Welcome to the Skull Session.
June Olympics: Players 2 - Coaches 1
Next up for , Table Tennis
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) June 5, 2025
Players take the lead 2-1 over the staff after a @MalikHartford win over @zacherycreative pic.twitter.com/GHaZm6Ug0K
Have a good Friday.
OSU IS QBU, TOO. This week, The Athletic's Manny Navarro asked the question: What have the last five years of the NFL draft told us about college football recruiting?
The answer as it pertains to college football?
Stars still matter.
| ROUND | PICKS | 5-STAR | 4-STAR | 3-STAR | 2-STAR | NR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST | 160 | 26% | 39% | 29% | 1% | 4% |
| SECOND | 160 | 10% | 41% | 39% | 3% | 6% |
| THIRD | 194 | 7% | 35% | 38% | 6% | 14% |
| FOURTH | 181 | 6% | 27% | 43% | 7% | 18% |
| FIFTH | 197 | 6% | 31% | 46% | 6% | 12% |
| SIXTH | 210 | 4% | 24% | 47% | 8% | 17% |
| SEVENTH | 192 | 2% | 29% | 43% | 8% | 19% |
The answer as it pertains to the Buckeyes?
That Ohio State has produced the fourth-most draft picks in the past five years.
| SCHOOL | PICKS | 1ST ROUND | 2ND/3RD ROUND | TRANSFERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEORGIA | 55 | 14 | 17 | 6 |
| ALABAMA | 44 | 16 | 15 | 8 |
| REDACTED | 42 | 8 | 15 | 5 |
| OHIO STATE | 40 | 11 | 12 | 5 |
| LSU | 36 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
That Ohio State is Wide Receiver U, which we knew.
Ohio State has produced five first-round picks at the position over the last five years, including top-10 picks in Marvin Harrison and Garrett Wilson. And Jeremiah Smith could be the No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft. But don’t forget about LSU. The Tigers have had six receivers taken in the last five years and have stars Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. doing damage in the league now.
That Ohio State is Quarterback U, which we didn't know (I think?), but we love to see.
Quarterback: Alabama, Florida and Ohio State all have the right to call themselves the best at producing pro talent at the moment, with three draft picks each at the position over the last five years. We’d give the slight edge to the Buckeyes, considering Fields and C.J. Stroud were first-rounders and Stroud is an entrenched NFL starter.
Add all of this to the #DevelopedHere file!
RING, RING, RING. I may be super late on this — no, I'm definitely super late on this — but did you know that Jeremiah Smith has won a championship in eight of the past nine years? After Ohio State beat Notre Dame in January, Smith's cousin, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, posted that Smith has won a title every year but one since 11U football.
4 consecutive championship for 4!!
— Geno (@GenoSmith3) January 21, 2025
From 11u only 1 year without a chip
Looking back at his time at Chaminade-Madonna Prep, Jeremiah Smith won a FHSAA Class 1A state championship as a sophomore, a Class 1M state championship as a junior and another Class 1M state championship as a senior. Then at Ohio State, he was the best player in the College Football Playoff while helping the Buckeyes win their ninth title of all time.
This dude is a cheat code!
"HEALTH-WISE, I FEEL BETTER." In an interview with the Akron Beacon Journal's Chris Easterling last week, Dawand Jones said he's in good health and good spirits coming off a broken fibula last fall and knee surgery last winter.
"Health-wise, I feel better, I should say," Jones said at the Browns' OTA on Wednesday. "I feel like I took care of my body a little bit better this offseason. That was the main thing. Just make those little small adjustments from last year to this year and just things to work on and get better. Lost a lot of body fat, and I pride myself on that and so I'm happy about that."
Jones, who will turn 24 years old on Aug. 6, has shown tremendous potential and promise for Cleveland since the Browns selected him with their fourth-round pick (No. 111 overall) in the 2023 NFL draft. He's made 21 appearances and 17 starts in the past two seasons and is the frontrunner to replace Jedrick Wills Jr. at left tackle in 2025.
That is, if Jones can avoid more doctor's visits.
Jones has been limited to 21 of 35 possible appearances because of two season-ending injuries: A Week 14 knee injury in 2023 and a Week 11 leg injury in 2024. While Easterling described Jones' broken fibula as "a random happening," he also wrote that Jones understands his size — Big Thanos is 6-foot-8 and pushed 400 pounds since 2023 — was a leading cause for the knee issues that have slowed him down.
#Browns Dillon Gabriel with Dawand Jones at left tackle pic.twitter.com/YHGCA96tNA
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) June 4, 2025
"It sucks," Jones said. "I want to be out there, I'm going to do as much as I can but I can only do as far as my body goes. Like I said, I had to have surgery last year and I feel better now."
Jones said he spent the entire offseason in Northeast Ohio rehabbing from his latest injury. He also met with Browns director of performance Kelsey Fahey, who helped him establish a meal plan that has paid dividends.
"We worked this offseason together, and we came up with a great plan," Jones said. "It definitely came together, and it has worked for me."
The Browns listed Jones at 6-foot-8, 378 pounds for their OTA roster. Jones is proud of the latter number, which has him feeling better than he has in a long, long time.
"Lost a lot of body fat," Jones said. "I'm kind of the same weight... I would say I lost probably 20 pounds from last year, so no range or nothing but for sure lost a lot of body fat."
JASON SINGLETON... JUNIOR! Jake Diebler offered 2026 guard Jason Singleton, the son of — you guessed it — former Ohio State men’s basketball forward Jason Singleton, a scholarship on Wednesday.
A 6-foot-4, 175-pound athlete from Columbus, Singleton Jr. averaged 13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 steals while leading Columbus Academy to the Ohio Division V state championship game. Despite Singleton’s 27 points and nine rebounds in the final, Columbus Academy lost to Lutheran East, 53-49, as the Falcons claimed their third consecutive state title.
Ohio State is one of several teams to offer Singleton this summer. The three-star recruit and No. 7 Ohio prospect also received scholarship opportunities from Creighton, Davidson, Dayton, DePaul (Holtmann!), Detroit Mercy, Eastern Michigan, Harvard, Miami (OH), Nebraska, Ohio, Yale and Purdue.
Junior balls out like Senior, that's for sure.
Across four seasons at Ohio State from 1995-99, Singleton Sr. appeared in 199 games and made 86 starts for the Buckeyes. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals for his career, including 8.9 points (on an impressive 63.5 percent shooting), 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals for Ohio State's Final Four team in 1999.
While Singleton Jr. has lots of time to choose his college destination, he seems excited about the idea of following in his father's footsteps.
"I'm extremely blessed to have received a division one offer from Ohio State," he posted on social media this week. "Huge thanks to Jake Diebler, Coach (Dave) Dickerson, and the rest of the staff! I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity!"
SONG OF THE DAY. "FATHER FIGURE" - Jon Bellion.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Flying boats make for a rare sight as Washington clears an island of derelict vessels by helicopter... Dilly Dally the sea turtle returns to the ocean after flipper amputation... Aaron Rodgers plans to sign with Steelers... Tommy Paul is helping lead American tennis back to glory.
