Skull Session: Western Kentucky WR Malachi Corley “Can't Wait to Go to Ohio State,” Dan Orlovsky Believes Justin Fields is a 2023 MVP Candidate and C.J. Stroud Embraces His QB Competition

By Chase Brown on August 2, 2023 at 5:00 am
Justin Fields
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Folks, the college football season is around the corner. Ohio State will travel to Bloomington, Indiana, to face the Hoosiers one month from today.

We are almost there.

Let's have a good Wednesday, shall we?

 “I CAN'T WAIT TO GO TO OHIO STATE.” Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley had a breakout redshirt sophomore season in 2022, recording 101 receptions, 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Hilltoppers, who finished 9-5 overall and third in the Conference USA.

Corley's efforts made him a top-10 receiver in the country before 2023, which meant he could have been a valuable transfer portal addition for a Power Five school that needed an established pass-catcher. Still, he remained at Western Kentucky, where he will be the Hilltoppers' undisputed leader on offense this season.

Because of that title, Corley will have several circles around his name on Western Kentucky scouting reports in 2023. That will undoubtedly be true for Ohio State's assessment of the Hilltoppers, which the Buckeyes will review before the coaches and players host Western Kentucky in the Horseshoe on Sept. 16. 

Corley expects as much from all of Western Kentucky's opponents this season. He welcomes it, even – especially from Ohio State. And in a recent interview with Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus, Corley said he is excited for his team's matchup with the Buckeyes, as it offers him a chance to prove he's the best wide receiver in America.

“I’m dialed in. I can’t make it up,” Corley said. “In practice, I run the most yards every day. I push myself past the point where I feel like I need to throw up and still keep it going. I know there are guys listed above me and I have to outwork them and outshine them in order to be put into that position.”

Two players Corley will have to outshine to achieve his goals are Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, the consensus best receivers in college football.
Luckily for him, his Hilltoppers travel to Columbus on Sept. 16.

“I can’t wait to go to Ohio State,” Corley said. “That’s going to be a highly watched game. There’s going to be like [100,000] people and not too many will be cheering for us. I’m going to feel like a supervillain going in there. I know the whole world will be watching and I can’t wait to show them, ‘This guy is for real.' I want people to be like, ‘Who is this guy?’”

I admire Corley's confidence. I really do. He will be a formidable test for Ohio State's defensive backs in Week 3.

In case you aren't sold, one Power Five assistant compared him to 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel this offseason, claiming Corley is the same do-it-all kind of player for Western Kentucky as Samuel is for San Francisco.

From Matt Zenitz of On3:

“That dude is like Deebo Samuel,” the assistant said. “I could see him at the end of the year being a damn first-rounder. I don’t know if (NFL scouts) have a player comparison on him or not yet, but I guarantee you that’s what they will all put, Deebo Samuel. He catches. He runs. He’s strong as s—. He’s super physical. You just can’t tackle the guy. The dude’s contact balance is through the roof. There may not be a player in college football who’s better with the football in his hands.”

Ohio State secondary coach Tim Walton and his cornerbacks Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock, Davison Igbinosun and Jyaire Brown have pushed the narrative that BIA will return this season – that the times of Ohio State as DBU are not in the rear-view mirror but remain visible through the windshield.

What better way to prove BIA is back than to shut down Corley, a Deebo Samuel-like weapon and one of college football's best receivers, early in the season?

 THAT'S CERTAINLY BOLD. Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky appeared on "First Take" on Monday to converse with Stephen A. Smith and Marcus Spears.

And on the debate show full of hot takes, Orlovsky tossed out a spicy one on Monday, claiming former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields will be in the MVP race in 2023.

"He will play MVP-level football. I have felt that since the DJ Moore trade happened. I don't think he will be in the conversation because I still think the team will not be good enough. But my reasonings why? If we go back and watch Justin’s performances, he had 17 touchdowns last year throwing. He gets 1,000 yards rushing, 2,200 yards passing. Before the [2022] season, I said that the worst place for anyone in the NFL to play quarterback was Chicago. It was a bottom-five skill group to support and it was a bottom-five offensive line. So Justin Fields played good in the worst situation possible.

"Fast forward to the offseason. Number one? The addition of DJ Moore. Up until last season, [he] had three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Two years ago, he averaged 18 yards per catch. [Fields] gets a bonafide number one wide receiver. We’ve seen Stefon Diggs, AJ Brown, Tyreek Hill and what they do for [their Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa]. That will immediately get his play up.

"Number two? They draft Darnell Wright out of Tennessee and sign Nate Davis of the Tennessee Titans. The offensive line was bottom-five last year. I think it’s now got a chance to be in the top half in the NFL. Immediately, we’re better in the skill position group and we’re better on the offensive line. 

"The third aspect is this: Luke Getsy, who’s their play caller, runs the Kyle Shanahan, Mike Shanahan offense. We have watched that offense take good quarterbacks and get them to produce like really good quarterbacks. We’ve watched it for years. This is [Fields'] second year in this system. ... It’s not fool-proof, it’s not 100%. But Justin Fields, his physical talent, in year two of this system, the upgrades – I don’t think it’s unrealistic to sit there and say Justin Fields should account for 35-plus touchdowns and over 4,000 yards of offense. That is MVP-caliber football."

That's bold.

But here's the deal. This is Justin Fields. He consistently outperforms expectations.

