Welcome to the Skull Session.
Roy Hall set the tone!
What are you willing to sacrifice to be a champion? How much blood, sweat, tears are you willing to lose just to be on top of the mountain? - Roy Hall
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 4, 2025
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Have a good Friday.
“WE’RE ON TO INDIANA.” I’ve loved how Ryan Day has approached the Big Ten Championship Game this week. Coming off an emotional win over Michigan, Day said the Buckeyes shifted their focus on Sunday to Indiana.
“Everybody wants to talk about last week, but we’re on to Indiana,” Day said on his Thursday radio show. “This is the No. 2 team in the country right now. They’re undefeated. I think they’re playing as good as anybody in the country. They have a really good team, and we got to be ready to go.”
Day said the Buckeyes have carried their momentum from The Game into practice this week as they continue pursuing their season-long goal of winning the Big Ten title. He emphasized the importance of finishing the regular season strong, protecting their postseason positioning and matching the urgency of an Indiana team that has improved across the board and is playing as well as anyone in the country.
“We see this as part of the regular season, and we want to finish this the right way for a lot of reasons,” Day said. “I think the first thing is we have momentum. I think anytime you have momentum, you want to keep it. The second thing is that one of the goals is to win the Big Ten championship — to get to Indy and then win it. The last reason is we want to be the No. 1 seed (in the CFP). There are significant advantages to being the No. 1 seed, and when you’re trying to chase a championship, everything matters.”
The business-like Buckeyes are, as Day put it, “locked in” and “focused” on winning in Indianapolis.
I am confident Ohio State will leave no doubt.
“A+, A+.” Ryan Day praised Julian Sayin earlier this week for his performance in The Game, where he completed 19 of 26 passes for 233 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
“First game in the snow, first game in the rivalry, and his first or second throw was an interception. The way he played from there on out was special to me,” Day said. “He doesn’t panic. He sees it, the ball comes out quick. The guys believe in him. He has a special talent for putting the ball on time with accuracy.”
Urban Meyer agrees. On the latest episode of Urban Analysis, the former Ohio State head coach broke down Sayin’s tape, noting how he handled the moment.
“How does he handle the environment? How does he handle adversity? A+, A+,” Meyer said.
I’m sure Meyer would agree with Day here, too: “But here we go. We’re at it again now, Big Ten championship, so (Julian’s) got to be on. That game is over with, he’ll learn from it, he’ll grow from it, and he’ll use a lot of that as confidence moving forward.”
QUARTERBACK H-O-R-S-E? ESPN’s Jake Trotter wrote an excellent article this week about what makes Julian Sayin one of the most accurate quarterbacks in college football history. The answer? Growing up playing Quarterback H-O-R-S-E with his brother, Aidan, and passing coach, Jose Mohler.
Before the California sunrise during the pandemic, Julian Sayin and older brother Aidan were already at Pine Park in downtown Carlsbad, chasing the perfect throw with an acai bowl on the line.
After drilling mechanics, dropbacks and movement throws with passing coach Jose Mohler at the park about 35 miles north of San Diego, the real competition began -- a homegrown version of quarterback HORSE. Their buddies, twins Jayven and Kiran Sandhu, ran routes while the Sayin brothers called their shots, grading each other's 10 throws. The loser picked up the tab at the smoothie shop around the corner before everyone headed home for online high school.
"We would grade very, very harshly," said Aidan, who went on to become a record-breaking quarterback at Penn. "Anything that wasn't on the face wasn't worthy of even a B-plus. You had to be super accurate."
Mohler, a former FCS quarterback, told Trotter that Aidan was his first client, but whenever he worked with Aidan, Julian — then just a fifth-grader — would join the session. Mohler said Julian always wanted to compete with his older brother, the only person who can ever get under Julian’s skin.
The Sayins would take turns calling out a route. Every throw had to have the right zip, the right loft and, of course, the perfect placement.
"They would just start bickering at each other," Mohler said. "They were so opinionated towards the process, which was awesome. They just wanted to beat one another -- and it would definitely get a little bit out of hand at times."
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But Julian never backed down.
"I was always enamored with Julian's 'OK, watch this' mentality," Mohler said. "'Hey, you're going to want to film this because of what I'm going to do this time.' ... He might appear laid back, but when it comes to putting the ball where it needs to be, that dude is rich with confidence."
