Skull Session: Gene Smith Says Chris Holtmann is Ohio State's “Coach of the Future,” Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka Are Special and the Buckeyes' 2023 Class is Elite

That's because he's a leader among leaders and the perfect fit for the Buckeyes. It's a real match made in heaven, don't ya think?

Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye @JLaurinaitis55 #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/2TRJ9AbJuS

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) February 2, 2023

Let's have a good Friday, shall we?

 THE COACH OF THE FUTURE. An hour before Ohio State men's basketball's eventual 65-60 loss to Wisconsin on Thursday, athletic director Gene Smith stood courtside and watched the Buckeyes warm up as they prepared to face the Badgers.

In a brief interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Smith was asked if he believes in head coach Chris Holtmann and the direction the program is headed under Holtmann's leadership as the Buckeyes then sat at 11-10 overall with a 3-7 record in the Big Ten. Here was Smith's answer:

“I’m confident in what Chris is doing,” Smith told The Dispatch. “Chris is our coach of the future. He’s doing an outstanding job."

Holtmann, in his sixth season, signed a three-year contract extension during the spring that has him under contract through the 2027-28 season. The Buckeyes have won at least 20 games in each of Holtmann’s first five seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament during each season in which it was held but have not advanced beyond the second round.

...

This year, Ohio State is being led in scoring by freshman Brice Sensabaugh, who is being projected as a potential first-round pick, while freshman point guard Bruce Thornton has started all 21 games as classmates Roddy Gayle and Felix Okpara have assumed rotation roles.

“These are young guys,” Smith said. “I really look forward to them continuing to grow and get better. There’s a lot of games left. We’ve just got to keep getting better.”

The comments are a vote of confidence in Holtmann from his boss and the man that helps delivers the massive checks into Holtmann's bank account.

For now, it looks like those checks will keep cashing the same as they always have. But remember, claiming someone is “the coach of the future” isn't the same as saying they are the coach for X more years or for the remainder of the contract.

There's still a leash on Holtmann, and I'm inclined to believe that leash becomes shorter after each loss and misstep the Buckeyes have in Holtmann’s sixth year as head coach. We'll see what that leash looks like in the “future,” whenever that is.

 THAT'S MORE LIKE IT. I expressed my frustrations with Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus in my Thursday Skull Session for his decision to leave TreVeyon Henderson off his list of the top 10 running backs returning to college football in 2023.

While my frustration lingers still, Chadwick eased my (very one-sided) anger toward him with his latest article in which he ranked Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka as the top two receivers in his top 10 wideouts returning to the sport next season.

Top 10 returning WRs in College Football for the 2023 season

Via @Chad_Maxwick pic.twitter.com/3S5b8f8Lx1

— PFF College (@PFF_College) February 2, 2023

Chadwick thinks Harrison was “the best wide receiver in college football this past season” despite Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt winning the Biletnikoff Award. In 2023, he sees Harrison as the frontrunner to win the Biletnikoff and believes the 6-foot-4, 205-pound pass-catcher can even be a Heisman finalist, provided he can exceed the 77 catches, 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns he recorded in 2022.

As for Egbuka, Chadwick claims he was “the most valuable Power Five receiver (this past) year” behind Harrison. With Harrison being the only returning Power Five receiver who had more receiving yards and touchdowns in 2022, Chadwick thinks Egbuka is the clear choice for the second slot.

Beyond Harrison and Egbuka on the list are several Power Five receivers and Western Kentucky's Malachi Corley. Contrary to Chadwick's top 10 running backs list, I have no quarrels with these rankings. However, Brian Hartline couldn't say the same.

There seems to be a trend

And every year I mention, theyre missing one or two.

So Ill say it again, Youre missing 1 in the top 10 pic.twitter.com/XH8AoXpF8w

— Brian Hartline (@brianhartline) February 2, 2023

My heart of hearts tells me he is referring to former No. 1 overall recruit Julian Fleming, who collected 34 catches for 533 yards and six touchdowns this past season. But I can’t say that with any certainty.

And that's not a knock on Fleming, by the way – I think he's fantastic. It's more to say Ohio State's depth in the receiver room beyond him is outrageous: Xavier Johnson, Jayden Ballard, Caleb Burton, Kaleb Brown, Kojo Antwi, Kyion Grayes, Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, Bryson Rodgers and Noah Rogers.

Time to see who Hartline thinks Pro Football Focus left off the list.

 MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE. Ohio State’s class of 2023 is headlined by some of the receiver prospects mentioned above: Inniss, Tate, Rodgers and Rogers. But there are plenty of other talented players in the class beyond those four pass-catchers.

Still, there was a narrative – both here in Buckeye Nation and nationally – that the 20 recruits the Buckeyes signed during the Early Signing Period were underwhelming collectively. With National Signing Day on Wednesday, that narrative reared its head again, but FOX analyst Joel Klatt shut it down.

