Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State's players took the lead in the June Olympics with a game of Euchre.
Staff takes down the Players in Euchre for todays
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) June 16, 2025
Players lead 5-4 pic.twitter.com/tUO2cQGyI6
I love me some Euchre... love... me... some Euchre.
Have a good Tuesday.
“HE’S SO SMART.” The consensus is clear: Emeka Egbuka was a standout during Tampa Bay Buccaneers minicamp last week.
The former Ohio State wide receiver looked the part of a first-round pick. More than that, he looked like someone who could be a game-changer in Tampa Bay’s offense.
But don’t take my word for it.
Take the word of quarterback Baker Mayfield, who said the Bucaneers could already “plug-and-play him at every receiver spot” because of how well he understands the offense.
Baker Emeka is going to be a dangerous combination
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 11, 2025
: @SonyElectronics | #ShotOnSony FX3 pic.twitter.com/bGvxgkFzb0
“At this level, you have to have talent, and he has that, being a first-round pick,” Mayfield said. “The thing that sticks out is how cerebral he is. He’s so smart. Right now, I think we could plug-and-play him at every receiver spot – he understands the offense that well. That’s just him being a pro already. He’s not a rookie. He doesn’t act like it, at least.
“It’s been really good to see him take that ownership. He takes it really serious. He’s in constant communication (with me and the coaches). He always wants to be in the right spot at the right time. He’s much like J-Mac (Jalen McMillan) in his understanding of zone coverage and like Chris (Godwin) as well in his understanding of when to be open, the voids in the zone defense and how to be friendly to the quarterback. It’s a nice luxury to have.”
Egbuka’s fellow wide receivers also complimented him last week. That includes Mike Evans, who has been a 1,000-yard receiver in each of his 11 NFL seasons with the Buccaneers.
We see you, @ktrask9 & @EgbukaEmeka pic.twitter.com/NTlx3FhHJ6
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) June 14, 2025
“This might be the best receiver room I’ve been a part of,” Evans said while explaining what Egbuka adds to the position group. “We always get great players coming in. That’s been very fortunate for me in my career, to be around a lot of great young players. They’ve added to the room tremendously. They’re very polished already. Emeka has really strong hands. He’s super smart.”
Evans agreed with Mayfield that Egbuka is similar to Godwin.
“He looks like a running back, but he catches like Chris,” Evans said. “He’s a very polished, very well-rounded player.”
Oh, Mek.
“HE WAS SUCH A GREAT PLAYER.” In an interview with Forbes’ Oliver Thomas, Patriots running backs coach Tony Dews revealed he had done his homework on TreVeyon Henderson before New England selected him in the 2025 NFL draft.
Eight years of it, actually.
“I tried to recruit him back in high school years ago when I was at West Virginia,” said Dews, who was the running backs coach for the Mountaineers in 2017 before entering the NFL ranks with Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans. “He snubbed me (laughs). But it was good to be able to reconnect with him. Obviously, I’m very excited about him.”
Now that Dews has circled back with Henderson, what excites him most about the No. 38 overall pick?
“First and foremost, he’s a great human being, he’s a great person and a great kid,” he said. “And then obviously the physical attributes. He’s certainly fast. He brings a speed element to our team that obviously anytime you can get a guy that’s as fast as he is, it is beneficial for the whole offensive unit and on special teams. And then, he caught the ball well out of the backfield. He did a really good job, I thought, in pass protection. And in the time I got to spend with him, he seemed to pick up concepts fairly quickly.
“With all those things, you feel like you’re getting a good prospect, and we’ll have to see how it materializes from there.”
Rooks first look @TreVeyonH4 | @k_mmoneyyyy pic.twitter.com/OnUtRigu0l
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 20, 2025
Henderson hopes it materializes into an impactful role as a rookie. Given his talents as a ballcarrier, pass catcher and blocker, that role could be as a third-down back, just like three-time Super Bowl champion James White carved for himself across eight NFL seasons with the Patriots between 2014-21.
