Skull Session: Jim Harbaugh Wants Immunity, Joel Klatt Thinks “Ohio State is Primed to Make a Run” in 2024 and Ohio State-Notre Dame Was One of The Best Games in 2023

By Chase Brown on January 17, 2024 at 5:00 am
JT and Jack
Adam Cairns / USA TODAY Sports
89 Comments

Welcome to the Skull Session.

Ross Bjork will be Ohio State's next athletic director.

Welcome to Buckeye Nation, Mr. Bjork.

Have a good Wednesday.

 SEEMS LIKE AN ODD REQUEST! Oh, James. Oh, Jim. Oh, Jimmy.

ICYMI: According to Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, as Jim Harbaugh meets with NFL teams about coaching opportunities (such as the Los Angeles Chargers), he has continued discussions with Michigan about a contract extension that includes... *checks notes*... unusual termination clauses should he decide to remain in Ann Arbor.

Specifically, sources said Harbaugh is seeking language that would grant him immunity from termination from any finding or sanction that could arise from multiple current NCAA investigations into the football program.

Harbaugh is also seeking a delay in the start date of the new contract to maintain a lower buyout that NFL teams would have to pay Michigan to hire him away. The buyout in his current contract dropped from $2.25 million to $1.5 million on January 11. Michigan is seeking that to rise to about $4 million in a new deal. Harbaugh has sought to have the new deal not start until Feb. 15, thus maintaining the lower, and more favorable, buyout number until after the NFL hiring cycle has concluded.

Harbaugh is seeking a matrix of fines be spelled out if there are any future NCAA violations as well as prohibiting the school’s athletic director from firing him “for cause” and instead having that decision, should it ever arise, rest in a three-member arbitration panel, sources said.

Look.

While the Wolverines defeated Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama and Washington to win the CFP national title “fair and square” — or whatever NCAA president Charlie Baker said last week — Harbaugh’s requests for Michigan AD Warde Manuel are odd for someone who claims he didn’t cheat! Wouldn’t you agree?

Tony Gerdeman of Buckeye Huddle had the best breakdown of this development:

Jim Harbaugh wants immunity and to delay the buyout in case an NFL team calls. This is like telling your spouse after nine years that you want to back-date a prenup and have a 30-day dating spree that "you can't get mad about" that could end in a new marriage to someone else... and also i'm gonna need $11.5 million per year.

And yes, Gerdeman’s last sentence is correct: Harbaugh wants his salary to be $11.5 million per year to coach the Wolverines. According to Wetzel, Manuel has offered that to the Michigan Man, plus performance-based bonuses. Still, the unusual termination clauses remain a point of contention for both sides.

And that’s ironic.

Harbaugh claims he is innocent, yet he wants the contract to include terms for immunity. Manuel claims Harbaugh is innocent, yet he will not include terms for immunity. If both told the truth, wouldn’t the contract already be signed?

Hmmmmmmmm.

 PRIMED TO MAKE A RUN. In the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast,” Fox Sports commentator Joel Klatt discussed the 11 impact players who chose to return to Ohio State for another season in 2024.

According to Klatt, with those 11 Buckeyes, three transfers – Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins and Seth McLaughlin – and countless young stars, Ryan Day and Ohio State are “primed to make a run” in 2024.

"Guess who is all coming back? Everybody. Save for Mike Hall, the defensive tackle. Ohio State, like – I did not see this coming. When I got done with the Michigan-Ohio State game, I thought to myself, 'This Ohio State team will have a lot of holes to fill because of who will declare for the NFL draft.' But they're all coming back. The only declarations were Marvin Harrison (Jr.), and I think that's an obvious one, Mike Hall, the defensive tackle, Steele Chambers on the defensive side and Matt Jones. There are some questions on the offensive line, but think about the guys who said no to the draft, and they're all coming back. This is eerily similar, by the way, to Michigan a year ago. When all these commitments to staying started rolling in, and you started thinking to yourself, 'Oh, Michigan will be really good.'

