Skull Session: Ohio State’s Transfers Want to Win, C.J. Stroud Goes No. 1 Overall in a 2023 Redraft and Missouri Athletics Receives a $62 Million Donation

By Chase Brown on February 7, 2024 at 5:00 am
Will Howard
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

I just...

*sighs*

Have a good Wednesday.

 FUTURE STARS? If it were seven years ago, National Signing Day would be one of the busiest 24 hours on the college football calendar. Instead, the Early Signing Period stole its thunder, and NSD has become irrelevant — for the most part.

Ohio State will still sign one player on Wednesday as the program awaits a National Letter of Intent from Dominic Kirks, a four-star defensive end from Painesville, Ohio. Kirks committed to the Buckeyes on Jan. 20.

Here's a look at Ohio State's 2024 class as it stands:

Signed on Dec. 21

Transfer

  • Julian Sayin, No. 6 overall prospect and No. 1 quarterback

Signed on Feb. 7

  • Dominic Kirks, No. 162 overall prospect and No. 24 defensive end

Sixteen members of Ohio State's 2024 class arrived on campus in January: Smith, Sayin, Houston, Noland, Scott, West, Peoples, Stover, Moore, Pierce, McClain, Lockhart, Deontae and Devontae Armstrong, Williams-Dixon and Mensah. The remaining members of the class – Graham, Kirks, LeBlanc, VanSickle, Witten and Roker – will arrive in June.

This week, Blair Angulo and Allen Trieu of 247Sports discussed Ohio State's 2024 class, which ranks behind Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Miami as the No. 5 class in America.

“Instant-impact players.”

“NFL players.”

”Hidden gems.”

Is that good?

 I’M A WINNER. I'M GOING TO WIN. When Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, Will Kacmarek, Seth McLaughlin and Caleb Downs held press conferences at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center last week, reporters asked each of them about their motivations to become a Buckeye.

While all five transfers had different answers, their responses featured a similar theme: They want to win.

Will Howard

“I felt like I could come here and compete for a national championship. That, above anything else, was one of the most important things. I felt like I had more I wanted to accomplish in college, and I wasn’t through (with my career) yet. And that was I think what really drew me here.”

Quinshon Judkins

“This is the place that you want to go to, a place where everyone’s passionate and everyone wants to win. It’s a great culture, and everyone is focused and dialed in to do something that’s bigger than themselves. Why wouldn’t you want to go to a place like that?”

Will Kacmarek

“It's a dream come true (to be at Ohio State). Ever since I've been young, it's been a dream to play at the highest level. Now that I'm here, it's really exciting. I'm pumped for this opportunity.”

Seth McLaughlin

"Ohio State is one of the greatest programs in college football. Coming from Alabama, I wanted to go to a similar place that's always competing for championships, has great coaching and great development."

Caleb Downs

“The same expectations (at Ohio State) that I’ve had my whole life — the same expectations that we had at ‘Bama: To win games and dominate every game and go win a championship."

I like winners.

Winners are cool.

Howard, Judkins, Kacmarek, McLaughlin, and Downs picked THE best place to win. With their contributions, Ohio State can accomplish its three goals in 2024: Beat Michigan, win the Big Ten championship and win the College Football Playoff.

 REDRAFT SZN. This week, some NFL writers at The Worldwide Leader in Sports redrafted the top 63 draft picks in the 2023 class. Four former Ohio State players — C.J. Stroud, Paris Johnson Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Dawand Jones — came off the board in the first 28 picks.

Stroud, the future NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was the No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers, while Johnson, JSN and Jones all landed in new spots. Here's a breakdown of where each Buckeye appeared in the ESPN article:

C.J. Stroud: No. 1 - Carolina Panthers

ORIGINAL PICK: Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
NEW PICK: C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

I'm not saying Stroud would have done much better than Young behind the Carolina offensive line that allowed Young to be sacked a team-record 62 times and with a receiving corps that was average at best. Young in many ways best fit what then-coach Frank Reich envisioned for his offense. It's hard to deny the impressive numbers (23 TD passes to only five INTs, 63.9% completion percentage) and poise Stroud showed in leading the Texans to the playoffs. Young could still prove to be a special player, but Stroud has already shown he is one. — David Newton

