is already considered a defensive leader. “But you definitely want to know who’s your guy at some point.”

Haskins is considered the front-runner at quarterback at this early stage, and Bosa believes Haskins fits the mold of what an Ohio State quarterback should be.

“He’s a drop-back passer, and I think that’s what we should be, a team that throws the ball with the quarterback and runs the ball with the running backs,” Bosa said.

A team where the quarterback throws and the running backs run would be a novel concept indeed. If Haskins leads Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins in carries during big games, we may need to stage an intervention with Urban Meyer. If we have Little Bear on our side, our chances are good that it would remain peaceful. 

 A QUIET NSD. National Signing Day used to mean eating reheated pizza at 7 a.m. and posting content while adults at schools all over the country instruct talented teens in the ancient art of sending a fax. (To any teens reading, think if unread email could crawl out of your computer. It was awful.)

This year, however, thanks to the NCAA allowing an Early Signing Period, those activities shifted to December. This year's rendition of National Signing Day should be a dull affair for the Buckeyes. The action, or lack of it, starts Wednesday.

From Andrew Lind of Eleven Warriors, whom you should follow on Twitter:

It’s highly unlikely the Buckeyes add anyone else, as Cincinnati Winton Woods four-star linebacker Christopher Oats called off his official visit and is expected to end up with Kentucky instead. New Jersey four-star defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste also seemed destined to end up in Columbus following a late offer, but it appears both sides have gone their separate ways. Nebraska is his likely landing spot.

All that said, it appears Ohio State’s only chance of holding onto the nation’s top recruiting class would be to land Petit-Frere, Walker and Thomas, as Georgia remains in the hunt for a number of the nation’s top prospects, including five-star cornerback Tyson Campbell. The Bulldogs also hope to flip Michigan four-star linebacker Otis Reese on signing day. 

Andrew Ellis of Eleven Warriors, whom you should also follow on Twitter, detailed the Buckeyes' unlikely path to the No. 1 signing class, which Urban Meyer openly admits is something he cares about.

Meanwhile, a majority of Michigan fans are trying to convince themselves why stars don't matter. That's good, too, because four more stars flipping to Georgia would be like an additional signing for the Buckeyes. Don't let anybody ever tell you huffing schadenfreude isn't healthy.

 SPEAKING OF ILL TIDINGS... Even if the local team doesn't win the recruiting crown, it will be a small victory that Alabama won't either. Unfortunately, it may be premature to talk about the death of Nick Saban's dynasty.

From sbnation.com:

The Tide enter NSD week with only 18 commits, 14 of them signed. That’s fewer than anybody else in the top 10 besides Clemson. The 247Sports Composite (and other systems) rank by total points, so bigger classes usually equal better rankings.

Nick Saban’s said he only plans to sign 23 players in this class (these things depend on how full the roster is after the previous season’s departures), and all five teams ahead of Bama have at least 22 already.

It’s still an awesome class, as always. If you were to go by average player rating, Bama would nudge up to No. 5. Clemson and USC would also make big jumps.

One day the good times will end for Alabama, and I can't wait to blog about it after striking this entire era from my mind except for the 2015 Sugar Bowl.

 A&M LOSING JUICE. Texas A&M looked at the trash pyre in Tallahassee and said, "We should give the man in charge a guaranteed $75 million."

We'll see how it plays out for Jimbo Fisher and his oil money. The 2018 class, however, doesn't seem to be impressed.

From 247sports.com:

Five days until national signing day -- hours until the start of the final official visit weekend for the 2018 recruiting cycle -- and Texas A&M, numbers wise, is in the same spot it was in when linebacker DaShaun White flipped his commitment to Oklahoma on Jan. 6.

The Aggies have 14 pledges -- 10 of which are signed -- and since Jimbo Fisher was announced as the head coach, the team has lost four commitments in the 2018 class. It hasn't sat well with some fans, particularly since Fisher has yet to land a player for this cycle (not including 2019 safety Brian Williams).

Fisher on Dec. 1 resigned as head coach at Florida State to take the head job at Texas A&M. Two months into the job, he is experiencing what many new college football coaches experience during this time of year. 

Let's be thankful Urban Meyer isn't like most college football coaches. He came in and whipped the 2012 class into shape.

Recruits are naturally fickle creatures, and once you lose juice on the trail, it's gone forever...

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