Welcome to the Skull Session.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is massive.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is JACKED now pic.twitter.com/ybPQyfGobi
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) May 19, 2025
More on him in a moment.
Have a good Wednesday.
“I THOUGHT IT WOULD FEEL DIFFERENT.” In an interview with NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach last week, Ryan Day made a comment about winning a national championship that interested me.
“When you wake up the next morning after winning a national championship, do you feel different?” Auerbach asked.
“No. No. I thought it would feel different. It didn’t,” Day answered. “It felt great, but it didn’t take long to be like, ‘What’s the next thing? Where are we going next? A lot of work to do.’ And there’s no time for resting, you know, we got to keep building this thing, keep growing. It certainly did feel great, but not much has changed. We’ve got another season ahead of us. We’ve got a great group of guys that we’re building and they’re a little bit young and we got to replace a bunch of players.
“But that’s it. The goal isn’t to win championships; that’s not the goal. The goal is to make an impact on young people’s lives. At Ohio State, if you don’t win championships, you’re not gonna be the coach for very long, that’s just how it goes. So winning and winning championships just allows us an opportunity to continue to make an impact on these people’s lives, and that’s what this job is all about .”
Man.
We celebrate our accomplishments or milestones and move to the next best thing. Your driver’s license becomes your high school graduation becomes your college destination becomes your first job, first house, first child, first — you get the picture.
Not even winning a national championship can break one free from this cycle.
That’s a harsh reality.
But it is our reality.
Maybe winning another one can break Day free?
"I'M ALWAYS AVAILABLE FOR HIM." Following a record-breaking career at Ohio State, Marvin Harrison Jr. had a successful rookie season with the Arizona Cardinals, even if it didn’t end with the impressive box scores he produced with the Buckeyes.
As Harrison looks to improve upon his 62 catches, 885 yards and eight touchdowns in year one, Cardinals legend and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald has offered to help in however he can.
“I’ve got the chance to spend a couple of times with him, probably five or six. He’s a lovely young man, but I just try to stay out the way,” Fitzgerald said at Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s charity softball game. “If he ever needs anything, I told him I’m always available for him in anyway I can be helpful. Unfortunately, he has a father who was a heck of a lot better than I was, so he can tap into him whenever he likes.”
#Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald on mentoring Marvin Harrison Jr.: He knows I'm available, but unfortunately he has a father who was a heck of a lot better than I was.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) May 19, 2025
(via @AZSports)
pic.twitter.com/KWx95iaOrE
To be clear, it’s not that Fitzgerald thinks Harrison has glaring areas he needs to improve, but rather some tweaks here and there. As far as Fitzgerald is concerned, Harrison made the most of his rookie season in Arizona.
“I saw a guy who made a lot of plays. He did a really good job. When the ball came to him, he made his plays,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s gonna continue to get better, so I’m excited to see his year two.”
Same here, Sticky Fingers.
THE BEST OF THE BEST. This week, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg ranked the top 25 non-quarterbacks in college football, and — no surprises here — Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs and Max Klare made the list.
No. 1 Jeremiah Smith
Why he's here: Any list of non-quarterback standouts has to begin with Smith, who occupies a unique position. He's the nation's best player at his position, a bona fide Heisman Trophy contender and still must play two more full seasons in college before moving on to the NFL draft. "It's insane," a Big Ten coach said. "That guy, it's insane." Smith shattered Cris Carter's Ohio State freshman receiving records and won Big Ten awards for top wide receiver and top freshman. He led the nation in receptions of 50 yards or longer with six, and he finished in the top four nationally in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Smith had three or more receptions in every regular-season game, caught touchdown passes in his first seven college contests and had five TD grabs while averaging 20.1 yards per catch during Ohio State's run to the national championship.
"For a true freshman to come in and win the Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year, have the yards that he's had and command the kind of attention and coverage that he commanded, it's like, 'Wow,'" a Big Ten defensive coordinator said.
