Welcome to the Skull Session.
Michigan vs. Washington.
A classic Big Ten matchup for all the marbles.
2024 SUGAR BOWL CHAMPIONS
— Washington Football (@UW_Football) January 2, 2024
SEE YOU IN HOUSTON #USvsUS #PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/zE69jR8dW4
Go Huskies.
Let's have a good Tuesday, shall we?
RUN IT BACK? Ohio State wanted to complete its 2023 season with hardware from the Cotton Bowl. In doing so, the Buckeyes could, as defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said before the New Year’s Six Bowl, wash out the “bad taste” of its Michigan loss and build momentum for the 2024 season.
Yeah, that didn't happen.
Ohio State's 14-3 loss to Missouri raised several questions, most of which I addressed in the New Year's Day Skull Session (ICYMI). Another question I have yet to address, however, holds similar importance: How does Ohio State's Cotton Bowl defeat impact the NFL draft decisions of the Buckeyes' 2021 class?
Jack Sawyer, Ohio State's best player in the Cotton Bowl with four tackles, three tackles for loss and three sacks, was asked about that after the game. He said several of those Buckeyes have a similar mindset toward a return to Columbus next season.
“I think a lot of us all are on the same page about, you know, we don’t want to end our Ohio State careers like this (with) two tough losses,” Sawyer said. “We all love it here. We love Coach Day. We love the staff. Sometimes unfortunate things happen, and you don’t get the outcome you want. ... I think that’s gonna play a big factor in our decisions.”
Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, Donovan Jackson, Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock, TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka are among the third-year Buckeyes who will decide on their football futures over the next couple of weeks. Mike Hall Jr. declared for the draft on Saturday, while Marvin Harrison Jr. is all but guaranteed to leave after he opted out of the Cotton Bowl.
*INTERRUPTION NOTE: I looked up where other members of Ohio State's 2021 class are these days. Quinn Ewers (Texas), Kyle McCord (Syracuse), Jayden Ballard (Ohio State), Reid Carrico (West Virginia), JK Johnson (LSU), Evan Pryor (Cincinnati), Jantzen Dunn (Kentucky), Zen Michalski (Ohio State), Ben Christman (Kentucky), Andre Turrentine (Tennessee), Jaylen Johnson (Memphis), Sam Hart (Ohio State) and Jesse Mirco (NCAA Transfer Portal)
From Sawyers’ comment, beyond Hall and Harrison, it seems as if Ohio State could have several prominent returners for 2024 – even after a disappointing finish to the 2023 campaign.
TRE BIEN. One third-year Buckeye who could return in 2024 is TreVeyon Henderson. And if Henderson – a running back with 496 touches, 3,314 all-purpose yards and 37 touchdowns across 31 appearances for Ohio State – comes back to Columbus next season, all of Buckeye Nation should be pleased.
While Ohio State’s offense was all kinds of bad in the Cotton Bowl, Henderson’s performance is one all Ohio State fans should admire.
A potential second or third-round draft pick in 2024, Henderson put on his helmet and pads 30 minutes before kickoff at AT&T Stadium. He needed all of that protection once Missouri’s Harrison Mevis booted the ball, as Ohio State’s offensive line was Swiss cheese for all 60 minutes of the Cotton Bowl (see the PFF grades below).
Henderson was drilled on 99% of his carries, yet he still toted the rock with a Marshawn Lynch RTAMFF mindset (and that’s despite his medical record of bumps, bruises and torn ligaments). He collected 72 yards on 19 carries when all was said and done.
Of course, those numbers do not meet Henderson’s standard box score contributions. However, I consider them to be impressive because – more often than not, and I mean far more often than not – the 5-foot-10, 212-pound ballcarrier was crushed in the backfield as soon as he received the football.
All in all, I loved the effort Henderson put forward in the Cotton Bowl. I hope he returns for another season in Columbus, where he can lead Ohio State’s backfield with Dallan Hayden, James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon.
