Skull Session: A (Likely) Farewell to Marvin Harrison Jr., Devin Brown Follows C.J. Stroud’s Lead and Jeremiah Smith’s Signature Ended His Eventful Recruitment

By Chase Brown on December 27, 2023 at 5:00 am
Devin Brown
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Two more sleeps.

Have a good Wednesday.

 I BID THEE FAREWELL. Based on his attire at the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl practice on Tuesday – a practice jersey and sweatpants – it would appear Marvin Harrison Jr.’s Ohio State career is over.

**Insert the “Let me show you my big surprised face” GIF from Mr. Feeny in “Boy Meets World”**

Jokes aside, Harrison had a tremendous three-year career for the Buckeyes. While there was some hope the Biletnikoff Award winner and Heisman finalist would indulge in a curtain call and don the scarlet and gray for one final time on Friday, that seems improbable after Harrison did not participate in Ohio State’s third practice at AT&T Stadium. (It stands to reason Harrison will miss the Buckeyes’ fourth practice on Wednesday, too).

That said, I bid the greatest Ohio State wide receiver of all time farewell. His 155 catches, 2,613 yards and 32 total touchdowns not only met the incredible standards of Cris Carter, David Boston and Chris Olave but exceeded them.

Harrison was a pleasure to watch, and Buckeye Nation will miss his incredible talent. I have no doubt, however, that the one nicknamed Marvelous and Super will put that talent to good use in the National Football League.

 FOLLOWING SUIT. In previous Skull Sessions, I’ve made it well-known that I am a Devin Brown stan. My fandom started when he sent out the “Rounders” tweets. It continued when he changed from No. 15 to No. 33 and continued once more when he posted the “Burn the Boats” picture.

This week, Brown made another decision that won me over: He gifted JBL speakers to the entire Ohio State football team. The gesture followed suit (this is a pun; it will make sense in a second) after C.J. Stroud, another Buckeye for whom I hold affection. Before the 2022 season, Stroud provided the entire Ohio State football team with certificates to purchase a suit from Express for pregame walks into the Shoe.

Brown’s gift of JBL speakers couldn’t have been cheap — even with a potential name, image and likeness deal with the electronics brand. With 109 active players on Ohio State’s roster and speakers worth $130 retail, the receipt for Brown and James Bullough Lansing reaches $14,170 before tax. Whether it was Brown or JBL’s CEO (or both), someone cut a hefty check for the purchase.

However, for Brown, the gesture was about more than financial responsibility. It was about being a leader for the Buckeyes on and off the field.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has been impressed with Brown in both of those areas the past few weeks.

“You notice his command of the huddle, his command of the offense. He’s done a nice job of that,” Day said when the Buckeyes arrived in Dallas. “He has a charisma about him that I think the guys appreciate. He has a chance to extend plays with his feet. He has a strong arm. He’s very intelligent. He has a lot of skills and a lot of traits that you look for in a quarterback. Now, he has to go play the game.”

Command of the huddle, command of the offense, charisma, intelligence, a strong arm — what’s not to love about the 6-foot-3, 214-pound quarterback from Gilbert, Arizona?

When the Cotton Bowl arrives, Brown will have his chance to shine along with TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, Xavier Johnson and Cade Stover, among others. If he brings all of those skills and traits to the table, Friday could be lots and lots of fun.

 HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGEST STAR. The Athletic’s Manny Navarro sat inside the Chaminade-Madonna Prep gymnasium in Hollywood, Florida, when No. 1 overall prospect Jeremiah Smith signed his National Letter of Intent to Ohio State (the fake one).

In his attempt to describe the atmosphere that surrounded Smith’s signing, Navarro used one hyphenated word: “Drama-filled.”

Jeremiah Smith signed with Ohio State on Dec. 20, following through on the commitment he made to Brian Hartline more than a year ago. Smith signed with the Buckeyes because he believes Hartline is the best receivers coach in college football and because Hartline’s track record of producing NFL first-round draft picks is stronger than anybody else’s. It was strictly a football decision.

Florida State, Miami and Florida all tried to convince Smith they could offer him more in name, image and likeness deals, and the fact his family wouldn’t have to get on a plane each week to go watch him play.

In the end, Smith wanted to play for Hartline more than he wanted to stay home. It’s as simple as that.

“He doesn’t take anybody,” Smith said of Hartline. “You’ve got to be a certain kind of guy to be in that Ohio State receiver room. You’ve really got to be all about football and school. That’s all he cares about.”

Last week, Buckeye Nation wanted to know the reason it took forever for Ohio State to announce Smith had signed. According to Navarro, here was the answer: Smith’s NIL rep made sure what Ohio State’s collective promised Smith during the recruiting process would also be in writing to avoid confusion down the road (see: Jaden Rashada at Florida).

With paperwork out of the way, Smith wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. and become the next star wide receiver at Ohio State.

“I just want to go up there, build my own legacy up there in Ohio, be a first-round draft pick and be developed not only as a player, but as a man as well,” he said at his signing day ceremony. “It’s been crazy. I just took it day by day. I kept God first, prayed he’d lead me in the right direction. It was Ohio for me the whole time. That’s where I was going.”

There was a sense of relief on Smith’s face after he put the (scarlet) Ohio State cap on his head. The arduous process of fielding recruiting pitches and being hounded by reporters was finally over. He could finally breathe. His father, too.

“It was a tough one, but at the end of the day, it was his decision,” said Chris Smith, who runs a cleaning business in South Florida to pay the bills. “Whatever decision he made, I was happy with. I just told him whatever school he picked, make sure they had a good development program and a place where he could thrive and become a man.”

Over the past three seasons at Chaminade-Madonna, Smith collected 177 receptions for 3,116 yards and 46 touchdowns and led the Lions to three consecutive state championships. He will undoubtedly develop, thrive and become a man in Columbus.

We will all witness Smith’s development in real time at Ohio State. A good portion of it could come next season, too, as Hartline and Co. will look to make the 6-foot-3, 200-pound pass-catcher a part of the Buckeyes’ offense from Jump Street. And, to be clear, they should. Smith is a generational talent with incredible potential.

If he lives up to it – which is easier said than done – I could be writing a farewell to him in three years, as I did for Marvin Harrison Jr.  If I do, that would be pretty, pretty cool.

 GET A LOAD OF THIS! On Tuesday, Steve Helwagen of 247Sports posted an image that featured an advertisement for the ninth all-time meeting between Ohio State and Missouri on Sept. 24, 1949. Helwagen also shared this fun fact: The battle between the Buckeyes and Tigers was Ohio State's first-ever televised football game.

When Helwagen's post was sent in the 11W Slack, Ramzy Nasrallah, who will get Situational on Wednesday, shared a few notes:

  • The 1940s series between Ohio State and Missouri was scheduled by Don Faurot, the Mizzou head coach for which their home field is named.
  • Faurot scheduled the 1940s series with Ohio State because he inherited a huge amount of athletic department debt when he took over as Missouri's head coach. His solution was scheduling a bunch of games with the Buckeyes. **insert moneybag emoji**
  • Mizzou won none of its matchups with Ohio State in the 1940s. **insert crying Michael Jordan meme**
  • Ohio State got to know Faurot because of this and targeted him to replace Wes Fesler after the “Snow Bowl,” a job he accepted and then backed out of. (I featured this in the Skull Session a few weeks ago via an article from Dave Briggs of The Toledo Blade).

​TL;DR Missouri is at least somewhat responsible for Woody Hayes coaching the Buckeyes and the past 73 years of Ohio State football.

How neat.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Hold My Hand” - The Main Squeeze.

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