NOTE: No. 2 Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton, No. 3 Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, No. 4 South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart
No. 5 - Caleb Downs
Why he's here: Downs came to Ohio State as one of the nation's top non-quarterback transfers after the 2023 season, when he set freshman records at Alabama. He backed up the excitement by earning first-team All-America honors, winning Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year honors and becoming a finalist for the Thorpe Award, Nagurski Trophy and Lott IMPACT Trophy. His biggest moments came in some of Ohio State's biggest games: Against Indiana, he had the team's first punt return touchdown in 10 years; against Texas and Michigan, he recorded interceptions.
He also had three pass breakups against Oregon in Ohio State's dominant win at the Rose Bowl. Downs will enter 2025 as one of the favorites for national defensive player of the year awards and could work his way onto the Heisman radar.
NOTE: No. 6 Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, No. 7 Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., No. 8 Texas A&M running back Le’Veon Moss, No. 9 and No. 10 Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker and defensive tackle Peter Woods, No. 11 Baylor wide receiver Josh Cameron, No. 12 Oklahoma defensive end R Mason Thomas, No. 13 Duke cornerback Chandler Rivers, No. 14 and No. 15 Penn State running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kayton Allen, No. 16 Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, No. 17 Illinois outside linebacker Gabe Lucas, No. 18 Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne
No. 19 - Max Klare
Why he's here: Purdue had a number of accomplished players transfer to other Power 4 programs, including All-Big Ten honorees in safety Dillon Thieneman (Oregon) and defensive end Will Heldt (Clemson). But the former Boilermaker generating the most buzz turned out to be Klare, whose move to Ohio State could
be a coup for coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.
Klare led Purdue in receptions last fall and finished second in the Big Ten in receiving yards by a tight end, trailing only Mackey Award winner and NFL first-round draft pick Tyler Warren from Penn State. Klare was Purdue's receptions leader in all but one game last fall, and led the team in receiving yards eight times.
The Boilers' overall struggles undoubtedly overshadowed his accomplishments, especially in a league with two first-round draft picks at tight end (Warren and Michigan's Colston Loveland). But coaches took notice of Klare's potential.
"[Klare] is excellent," a Power 4 offensive coordinator said. "I think he would have been the No. 1 tight end taken this year [in the NFL draft]."
This is, like, the sixth article I’ve featured in the Skull Session this offseason that ranks Smith, Downs and Klare as three of the best players in college football. While it’s been said, I don’t think it can be said enough just how good Smith and Downs are, and how good Klare can be in Ohio State’s offense. It will be quite the spectacle seeing the three of them in action for the Buckeyes this fall.
FILM STUDY. It’s no secret the Minnesota Vikings love Donovan Jackson.
“There are little things that sometimes jump out to you about a player,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told ESPN's Kevin Seifert about the former Ohio State offensive lineman. “His willingness to jump over to the left tackle spot… he didn’t necessarily need to do that in a year where he was going to be drafted and evaluated the way he was (but did).”
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah echoed O’Connell’s sentiments.
“You talk about selflessness within a team,” Adofo-Mensah said of Jackson. “These are all things that we say with words, but I think he showed with action in a big year for him, switching out to left tackle for his team as they went on that march (to win a national championship), that journey for confetti.”
But with Jackson, it’s more than willingness and selflessness that impress O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah. It’s also Jackson’s presence on the field, which is the result of his athleticism and brute strength.
In a recent video for the Minnesota Vikings YouTube channel, O’Connell broke down some of Jackson’s tape from his final season at Ohio State. (What I shared below is a video from the Vikings’ X account and a link to their YouTube video, as the NFL blocks video embeds on our website.) I found O’Connell’s insight fascinating, as it reveals what made Jackson a desirable option for Minnesota when it came time to make the No. 24 overall pick in the NFL draft.
.@D_jack78 adds even more to what we've built up front this offseason.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) May 20, 2025
: https://t.co/YqebedxQiB pic.twitter.com/nFGYW6BTO4
SONG OF THE DAY. “Ain’t No Grave” - Johnny Cash.
CUT TO THE CHASE. White Sox unveil a graphic installation honoring Pope Leo XIV and his World Series appearance… Sailing from Oregon to Hawaii after quitting his job turns a man with a cat into social media star… Green Bay Packers submit revision of tush push rule proposal... How Colin Jost became a joke... The worst interview ever.
