Welcome to the Skull Session.
Name a better duo... I'll wait.
These two are as good as it gets #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/h5xv3qtQgN
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) April 12, 2025
Have a good
THAT’S A LOT OF BUCKEYES! Dane Brugler’s seven-round mock draft has arrived. One week after The Athletic’s lead NFL draft analyst released THE BEAST, Brugler shared his predictions for all 257 picks in 2025. Those predictions included 15 Buckeyes, a number that would match Georgia’s record for the most selections in a single draft:
- No. 29 - Emeka Egbuka, Washington Commanders
- No. 31 - Josh Simmons, Kansas City Chiefs
- No. 39 - TreVeyon Henderson, Chicago Bears
- No. 44 - Quinshon Judkins, Dallas Cowboys
- No. 46 - Tyleik Williams, Atlanta Falcons
- No. 48 - Donovan Jackson, Miami Dolphins
- No. 60 - JT Tuimoloau, Detroit Lions
- No. 72 - Jack Sawyer, Chicago Bears
- No. 78 - Ty Hamilton, Arizona Cardinals
- No. 134 - Lathan Ransom, Philadelphia Eagles
- No. 143 - Will Howard, Las Vegas Raiders
- No. 164 - Denzel Burke, Philadelphia Eagles
- No. 169 - Seth McLaughlin, Buffalo Bills
- No. 204 - Cody Simon, Dallas Cowboys
- No. 211 - Jordan Hancock, Dallas Cowboys
A half-dozen notes:
- The lack of “Cleveland Browns” disappoints me (and, I will admit, the lack of Cincinnati Bengals), though Garrick Hodge would be pleased to see Henderson and Sawyer in Bears uniforms.
- One could debate whether Egbuka and Terry McLaurin would be the best wide receiver duo in the NFL. One cannot debate whether Egbuka and McLaurin would be the classiest wide receiver duo in the NFL.
- Tuimoloau and former Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson would be the NFL’s version of Step Brothers. Did you touch my drum set?!
- Ransom and the Eagles would be a match made in heaven. Philadelphia could show Ransom some Brian Dawkins tape and cut him loose.
- Howard and the Raiders would also be a match made in heaven. Howard could reunite with Chip Kelly, develop behind Geno Smith and take the reins down the road.
- Jerry Jones loves himself some glory hole and some Buckeyes. And what’s not to love? About the Buckeyes! About the Buckeyes!
“DRAFT ME OR YOU’LL REGRET IT.” On this week’s episode of Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL, Will Howard said he plans to make teams that pass on him in the NFL draft regret it.
"I'm going to make it my mission to make sure they regret not picking me."@whoward_ makes his Draft pitch.
— NFL (@NFL) April 14, 2025
New #HeyRookie tonight 7:30pm ET on ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/TPR7ak0OJE
"I feel like my whole career I've been overlooked," Howard said. "I didn't have an offer from Pitt, I didn't have an offer from Syracuse, I didn't have an offer from Boston College, Penn State, Duke (or North) Carolina. None of those schools offered me. I was trying for years. And I went to Kansas State and said, 'I want to prove those people wrong.' I hope Penn State looks back and says 'Damn, we missed out on Will Howard.'"
All those schools did miss out on Howard, who led Ohio State to a national championship in 2024, completing a school-record 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also ran for another 226 yards and seven scores.
"You know, when I get to the NFL, I don't want you guys to miss out on me," Howard said. "Because every single team that picks a quarterback in front of me, I'm going to make it my mission to make sure that they regret not picking me. … Draft me. Draft me or you'll regret it."
I don’t know if Will Howard reads the Skull Session. I’ll assume he doesn’t. However, if I could share a message with him, it would be, as C.J. Stroud has said: Don’t prove others wrong; prove yourself right.
You have the size.
You have the strength.
You have the talent.
Go fight.
“DON’T DO DUMB THINGS.” In an interview with Rob Oller of The Columbus Dispatch this week, Ohio State legend Jack Nicklaus said he shared some advice to Rory McIlroy that helped him overcome his past failures at Augusta National: “Don’t do dumb things.”
Nicklaus told Oller he wished he could have shared the same advice with the Ohio State football team before The Game.
“What in the world was your game plan at Michigan?” Nicklaus wondered after talking about McIlroy and the Masters. “I don’t know who called the plays at Michigan … but (Ohio State) took the ball right down the field and scored, then shut down.”
The Buckeyes became too conservative, said Nicklaus, who won so often in part because he played to his strengths.
“The playoff games, they didn’t do any of that," he said. "Ohio State football last year was aggressive football. They took chances and put the ball down the field, and you expected that (against Michigan), not shutting the thing down. And Michigan had a great defense. Michigan just outcoached the game, I guess you could say.”
A golf icon, Nicklaus is just like us.
“I’m a fan, man,” he told Oller.
As a fan, I’m sure he loved to see Ohio State win its ninth national championship on Jan. 20.
Did you know that, at 85 years old, Nicklaus has been alive to see all nine of them? Of course, he was 2 when the Buckeyes won their first in 1942 – but, look, he was still alive!
BOOOOOOM. Former Iowa State wrestler and No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 class Cody Chittum signed with Ohio State on Wednesday.
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) April 16, 2025
Welcome to Buckeye Nation, Cody#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/F0ne0aWQtC
In two seasons with the Cyclones, Chittum collected a 35-15 record in the 157-pound division. He qualified for the NCAA Championships in both years and finished two wins short of All-American status in 2025.
When Chittum arrives in Columbus this summer, he will compete with Brandon Cannon and Paddy Gallagher at 157. Cannon represented Ohio State in the 2025 NCAA Championships and recorded a 3-2 record with wins over No. 28 Chrisopher Hamblin (Oregon State), No. 22 Ed Scott (NC State) and No. 19 Cobe Siebrecht (San Diego State) and losses to No. 12 Caleb Fisk (Oklahoma State) and No. 7 Vinny Zerban (Northern Colorado).
Time to see what Chittum is made of.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Let's Hear It for the Boy" - Deniece Williams.
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