Paris Johnson Jr.: No. 7 - Las Vegas Raiders

ORIGINAL PICK: Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech
NEW PICK: Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State

The Raiders were all about drafting Johnson to solidify the right side of the offensive line ... but then the Cardinals thwarted their plans one pick before Las Vegas got on the clock. So the Raiders drafted Wilson, who was coming off right foot surgery that would severely slow his development. Johnson started 17 games for Arizona, so with him still available in this re-draft, the Raiders strike. Wilson finished the season with 3.5 sacks, two of which came in his final four games. — Paul Gutierrez

Jaxon Smith-Njigba: No. 23 - Minnesota Vikings

ORIGINAL PICK: Jordan Addison, WR, USC
NEW PICK: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State

Offensive lineman Peter Skoronski was a consideration here, given his eventual transition to guard for the Titans. But ultimately, the Vikings were focused on drafting a receiver here last year, and Smith-Njigba is well equipped to handle the role they assigned to Addison: Clean up against favorable coverage when Justin Jefferson was in the lineup and make a few plays when he was not. Smith-Njigba caught 63 passes for 628 yards with four scores for the Seahawks. — Kevin Seifert

Dawand Jones: No. 28 - Cincinnati Bengals

ORIGINAL PICK: Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson
NEW PICK: Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State

Jones finished second among all rookies in pass block win rate (86.8%). Having him in 2023 could have given him a year to learn the ropes behind Jonah Williams before slotting him in at right tackle in 2024. The Bengals will need to address that spot this offseason with Williams entering free agency. Murphy had just three sacks in 294 defensive snaps for Cincinnati. — Ben Baby

Comment No. 1: Stroud to Carolina is the correct decision. However, I am thrilled he went to Houston in real life. The Panthers are a broken franchise, and — despite his obvious talent — I am not sure Stroud could have fixed it.

Comment No. 2: Johnson to Las Vegas is another correct decision. He showed promise with the Cardinals as a rookie, and I am sure he would perform well in the silver and black.

Comment No. 3: With DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett as Seattle's top-two wide receivers, JSN disappeared at times as a rookie. It would have been fun to see him perform in the Vikings’ offense — when Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins were at full strength, of course.

Comment No. 4: When healthy, Jones was one of the best rookie offensive linemen in the NFL, so he deserves to be a first-round selection in the redraft. Still, that doesn't mean I have to like the outcome. He's great on the Browns as the steal of the draft!

 COME AGAIN FOR BIG FUDGE? On Monday, Missouri athletics announced that it received a $62 million donation — more than double the previous record donation set in 2012. The donor designated $50 million for improvements to Faurot Field and Memorial Stadium and $12 million for Missouri’s Tiger Fund.

From Grant Hughes of 247Sports:

“This extraordinary commitment is a major step toward fulfilling our vision to transform Memorial Stadium and create the best college football game-day atmosphere in the country,” Missouri athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois said in a statement. “Our pivotal stadium project is not possible without our donor, whose passion for Mizzou's success, coupled with humility, faith and generosity, is unparalleled.”

The Memorial Stadium improvement plan includes “renovations to the North Concourse plus other facility enhancements and fan amenities,” according to Missouri football’s website. The Tigers led the SEC in attendance growth with a 10.6% increase from the 2022 season, including five consecutive sellouts for the first time since 1980.

"A gift of this kind speaks to the tremendous loyalty this particular donor has for not only our football program but all of our student-athletes at Mizzou," Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz said. "Creating a game-day experience second to none is our goal. We can now take a significant step forward — thanks to this gift — in enhancing the atmosphere and fan amenities at Faurot Field. And we'll be able to see the lasting impact of it for years to come. As I have said before, 'Why Stop Now?’”

$62 million?

$62 million?!

That donor backed up the Brinks trucks.

How do we find someone like that for The 1870 Society? Ohio State has already had one of the most legendary offseasons of all time. Could you imagine what the Buckeyes could do with an additional $12 million in the war chest?

 SONG OF THE DAY. “Don’t Let The Old Man In” - Toby Keith.

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