Skull Session: Keith Byars Talks Buckeye Brotherhood, Emeka Egbuka Considers Playing Baseball, and Cameron Brown Shut Penn State Down

Straight from r/ThatHappened...

John Lovett said the Ohio State defender came up to him after the game to say he pushed him out of bounds on the long touchdown that was called back pic.twitter.com/3StJGaDaM5
— Max Ralph (@maxralph_) October 31, 2021

Cue my girl Jennifer:

Word of the Day: Tenebrous.

“A LOT OF SCHOOLS ARE JEALOUS.” Guys like Keith Byars, Eddie George and Ezekiel Elliott are separated by decades and generations and really only have Buckeye football in common.

But at Ohio State, that's more than enough.

“There will be some fans that will remember every touchdown from when I played, and there’ll be some fans in the stadium who weren’t even born when I when I played,” Byars said, “but that was one of the reasons I chose Ohio State when I was 16-, 17-, 18-years-old. I heard about Ohio State alumni being the best alumni in the world. The fans, if you do something they remember it for life, and I wanted to be a part of that legacy. Ohio State was well-established well before I was even born, and when it was my turn to pick a college, I said, ‘This is a legacy that I want to be a part of.’”

...

“You hear them talking about the ‘Buckeye Brotherhood’ and things of that nature — it’s a real thing,” Byars said. “So when we get together — guys like Eddie George, Raymont Harris, Mike Doss, Ryan Shazier, Zeke Elliott, Archie Griffin — when we’re all in the same room we sit around and just talk about the brotherhood of what’s going on at Ohio State right now. What was it like when we were there and what we expect of the future players. That’s majority of our conversation.

“A lot of schools are jealous of that because they don’t see that. I go on a Buckeye Cruise for Cancer and it’s nothing for me, Zeke Elliott and other guys sitting around playing cards and laughing and cracking jokes on each other, guys from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s. We have that kind of bond.”

Now, how much would y'all pay to be a fly on the wall in that room Byars is talking about?

A KIND MAN. TreVeyon Henderson is like a ticking touchdown timebomb every time he touches the field – he could deliver a touchdown at any given moment. Turns out, he brings that same energy with his kindness.

This young man is beyond amazing.. I have never shared this story and I hope its ok that I did share I just thought this was worth sharing. Because he deserves everything
— Amber Katelyn (@AmberKatelyn6) October 29, 2021

This is just one story, but if you read between the lines it tells you more than enough about his character to know that this is probably a regular thing.

He was instantly and instinctively generous as soon as he heard of a need, and he never flaunted his gift or made a big deal about it publicly. That doesn't sound like somebody who just made a one-off gift one time. That sounds like a kind, selfless and loving person.

This has made me a bigger fan than anything he could have done on the football field (although he'd already won me over with the Arby's endorsement deal, if we're being honest).

TWO-SPORT ATHLETE? In a wildly specific coincidence, J.T. Tuimoloau is not the only five-star prospect ranked at the top of his position from the state of Washington who signed with Ohio State that is considering playing multiple sports at Ohio State.

Turns out, Emeka Egbuka is a proper baseball star and you still might see him on the diamond for the Buckeyes.

You talked about playing different sports growing up. If you weren't a football player what sport would you be playing?

Definitely baseball. I still consider myself a baseball player now even though I haven't picked up the bat in a little bit. But it was something I was considering going into college with the top schools I was talking to before I committed here. They all gave me the opportunity to play baseball in college. So it was something I was seriously looking into. Something that I might continue to look into, but with the schedule and everything, I just have to see how hard that would be for me to do.

ON LOCKDOWN. Cameron Brown had some bad luck with injuries so far this season (and obviously last season), but when he's healthy...

Cameron Brown vs #20 Penn State

3 targets
1 catch allowed (8 yards)
1 INT
2.8 passer rating allowed pic.twitter.com/nHS5SGdXEn
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 31, 2021

Word is that he's probably the fastest player on the roster. And when he was playing earlier in the season, he was noticeably limping while in coverage – which is not ideal when your legs are arguably your biggest physical asset.

But if Saturday is any indication of the player he can be when he's feeling good, then I'm also feeling good.

Don't look now, but Ohio State's secondary is lowkey turning into a strength – just not on third down against Penn State, apparently.

ALL ON THE SAME TEAM. I said some unkind things about Penn State this weekend and will continue to say those unkind things for the rest of my days on this spinning rock, but this is a worthwhile reminder that even though I want my football team to disembowel every other football team, we're actually all on the same team.

Today is a wonderful opp for me to put things in perspective.

THANK YOU to ALL my doctors/nurses (so many went to OSU).

(big thanks to my sister for making me the awesome sign)#OhioState #PennState pic.twitter.com/yOQJLOq7nQ
— Pittsburgh Lion (@PittsburghLion) October 30, 2021

Big congrats on beating cancer and going a perfect 1-0 as a Buckeye fan. You're welcome aboard this bandwagon for what I hope is many, many more decades of health.

SONG OF THE DAY. "Beautiful People" by Pomplamoose.