Skull Session: Ohio State's Wide Receivers Are “Common Amongst the Uncommon,” Indianapolis Colts Could Tank For Marvin Harrison Jr. and Cade Stover is an “Ass-Kicker”

By Chase Brown on August 9, 2023 at 5:00 am
Wide Receivers
Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

This week, Michigan running back Donovan Edwards claimed he will be one of the best running backs ever when his career is over. “I will be up there with Walter Payton and Barry Sanders,” he said.

Our response?

Let's have a good Wednesday, shall we?

 “COMMON AMONGST THE UNCOMMON.” At Big Ten Media Days on July 26, a reporter asked Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. why he committed to the Buckeyes as a four-star prospect out of Philadelphia and St. Joseph's Prep. Harrison provided that reporter with a simple answer.

"If you are a wide receiver, you wanna go to a place that's gonna throw the ball a lot. That's just natural. Ohio State is one of the schools that does that the best throughout the country. With Coach [Ryan] Day and his system, the concepts that he runs, it's a very pro-like [system]. You know, for a lot of us we are trying to get to that pro level, so there's no better place to do that than Ohio State, especially as a receiver. We have Coach [Brian] Hartline and then you have an inner room where you're common amongst the uncommon. I think that's the perfect place for you as a receiver."

Harrison made sure people remembered the phrase “common amongst the uncommon” with a quote tweet from the Big Ten Network's post on Monday.

Marv must have watched some David Goggins videos before Big Ten Media Days. Harrison‘s quote is similar to the retired United States Navy SEAL and current ultramarathon runner's phrase “uncommon amongst uncommon,” which he has used in his many motivational books and videos in addition to “THEY DON'T KNOW ME, SON!” and “WHO'S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS?”

At any rate, Harrison's point is this: The receivers Ohio State recruits are all “uncommon” because they are the best pass-catchers in their respective classes. But when those receivers arrive in Columbus, they become “common” because all those Buckeyes were the best pass-catchers in their respective classes.

In Ohio State's wide receiver room, it is common to be uncommon.

Because of that, the Buckeyes have wide receivers who are All-Americans, All-Big Ten honorees, finalists and winners of individual postseason awards. Those accolades exist now with Harrison and Emeka Egbuka. They will be passed down to – or, perhaps better put, carried on by – the next generation of pass-catchers like Brandon Inniss, Carnell Tate, Kyion Grayes, Kojo Antwi and others.

Here's to many more “uncommon” wide receivers who will carry on the legacy of THE Ohio State University as Wide Receiver U.

 TANK SZN. After he witnessed three weeks of preseason camp, Indianapolis Star columnist Gregg Doyel wrote that the Indianapolis Colts have “their worst roster in a decade” and “don't seem serious about winning” in 2023.

For that reason, Doyel wrote that Indianapolis is on tank watch this season. With rookie Anthony Richardson already a Colt and all other tank-worthy teams in the Caleb Williams Sweepstakes, the Colts could be poised to pick the prospect that would make a horrible season worth it: Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor inductee Marvin Harrison Sr.

Here is how Doyel's column started:

“It’s good to be a Colts fan,” the woman's sign says, and at this moment, sure, why not? It’s Sunday afternoon at Grand Park, sun behind clouds, temperatures near 75 degrees. Weather doesn’t get much better around here in August, and out there on the field, after another day of training camp, players don’t get much more accommodating.

Linebacker Shaq Leonard is hurling miniature footballs into the crowd, pointing out kids and flinging it their way and staring until the kid gets the ball. Quarterback Anthony Richardson is on one knee near midfield, surrounded by tiny Colts fans wearing tiny versions of his No. 5 jersey, posing for pictures as their parents swoon.

It is good to be a Colts fan out here at Grand Park, where tickets are going fast and the pace of practice is going faster and new coach Shane Steichen is a rock star as he walks off the field toward the press conference, serenated by adults – “Shane! Shane!” – until he turns and points at them with a smile. If he could sing, he’d be a Beatle.

They have a saying in football, when your first-team offense goes against your first-team defense: “Good on good,” they call that. We’re going to need a new saying for the 2023 Indianapolis Colts. Not much good out here, other than this: Until the games start, yes, it’s good to be a Colts fan.

