Skull Session: Ryan Day and Chris Holtmann Share First Impressions of Ross Bjork, The Basketbucks Need to Beat Penn State and Caitlin Clark is the Latest Star Athlete to Visit Columbus

By Chase Brown on January 19, 2024 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day and Chris Holtmann
Joseph Maiorana / USA TODAY Sports
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Late on Thursday, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported that Ohio State will hire Bill O'Brien as its new offensive coordinator.

Do you love it or hate it?

Also, C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Go Texans.

Have a good Friday.

 FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Ross Bjork commented on several topics in his introductory press conference (and another brief Q&A session) on Wednesday. A couple of the more important remarks he made were about Ohio State football coach Ryan Day and men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann.

Bjork on Day: “Brilliant mind in the game of football.”

“Brilliant mind in the game of football. High-level leader. Knows what championship football looks like. Knows how to put all of those pieces together. We get it. The Game matters. He and I talked about that. The best thing I can do is lock arms with him and figure out barriers and key decisions. He's the coach. He's the strategist. He has to build the roster. It's my job to say, 'What are the infrastructure pieces? What are the culture pieces that I can help you with?' And then let him go to work. By all accounts, those things are all coming together. I know he and Gene [Smith] have locked arms on key changes, and I am here to help. ... I'm a football guy. I'm gonna help, and I'm gonna make sure we compete on the highest level because the pedigree is here. ... Coach Day, he's gonna get it done, and it's gonna be a lot of fun when we win those championships.”

Bjork on Holtmann: “He seemed like a great guy.”

“He seemed like a great guy. It seems like he’s doing a great job. Obviously don’t like losing that game on Monday (at Michigan). We talked about how does he build chemistry and culture on the stretch run? You’ve got basically two and a half months left in the regular season, and I know he’s looking to finish strong.”

Once Bjork’s sessions with reporters ended, Day shared his initial impression of the future Ohio State athletic director with Clay Hall of ABC6. Holtmann did the same with Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch.

Day on Bjork: “I am excited about the future.”

“I am really excited about moving forward. I am excited about the future. (We've had) short conversations, but I am very impressed.”

Holtmann on Bjork: “We’re excited to have him here.”

“He’s following a legendary figure in his field in Gene Smith, and I know he’s excited to get to work. I’ve enjoyed our conversations since he arrived this week and look forward to getting to know him better. Ross’ reputation around fundraising and work in the NIL space is outstanding and we are excited to have him here.”

Bjork was complimentary; the coaches were complimentary.

It’s all just words.

Despite the compliments, Day and Holtmann remain in their respective hot seats. The difference between the coaches and their hot seats, however, is Day’s program has momentum, and Holtmann’s does not. Bjork seems to understand that. After all, he called Day a “brilliant mind” who would lead Ohio State football to championships (plural), and he called Holtmann “a great guy.”

There’s a massive distinction between the confidence expressed in Bjork’s remarks.

Still, there is hope for Holtmann yet. That hope could build from a win over Penn State on Saturday. (More on that in the next section).

 HAVE TO HAVE IT. Ohio State men’s basketball can’t lose to Penn State. It just can’t.

After Ohio State defeated Rutgers on Jan. 3, it improved to 12-2 and received votes in the AP Poll. Then, the Buckeyes fell in three consecutive contests to Indiana, then-No. 15 Wisconsin and Michigan. Now at 12-5 overall (with a 2-4 record in Big Ten competition), Ohio State can’t afford another loss. No, not at home to Penn State – a team with a 9-9 record after 18 games.

While, yes, Penn State defeated Ohio State, 83-80, back on Dec. 9, the Buckeyes snatched that defeat from the jaws of victory, allowing the Nittany Lions to complete an 18-point second-half comeback and win inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

When Ohio State and Penn State meet for their rematch, the Buckeyes should beat the Nittany Lions. They are the better and more talented team.

Reminder: The last time Ohio State went back-to-back years with less than 20 wins was 2002-03 and 2003-04, the final seasons of Jim O’Brien’s tenure. The Buckeyes went 16-19 last season and will need to finish 8-6 this season to end the regular season with 20 wins.

Penn State needs to be one of those eight (or more) wins.

Period.

Point blank.