Trotter then shared how Julian replaced Aidan as QB1 at Carlsbad when Aidan moved on to Penn (where he would set the school’s completions record and was on track to break more before a season-ending elbow injury as a senior). Julian became the No. 1 quarterback in his class, and he looked the part when he arrived at Ohio State, Will Howard told Trotter.
"I had never really seen a ball come out of a dude's hand that easily and that effortlessly," Howard said. "I was like, 'Geez, is this kid going to give me a run for my money here?' He was throwing the s--- out of the ball."
Howard still won the starting job and quarterbacked the Buckeyes to the national championship, while setting a new school record by completing 71.4% of his passes. But Howard, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, quickly realized his record wouldn't stand long.
"I was like, 'Damn, I wanted that for more than one year,'" Howard said. "But Julian's doing a hell of a job."
No kidding.
In his first season as Ohio State’s starter, the Buckeyes are 12-0, five-point favorites in the Big Ten Championship Game and the favorite to win the national title. Oh, and Sayin could win the Heisman Trophy, as he’ll face his primary competitor, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, in Indianapolis.
With a lot on the line at Lucas Oil Stadium, most quarterbacks would crumble under the pressure. But Julian? I think he’s different.
“We talk about being even-keeled,” Julian said on Wednesday. “But I’m definitely excited for the matchup. I’ve talked to some coaches in our building and, you know, ones who have coached in this game, been there. They talked about the atmosphere being electric and how fun it’s going to be playing in that stadium. We’re excited, but at the end of the day, we are just playing another game.”
When asked specifically to address his Heisman candidacy, Julian said, “Not really focused on the outside noise. We have a job to do. We have a goal to go win the Big Ten, so we’re focused on that as a team.”
IT’S ALL OHIO (STATE). The Athletic’s Dane Brugler released his latest mock draft this week, with five Buckeyes projected in the first 32 picks — just one shy of the single-year record of six, held by Miami (2004) and Alabama (2021). Here’s where Brugler has Arvell Reese, Carnell Tate, Caleb Downs, Kayden McDonald and Sonny Styles landing in April:
No. 3 Arvell Reese, New Orleans Saints
The clear No. 1 player on my updated top 50, Reese can be whatever a defense needs him to be in the front seven. (OK, maybe not a nose tackle). He can play off the ball, spy, drop and cover, or mirror runs all the way to the sideline. As an edge rusher, Reese has burst, flexibility and speed, along with the violence in his hands to dispose of blocks on his way to the quarterback. You will hear plenty of Micah Parsons comparisons for Reese throughout the process.
No. 4 Carnell Tate, New York Giants
I didn’t expect Tate to be this high when I started this exercise, but it speaks to the unpredictability of this year’s top 10. The Buckeyes pass catcher is impressively detailed as a route runner, especially on vertical patterns, and his length and focus make him a ball winner at the catch point. Tate would complement Malik Nabers really well and reflect the Giants’ desire to surround their young quarterback, Jaxson Dart, with more help.
No. 10 Caleb Downs, Cincinnati Bengals
Downs is one of the best players in this draft class, but a lot of teams — possibly including the Bengals — wouldn’t feel great drafting a safety in the top 10. That said, the Ohio State All-American would give Cincinnati a monumental talent upgrade on the back end and instantly help its defense develop a more disciplined culture. Don’t overthink this one, Bengals.
No. 19 Kayden McDonald, Baltimore Ravens
Probably the most underrated Ohio State prospect in the 2026 class, McDonald is a dominant run defender who is just scratching the surface of his talent. He fires off the ball, resets the line of scrimmage and violently discards blockers, all of which the Ravens could use in the trenches.
No. 20 Sonny Styles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Styles is the fifth Buckeye off the board in this mock, which would match the record for the most top-20 picks produced by one program in the same draft. At 6-4 1/2, 237 with 4.5 speed, Styles, who just celebrated his 21st birthday last week, is a physical freak and immediately would provide Todd Bowles’ defense with improved size and range at the linebacker level.
It also feels relevant to mention that the Cleveland Browns traded up to No. 1 to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. One, Ohio State will see Mendoza firsthand in the Big Ten Championship Game this weekend. And two, it would be an all-time Browns move to burn draft capital on a quarterback while already rostering $230 million signal-caller Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders — but sure, add Mendoza to the list!
SONG OF THE DAY. "On To The Next One" - JAY-Z.
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