Interestingly, Henderson told MassLive’s Karen Guregian last week that he’d taken inspiration from White’s game as he prepared for New England’s minicamp.
“James White… shoot, he dang near looked like a receiver,” Henderson said. “Man, he was a great running back here.”
Whether White or Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Henderson said he studies the NFL’s best ballcarriers to gain an advantage on his opponents.
“I really try to work on every aspect of my game,” Henderson shared. “Running the ball, pass protecting, catching. Every aspect of my game, I’m trying to get better.”
Trey time @TreVeyonH4 | @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/CUss2tq5lq
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 10, 2025
When it comes to White, however, Henderson sees something different.
“Just his great receiving ability,” Henderson said. “One-on-one matchups, it seems like he’s winning every time. … He was such a great player. He made a huge impact to help his team win games. … I want to continue to watch film and study him and learn and grow as a player.
“Coach (Josh) McDaniels, he’s a great offensive coordinator. He does a great job featuring the running backs, so the biggest thing, I just want to continue to listen as a player and take coaching.”
With the Patriots on a break until preseason camp, Henderson told Guregian he has the rest of his offseason mapped out.
“The biggest thing is just staying in the playbook and making sure I stay conditioned,” Henderson said. “Once you come in, fall camp comes on you like that. You don’t want to be thrown off guard and out of shape.”
CHAMPIONS, NO ASTERISK. Remember when The Athletic launched its Best of the 2000s series last month? ESPN followed suit last week with this: College football’s top 25 plays since 2000.
Coming in at No. 10?
What the Worldwide Leader calls "Champions*”
Perhaps the most questionable pass interference call in college football history, the penalty on Miami's Glenn Sharpe in overtime in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl prevented the Hurricanes from repeating as national champions and cementing their dynasty. With one play left to keep their season alive, Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel dropped back to pass on fourth-and-3 from the 5-yard line, throwing for Chris Gamble in the end zone. The pass fell incomplete, and Miami players and staff ran onto the field in celebration. Except ... Terry Porter, the field judge, threw a flag several seconds after the play ended, a delay that added to the mass confusion that followed and resulted in the widespread second-guessing of the call (for those outside Columbus, Ohio, that is). The officials huddled and called pass interference on Sharpe. With a fresh set of downs, Ohio State scored to send the game into a second overtime and won the game 31-24. – Andrea Adelson
The most questionable pass interference call in college football history?
More like the most accurate.
OLYMPIC VILLAGE. Ohio State has named Kelsea Giantonio as its new cheer coach, spirit program director Melissa McGhee announced Monday.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kelsea as the new head coach of the Ohio State cheer program,” McGhee said in a press release. “Her experience in the SEC, combined with her infectious energy and deep commitment to developing student-athletes holistically, makes her an incredible fit for our program. Kelsea understands the tradition and pride that comes with being part of Ohio State, and she brings a fresh enthusiasm to continue moving our legacy forward.”
An Ohio State assistant in 2019, Giantonio returns to Columbus following four years as Vanderbilt’s head coach. As leader of the Commodores’ cheer, dance and mascot squads, Giantonio led the program to unprecedented growth and success. Under her leadership, Vanderbilt reestablished its coed cheer program and expanded its presence via athletic events and community engagement. She also coached the Commodores to their first-ever appearance at NDA College Nationals in 2023, and just two years later, they earned a third-place finish at the 2025 D1A Spirit Rally division.
Giantonio began her coaching career at Tennessee Tech, where she played a crucial role in leading the school’s co-ed team to a third-place finish and the mascot team to a national championship at the 2018 UCA College Nationals. She earned an MBA from Tennessee Tech and holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and sports management from UMass-Amherst, where she was a four-year member of the cheer team and team captain as a senior.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Last Train Home" (Midnight Version) - John Mayer.
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