REPORT CARD TIME. I was curious how the people over at Pro Football Focus viewed Ohio State's overall performance in the Cotton Bowl, so I looked up the individual grades for the offense and defense in the loss. Here are the top 10 players on each side of the ball for the Buckeyes:
OFFENSE
- Emeka Egbuka - 71
- TreVeyon Henderson - 66.9
- Xavier Johnson - 65.4
- Lincoln Kienholz - 63.6
- Josh Simmons - 62
- Matthew Jones - 61.6
- Donovan Jackson - 61.4
- Josh Fryar - 61.4
- Cade Stover - 54.8
- Gee Scott Jr. - 50.2
Other notable Buckeyes graded: Brandon Inniss (56.9 - 9 snaps), Devin Brown (50.8 - 17 snaps), Carnell Tate (49.2 - 53 snaps), Enokk Vimahi (48.9 - 57 snaps)
DEFENSE
- Cody Simon - 76.2
- Ty Hamilton - 74.1
- Jack Sawyer - 73.1
- Kenyatta Jackson - 70.5
- Steele Chambers - 66.9
- Denzel Burke - 65.8
- JT Tuimoloau - 64.5
- Sonny Styles - 64.1
- Davison Igbinosun - 63.6
- Mike Hall Jr. - 62.8
Other notable Buckeyes graded: Caden Curry (63.6 - 10 snaps), Josh Proctor (62.4 - 73 snaps), Tyleik Williams (58.5 - 59 snaps), Jordan Hancock (56.1 - 72 snaps)
Offense: Not great, Bob!
Defense: **Insert Simpsons “At least you tried" meme**
"HE’S STILL BECOMING." I believe mmmmmm 90% of Skull Session readers love CBS Sports’ Josh Pate. Perhaps that’s too much. But that doesn’t matter. The point is – people seem to like it when I feature Ohio State-related portions of his show “The Late Kick” in this here column.
Therefore, I think I'll do it now.
Over the weekend, Pate shared his outlook on the future of Ohio State and Ryan Day. While I recommend one watches the entire video (and, therefore, receives the most context), I have transcribed the video’s final minutes below. Have a watch and a read:
“If you want to talk Ohio State as a program and you think there are changes that need to be made I think you have that in common with Ryan Day. I don't think if I had Ryan Day on the stage outside the Rose Bowl and said, 'Are you 100 percent happy with where you are?' There's no way he'd say, 'Yes.' You know good well he would say, 'No.' He may decline to get into specifics, but they don't lose to Michigan three seasons in a row and fail to fulfill their preseason goals, and he says, 'We're good.'
“The difference is in the details. What is a Ryan Day program? Some people say to me, 'A Ryan Day team will not succeed in – fill in the blank – the future of the Big Ten, the future of college football.' Well, I don't know that I agree with that. I don't know what a Ryan Day team is. I know what it has been so far. But take this year for example. Up until about 12 months ago, it would have been crazy to say, 'A Ryan Day team can win defensively.' Never would have said that. Then Jim Knowles gets into his second year here and all of a sudden, they can win games defensively. ... They can give their offense time to gel. ... We would have never said that about Ryan Day two years ago.
“My point here is, what if we fast-forward another two years and he's evolved another 30 percent here and 15 percent there? He's still becoming. They, as a program, to me, are ultimately still becoming what they will be in concrete form as Ohio State football under Ryan Day. ... You're results are a perfect product of what you have been doing. If they don't like the results right now, there's no incentive to do things the exact same way. I don't think they will do things the exact same way. ... Ryan Day is a really good coach. Call him overrated. Call him what you want to. ... I think he's pretty good, and I know it's not popular to say today, but I think Ohio State football is still in really good hands with Ryan Day.”
I agree.
See you tomorrow!
**runs and hides**
SONG OF THE DAY. “You've Got Me Running in Circles” - Sonny Cleveland.
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