"(For Ohio State), on offense it's Guard Donovoan Jackson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson. They're all coming back. On defense, and this is what's wild, they're all draft eligible. It's Jack Sawyer at defensive end, Tyleik Williams at tackle, Ty Hamilton at tackle, JT Tuimoloau at defensive end, Cody Simon at linebacker, Denzel Burke at corner, Jordan Hancock at corner, Lathan Ransom at safety. It's like, 'Oh, my gosh.' Then they went into the portal and got Will Howard, so they feel like they have at least a solid competition at quarterback. ... They get the best running back in the SEC in Quinshon Judkins. Now he comes in and he will split carries with TreVeyon Henderson? That's immediately the best backfield in America. And then they get the center Seth McLaughlin.

"It's so reminiscent of Michigan a year ago. They got these spot transfers at key areas. ... I tell you, man. Ohio State is primed to make a run."

While I don’t love Klatt’s comparison of Ohio State to Michigan – blah, Michigan – it’s not inaccurate.

In a Skull Session last week, I likened Ohio State’s returners to former Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson before the 2021 season. A potential first-round pick who lacked Gold Pants, a Big Ten championship, and a College Football Playoff national title, Hutchinson returned for his senior year, won two of those three trophies and finished second behind Alabama’s Bryce Young for the Heisman Trophy. He later became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Donovon Jackson, Denzel Burke, JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams and Jordan Hancock (as well as Ty Hamilton, Cody Simon and Lathan Ransom) will look to achieve the same success in 2024 – plus the CFP national title, of course.

 A LASTING MEMORY. In a recent article for the Worldwide Leader in Sports, Bill Connelly of ESPN ranked the top 100 college football games of 2023. Ohio State's 17-14 win over Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, checked in at No. 18:

This one had everything but points. In a raucous South Bend, both teams blew scoring chances early on, and Ohio State led 10-0 after 40 minutes. Notre Dame scored TDs on drives of 7:39 and 6:28 to take the lead. But given one last chance to come back, OSU quarterback Kyle McCord created his finest moment in scarlet and gray. He completed passes on third-and-10, fourth-and-7 and eventually third-and-19 to get the Buckeyes to the 1-yard line, then handed to Chip Trayanum for the touchdown with one second left on the clock.

According to ESPN Analytics, Notre Dame had a 90.9% chance to beat Ohio State after running back Audric Estime scored an 11-yard touchdown and put the Irish ahead 14-10 lead with 4:12 remaining. It settled at 81.7% when the Buckeyes started their final possession of the contest.

Ohio State's 18.3% chance to win rested on the shoulders of Kyle McCord. The quarterback delivered "his finest moment" as a Buckeye.

While the Buckeyes' 2023 season was, overall, one to forget, I will remember Ohio State's game-winning drive and Chip Trayanum's game-winning touchdown for a long, long time.

What a win!

 THIS AND THAT. Another Skull Session, another This and That™.

You know the drill.

Curious how former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard will look in Ohio State's offense? Eleven Warriors football scheme expert Kyle Jones completed a phenomenal breakdown of Howard's four seasons with the Wildcats. I recommend you take some time to read it soon.

People...

However, like with several EA Sports College Football announcements as of late, take it with a massive grain of salt.

Ohio State has won a lot of football games since 2000.

The 2024 season offers another chance for the Buckeyes to extend their lead.

Ohio State long snapper John Ferlmann got better this week.

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Even Flow" - Pearl Jam.

 CUT TO THE CHASE. Elton John achieves rare EGOT status with Emmy win for Dodger Stadium farewell concert special... Lily Gladstone is standing on the cusp of history... People are eating raw beef on TikTok... "Amazing Spider-Man" No. 1 auctioned for $1.38 million... The river finally came for Bill Belichick... Nick Saban was college football's center of gravity.

89 Comments

Five-Star Duke Transfer Sean Stewart Commits to Ohio State

Sean Stewart

How Ohio State’s 2024 Roster Stacks Up at Every Position Following the Transfer Portal Entry Deadline

Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs
View 89 Comments