After Doyel offered boatloads of information about the Colts' current roster construction and the team's potential to maybe – just maybe – win three or four regular-season matchups this season, here is how he ended his column:

So is it a good time to be a Colts fan, as it said on the woman's sign in the front row? It is for now at Grand Park, where the only players scoring touchdowns are Colts and the only players making interceptions are Colts, and until another team shows up, we can all pretend things will be OK. And maybe they will, a year from now, when the Colts console themselves after a 3-14 season in 2023 by selecting Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. with the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Say, you don’t think…

Yeah, actually. I really do think.

Most 2024 mock drafts have the Arizona Cardinals in the No. 1 and No. 2 overall slots from their pick and the Houston Texans' pick (received via a trade with the Texans in 2023), which the Cardinals would then use to select Williams and Harrison. Those same mock drafts have Indianapolis in possession of the No. 3 overall pick, which the Colts would use to choose Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu.

That said, the Colts will probably need to suck a little more than the Texans in 2023 to secure Harrison – a reality I think most Buckeye fans would be OK with as former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud will be Houston's QB1 this year, and who wouldn't want him to be successful in his rookie season?

 “DUDE IS AN ASS-KICKER.” Jim Nagy is a big fan of Cade Stover. This week, the former 18-year NFL scout and current Reese's Senior Bowl executive director evaluated Stover, and he provided some rave reviews for the Mansfield, Ohio, native nicknamed "Farmer Gronk."

 “IT'S INCREDIBLE.” Even since Dallas Gant transferred from Ohio State to Toledo before the 2022 season, the former four-star linebacker has liked to keep his football simple, writes Brian Buckey of The Toledo Blade: Do your job, be where you need to be and trust your teammates.

Gant has been able to do that at Toledo, where he became a first-team All-MAC honoree with a team-best 116 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles across 14 appearances.

As Gant prepares for his second season with the Rockets (and sixth college football season overall), the Toledo native and graduate of St. John's Jesuit has been reminded of why he has loved the sport since he was a child. It wasn't his natural talent, skill set, drive or determination. It was because football was – and still is – fun.

From Buckey's article:

“I'm having the most fun I've ever had in my life,” Gant said. “It's incredible. Coming back was the best decision I could have made. Coming back to Toledo and then coming back for my sixth year, as well. I've had a lot of fun and created relationships that will last a lifetime playing for great coaches and playing with great people and having fun playing football. I couldn't ask for anything more.”

...

Now in his second year at Toledo, Gant's comfort level continues to grow.

“I've definitely gotten more comfortable with it being my second year in the program,” Gant said. “That along with it being my sixth year in college football, I think I'm pretty familiar with the whole game and the football aspect of it and the team aspect of it. I'm happy to be here, back home, and getting to develop those relationships. When I came here last year in the summer, it was just go, go, go because the season was coming. Now with the summer and winter and spring ball with the guys, I really feel like I've gotten closer with a lot of them and developed a good relationship with a lot of my teammates and coaches and I'm just more comfortable.”

...

Gant is focused on making this season another memorable one for the Rockets, but at the same time, nothing has changed with his aspirations of playing in the NFL. He has believed and continues to believe that he is an NFL-caliber player. He has one more year to prove that, but that will come by maintaining his simple approach on the field.

“I have [believed] since I started playing,” Gant said. “That's been my end goal through this whole thing and I've never doubted that I'm capable of doing that. When that time comes I'll think about that but right now I'm just trying to be the best teammate and the best leader I can be for this team. If I do what I need to do, I'll end up where I want to be.”

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the transfer portal as it was intended.

Gant, who never developed a clear role at Ohio State, transferred to another school and became a star for his hometown team. Now, as he is about to enter his sixth season of college football, he is having the most fun he's ever had.

That said, I can confidently say the move worked well for all parties. The Buckeyes have two star linebackers of their own in Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers – perhaps more with the depth of Cody Simon, C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers and Reid Carrico – and Gant received his chance to shine on a team that desperately needed him.

Best of luck to Mr. Gant this season. May the Rockets head straight for the moon and win the MAC with ease in 2023, or come in close second to the Ohio Bobcats (there's only some bias from me with that one... just some!)

 SONG OF THE DAY. “HYPOTHETICALS” by Lake Street Dive.

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