When Fields transferred to Ohio State in January 2019, there was an honest discussion in Columbus about whether or not Fields, Tathan Martell or Matthew Baldwin would start for the Buckeyes that fall. In one way or another, Fields was doubted. Then he outperformed his expectations in spring ball, won the competition and effectively forced Martell and Baldwin to enter the transfer portal.

When the 2019 season started, he outperformed his expectations again, completing 238 of 354 passes (67.2%) for 3,273 yards and 41 touchdowns as a passer and adding 484 yards and 10 scores as a runner. He was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, a second-team All-American and a Heisman finalist with Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and his Ohio State teammate Chase Young.

In 2020, Fields’ stats were affected by a pandemic-shortened season. Still, one can point to his performance against Clemson in the College Football Playoff as another moment he silenced doubters, completing 22 of 28 passes for 385 yards and six touchdowns to help the Buckeyes defeat the Tigers, 49-28, in the Sugar Bowl.

Man, that win was glorious.

As Fields transitioned to the NFL, he went from the possible No. 2 overall pick behind Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to experiencing a free fall out of the top 10 at the draft. The Chicago Bears picked him up at No. 11 overall after Lawrence and two other quarterbacks, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance, were already off the board.

Lawrence has been as advertised in the past two seasons, leading the Jaguars to the playoffs in 2022. In that same span, Wilson was benched for poor performance and Lance was hurt. The former now backs up Aaron Rodgers in New York, and the latter is in a quarterback competition with Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Fields has shown huge upside in Chicago despite a rocky first year under now-former head coach Matt Nagy. By the end of 2022, Fields was considered one of the most electric players in the NFL, establishing himself as one of the league's best running quarterbacks alongside Lamar Jackson and Hurts.

Is an MVP-caliber season possible for Fields in 2023? I don't know. But I know this: Fields outperforms expectations – it's what he does. I know better than to doubt the former Ohio State quarterback when he has a goal in mind.

 “I WANT TO EARN EVERYTHING.” While Justin Fields has started to prove himself at the NFL level, another former Ohio State quarterback, Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV, will look to do that this season as Houston Texans' No. 2 overall pick and quarterback of the future.

To do that, Stroud needs to beat out the Texans' incumbent starter, Davis Mills, in a quarterback competition in preseason camp – a competition Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans says is far from over in the first week of August.

From DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN:

Mills and Stroud have yet to separate in the battle through the first five practices. Mills has thrown two interceptions during team periods, while Stroud has had rookie moments of indecisiveness, which leads to him holding the ball too long and also throwing interceptions of his own – including a pick-six Monday by last year's top pick, Derek Stingley Jr. But both have had junctures where they've pushed the ball down the field for big plays.

Coach DeMeco Ryans has Stroud and Mills splitting first-team reps.

"With C.J., I've seen just from the command of the huddle started with all the college players," Ryans said. "Now, a lot of it is everybody's looking to the sideline, and they see a signal or picture, and that's their play. But here, we're asking them to operate from a huddle, which is new, get in and make play calls, which play calls can be long and lengthy sometimes. There's a lot of different terminology you have to learn. Seeing him grow in that area has been really good."

...

The Texans also signed Case Keenum this offseason to bring a veteran presence to the quarterbacks room. Keenum started his career with the Texans in 2013 and has played for several teams since, appearing in two games for the Buffalo Bills last season. Like Mills, all the QBs seem to be focused on improvement over a competition to start.

"I don't want anything given to me. I want to earn everything," Stroud said. "Davis is a great quarterback, and so is Case. And honestly, we're not focused on that. We're just focused on getting better and better and better because at the end of the day, if you focus on trying to do something extra or do this here and there, that's when you start confusing yourself and doing what's out of the playbook and making mistakes."

I will never underestimate an NFL coach's ability to feel like they need to always be the smartest person in the room, leading to paralysis by analysis for themselves and, in turn, the teams they coach. Therefore, I am unsure when or if Stroud will be named the Texans' starter for the 2023 season.

But if Ryans and his coaching staff have some sense in them, they would cut to the chase (pun intended) and name their second overall pick the starter over Mills, who has completed 63.6% of his passes for 5,782 yards, 33 touchdowns and 25 interceptions as the Texans quarterback, and Keenum, a career backup in the NFL, as soon as possible.

Still, I appreciate Stroud's mindset as he waits for his crown. He wants to earn his stripes as an NFL quarterback, and the process of being named QB1 because of his talent and hard work is the first of those stripes. However, as a fan of the kid from Inland Empire, California, I would like to see him crowned sooner rather than later. Please and thank you, Mr. Ryans, sir.

 NO SCHOOL LIKE OLD SCHOOL. Ohio State revealed alternate gray uniforms for its Michigan State matchup a few weeks and received positive feedback from Buckeye Nation, at least from what I read in the comments section of our post.

Yet some Ohio State fans still expressed that the Buckeyes should wear their traditional scarlet uniforms at home and white uniforms on the road, and that's it. To those people, I say, "More power to you. It will never happen, but more power to you." I would also add, "You have a point."

Ohio State's scarlet jerseys are a beauty to behold. Some Buckeyes have shown off their threads from picture day late last week, and I have collected them below. The pictures may prove that, while the new uniforms are cool, there is no school like the old school.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Miss You All The Time" by O.A.R.

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Ohio State Defensive Assistant, Pass-Rush Specialist Brandon Jordan No Longer With Program

Brandon Jordan

A Beautiful, Terrible Thing

Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Ty Hamilton (58), defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) and defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) celebrate during the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium.
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