 STARS IN THE CITY. This week, The Columbus Dispatch had an article centered around Caitlin Clark’s future appearance in Columbus on Sunday for No. 18 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Iowa at Value City Arena.

According to Lori Schmidt and Brianna Mac Kay, Clark – the 2023 Naismith College Player of the Year who has averaged 31 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game this season – is the latest of several star athletes (high school, college, or professional) to travel to Columbus and show off their incredible talent.

According to Schmidt, Mac Kay and The Dispatch, here are some of the many other star athletes to come to the Arch City:

  • LeBron James: James appeared in several Ohio high school state playoff basketball games with St. Vincent-St. Mary’s and two NBA preseason games with the Cleveland Cavaliers at Value City Arena. He’s also made several appearances at the Shoe for Ohio State football games.
  • Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kareem Adbul-Jabbar: Bird (1989) and Jordan (1988) made separate appearances at St. John Arena for NBA preseason games, while Jabbar appeared at the same venue when Ohio State hosted UCLA in the 1968-69 season.
  • John Elway: Elway came to Columbus when he quarterbacked the Stanford football team in 1982. The Cardinal defeated the Buckeyes, 23-20, inside Ohio Stadium behind a 411-yard, two-touchdown performance from the future No. 1 overall draft pick and Pro Football Hall of Famer.
  • Tiger Woods: Woods has competed in The Memorial Tournament 18 times in his career, winning the event a record five times. According to The Memorial Tournament’s website, Woods has the highest earnings of any professional golfer at the event. The last time he competed in the Memorial was in 2020.
  • Mia Hamm: After the United States women’s national soccer team won the 1999 FIFA World Cup, Hamm and Co. came to Columbus for a friendly with South Korea in the then-new Columbus Crew Stadium. Hamm scored a goal in the contest, and three years later, she collected a hat-trick vs. Scotland in the same venue.
  • Michael Phelps: Before he competed in the 2012 London Olympics – where he won four gold medals (and increased his career gold medal count to 18) – Phelps participated in the Columbus Grand Prix at the Ohio State Aquatic Center. Phelps won the 100 free and both the 200 free and butterfly at the event.

Ranked second overall in the AP Poll, Iowa will come to Ohio State as one of the best teams in America. That said, Ohio State has done all it can to make Value City Arena a hostile environment for Clark and the Hawkeyes, as tickets for the Big Ten contest have sold like hotcakes. (Their resale value has also increased week-to-week).

Will Ohio State have what it takes to stop Clark? We’ll see. Few teams in women’s college basketball do. However, few teams in women’s college basketball have players like Jacy Sheldon, Celeste Taylor, Taylor Theirry and Cotie McMahon.

It should be a fun one in Columbus.

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

You know the drill.

Ohio State football is THE model of consistency.

Ohio State safety Lathan Ramson – good at football.

The chart below (via CFBNumbers) illustrates transfer connections between Power 5 schools this offseason. Ohio State's most prominent connection has been with Cincinnati, who landed three former Buckeyes in running back Evan Pryor, safety Kye Stokes and tight end Joe Royer.

This week, former Ohio State Club Football wide receiver Praise Olatoke was named to the NFL’s International Player Pathway class of 2024. He accompanied 15 other athletes making the transition to American football.

From the Ohio State Club Football website:

The NFL’s IPP program “aims to provide elite international athletes with the opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills and ultimately work to earn a spot on an NFL roster.” Olatoke, who was a letterman for Ohio State’s track and field team before joining Ohio State Club Football, is a native of Nigeria and Scotland.

Olatoke played just one season for Ohio State Club Football, catching seven passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. His 33.0 yards per catch was best in the National Club Football Association amongst players who participated in seven or more games that season. The 2022 season was his first and only year playing organized American tackle football.

Along with the 15 other members of his class, Olatoke will report to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. where he will participate in a 10-week minicamp before an NFL Pro Day in March. Olatoke is the only wide receiver in the IPP Class of 2024.

Since its inception, 37 international players have signed with NFL teams (allocated, drafted or signed as a free agent), with 18 IPP athletes currently on NFL rosters. Five players – Jordan Mailata, Jakob Johnson, Efe Obada, Sammis Reyes and David Bada – have seen active rosters with the Philadelphia Eagles, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders, since the program began in 2017.

That's all, folks!

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Stars In The City” - Old Dominion.

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