Yes, it's an indisputable fact that Alabama, Georgia and Texas have more top 100 players in their 2023 classes than Ohio State. But as Klatt argues in the video, the Buckeyes' average player rating of 93.6 ranks third among all classes behind only the Tide (94.8) and Bulldogs (94.1). That's really good.

Ohio State certainly had its misses in the class, such as Caleb Downs, Damon Wilson and Matayo Uiagalelei, but there’s still plenty of talent there. If the Buckeyes can develop that talent successfully, there's no reason the Buckeyes can’t hang around with the Alabamas and Georgias of the world for the foreseeable future.

And I think what I mean to say about all of this can be summed up in one question. Can Ohio State please win a national championship one of these years?

The Buckeyes have recruited well over the years and created fantastic rosters, but for whatever reason, play on the field and coaching on the sidelines haven't correlated quite well enough to hoist a championship trophy. That needs to change, hopefully sooner rather than later.

 NOTHING BEATS TRADITIONAL. The World Famous Ohio State Buckeyes are undoubtedly one of the most historic programs in college football history with an FBS-best .733 win percentage, 953 all-time wins, 39 Big Ten titles and eight national championships.

However, the Buckeyes are World Famous for more than their success on the football field. Of the many reasons one could argue that statement is true, the reason I will focus on today is their uniforms, which are unrivaled by other programs across the country (despite their noticeable lack of gray at the moment).

Brad Crawford of 247Sports shares the belief with me – and many of you, I am sure – that Ohio State has the best uniforms around, as he ranked the Buckeyes' iconic scarlet and gray attire the No. 1 uniforms in college football with his most recent article.

Here is what he said about them [added brackets are my clarifications/modifications]:

Another nod to tradition, Ohio State's silver helmets with the black, white and scarlet stripe and leaf decals is top-shelf. Buckeyes fans have gotten used to Nike's uniform takeover of the Michigan game in recent years with a plethora of alternate uniforms saved for the biggest contest of the season. Ohio State's traditional scarlet and gray is a delight, but the recent infatuation with Nike's envelope-pushing secondary options in Columbus keeps viewers guessing on game days against nationally-ranked opponents. That strange all-black get up in 2015 versus Penn State reappeared a couple seasons ago against Nebraska [and in 2022 against Wisconsin], but fans are split on the look. One of the Buckeyes' most daring alternates in the past decade was an all-gray getup which featured a wolf-fur pattern on the helmet, numerals and cleats.

Top-shelf. I think everyone can agree that's an accurate way of describing Ohio State's traditional scarlet and gray uniforms.

As for the black and gray alternates – or any alternates the Buckeyes have worn in the past, for that matter – beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some think they belong on the top shelf, while others believe their place is in the well. My take? The alternates are acceptable, but nothing beats traditional.

 BONUS MATERIAL. It's Friday, which is cause for celebration. Let's party with an extra section that breaks down a loaded weekend of premiere matchups for Ohio State sports that is sure to impress.

Friday

• Men's Volleyball: No. 13 Ohio State vs. No. 2 UCLA in State College, Pennsylvania, 4 p.m.
• Men's Tennis: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 23 Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
• Women's Ice Hockey: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 3 Minnesota (1 of 2), 7 p.m. on BIG+
• Men's Ice Hockey: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Penn State (1 of 2), 7 p.m. on BIG+
• Wrestling: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Penn State, 7 pm. on BTN

Saturday

• Men's Lacrosse: No. 11 Ohio State vs. Air Force at the brand new Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium, Noon
• Women's Tennis: No. 12 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Georgia, Noon
• Women's Ice Hockey: No. 1 Ohio State at No. 3 Minnesota (2 of 2), 3 p.m. on BIG+
• Men's Volleyball: No. 12 Ohio State vs. No. 10 USC in State College, Pennsylvania, 4 p.m.
• Men's Ice Hockey: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Penn State (2 of 2), 6:30 p.m. on BTN

Sunday

• Men's Tennis: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Texas, Noon
• Men's Basketball: Ohio State at Michigan, 1 p.m. on CBS
• Women's Gymnastics: No. 16 Ohio State vs. No. 25 Maryland, 2 p.m.
• Women's Basketball: No. 10 Ohio State at No. 8 Maryland, 4 p.m. on ESPN2

This is as good as a weekend gets across the board for Ohio State athletics. If you didn’t have any weekend plans heading into today, now you do. Find a nice spot on the couch, grab a beverage of your choice and take in the Buckeyes kicking some butt, regardless of the sport you choose to watch.

And if you live in Columbus, take a short trip down to the most beautiful campus in America and watch some of these teams compete in person. You won't regret the decision. I promise you that.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “I Want To Break Free” by Queen.

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