Skull Session: Ohio State’s Transfer Portal Frenzy is in Full Swing, the College Football Calendar Needs to Change and J.T. Barrett Has a Bright Future As a Coach

Myles Garrett made history on Sunday.

MYLES GARRETT IS THE NEW SACK RECORD KING.

CLEvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Jaa4aBGrIl

— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

Break records, create new standards @Flash_Garrett breaks the @nfl single-season sack record. pic.twitter.com/qccp0qdUrR

— Gatorade (@Gatorade) January 4, 2026

Sorry, not sorry, Bengals fans.

Have a good Monday.

 GONE PORTALING. Ohio State’s transfer portal frenzy is in full swing. 

Since the transfer portal opened on Friday, 17 scholarship Buckeyes have entered in search of a new school to call home.

We’ve included updates for all these Buckeyes — plus several walk-ons — in our Transfer Portal Tracker, which also features other Ohio State transfer news, including planned visits from former Maryland cornerback La’Khi Roland (Saturday), former Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee (Sunday) and more. We've made, I don't know, almost 40 updates to the Tracker since we posted the article on Thursday? It's been a nuts 72 hours in Columbus and the college football world in general.

Oh, yes! The Tracker has commitments, too!

Ohio State landed its first two transfer commitments of 2026 on Sunday in former Ohio tight end Mason Williams and former UCF long snapper Dalton Riggs. With so many Buckeyes gone portaling, more BOOMs are likely on the way. Keep tabs on our Transfer Portal Tracker as we continue to monitor this fast-moving story for Eleven Warriors.

 CHANGES NEEDED. (PLEASE.) The college football calendar is stupid — just so stupid.

Allow me to fix it in one section.

Here’s what the calendar should look like in 2026:

• Week 1: Aug. 29
• Week 2: Sept. 5
• Week 3: Sept. 12
• Week 4: Sept. 19
• Week 5: Sept. 26
• Week 6: Oct. 3
• Week 7: Oct. 10
• Week 8: Oct. 17
• Week 9: Oct. 24
• Week 10: Oct. 31
• Week 11: Nov. 7
• Week 12: Nov. 14
• Week 13: Nov. 21
• Week 14: Nov. 28
• CFP First Round (games on college campuses): Dec. 5
• CFP Quarterfinals (games on college campuses): Dec. 12
• CFP Semifinals (games on college campuses): Dec. 19
• CFP Final: Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl
• Transfer Portal opens: Jan. 2

Fourteen weeks with two byes for everyone. No more conference championship games (sorry, Tony Petitti, you’ll live). No more 25-day layoffs for teams that earn a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff. A national championship game at the Granddaddy of Them All. A season completed before the second semester begins and before the transfer portal opens.

You cannot tell me this schedule doesn’t work.

Heck, I could make it even better. Let’s move the transfer portal to April, when the academic year ends. That would make it easier for programs to clear scholarship agreements and companies to re-evaluate their NIL deals with players entering the transfer portal.

What about the Early Signing Period?

Good question!

Get rid of it!

I have never understood the early enrollment process. Let the kids be kids. Let them play baseball, lacrosse or run track. Let them go to prom. Let them walk at their graduation. We can allow coaches to send their incoming freshmen binders to learn the playbook, and we can schedule a rookie minicamp over the weekend in June before a week of OTAs with the rest of the team, à la the NFL.

This isn’t radical. 

It’s common sense. 

But… that’s probably why it’ll never happen.

 DEVELOPED HERE. Ohio State could have five first-round draft picks in April: Caleb Downs, Arvell Reese, Carnell Tate, Sonny Styles and Kayden McDonald. According to ESPN's Matt Miller, only the first three Buckeyes are surefire top-32 selections — for now. Over the weekend, Miller broke down what makes Downs, Reese and Tate special, and the company he placed them in was elite.

Caleb Downs, Ohio State (No. 2)

If you could create the ideal safety prospect, it would look like Downs. The 6-foot, 205-pound junior is an elite open-field tackler with the closing speed to run down ball carriers and dominate angles in space. Downs can do it all, often lining up in multiple assignments depending on where the defense needs him. His four interceptions the past two seasons speak to his ball skills but also to the fact that offenses avoid him.

One rival offensive coach told me that they identify Downs on pre-snaps over a linebacker or key pass rusher -- he's that impactful. Safeties are rarely drafted in the top five, but Downs should not be overlooked. He could have a Kyle Hamilton-like role immediately as a rookie starter.

Arvell Reese, Ohio State (No. 3)

Reese wasn't on the NFL radar entering the season, as he had limited starting reps coming in. But he might be the No. 1 pick in April. Reese's production exploded in new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's scheme. Working as both a linebacker and a pass rusher, Reese posted 69 tackles, 18 pressures and 6.5 sacks while showing speed and power around the edge reminiscent of Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter in their transformations from linebacker to edge rusher.

Reese is still a work in progress, but his production and impact this season point to a player with the talent to quickly be an NFL difference-maker at linebacker or on the edge.

Carnell Tate, Ohio State (No. 7)

Another Ohio State first-round wide receiver? Yep. Tate exploded this season, at times eclipsing superstar sophomore teammate Jeremiah Smith. Tate's impact was obvious, with 51 catches for 875 yards and nine touchdowns in 11 games despite a lack of targets late in games due to Ohio State's domination.

On tape, Tate looks like a Justin Jefferson-level prospect when comparing their college games. Tate is a polished, crisp route runner with the body control to adjust midroute or attack the ball in the air. He had zero drops on 67 targets this season and showed he can consistently win in contested-catch situations.

Kyle Hamilton, Micah Parsons (or Abdul Carter) and Justin Jefferson are some lofty comparisons for Downs, Reese and Tate. I write that more about Reese and Tate than Downs, as the Downs-to-Hamilton comp might undersell what a two-time unanimous All-American is capable of becoming at the next level.

Regardless, I’ll watch all of their careers with great interest.

 JOE. THOMAS. BARRETT. J.T. Barrett needs no introduction around these parts.

The former Ohio State quarterback threw for 9,434 yards and a school-record 104 touchdowns while rushing for another 3,263 yards and 43 scores from 2014-17. Buckeye Nation knows him well as a national champion, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and three-time Big Ten Quarterback of the Year.

Now, Barrett is becoming a coach to watch in the NFL.

This week, The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain detailed Barrett’s growing impact as the Chicago Bears’ quarterbacks coach — particularly his significance to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Several of Barrett’s colleagues, including Bears head coach Ben Johnson, wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and others, offered glowing praise.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams

“He’s been awesome,” Williams said. “Early on, our relationship and bond has grown. We’re laughing and joking all the time. We’re closer, similar in age, than obviously some of the other coaches. We connect on that level, and then us having some bumps in the road, where we’ve got to sit down and have talks and communicate to each other has helped us get to this point. That’s my guy. He’s been tremendously helpful to me. We’re gonna keep growing that.”

Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent

“The energy he brings is huge,” quarterback Tyson Bagent said. “He loves his job, in there early. … All I can ask for is the energy part, somebody who loves being in there as much as I do.”

Bears head coach Ben Johnson

“J.T. is a guy I’ve known from the moment he decided to hang up the cleats and pick up a whistle instead,” Johnson said. “He has gotten better, and it’s because he loves the game. It’s because he wants to do a great job. I think he’s going to continue to ascend here in this league. Whatever he wants to become, whether that’s a play caller, or whether that’s eventually a head coach, whatever that is, I think he’s capable of all those things.”

Bears wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El

“He wants to learn more, wants to know more,” said Randle-El, the Bears’ assistant head coach and receivers coach. “This idea of, ‘Give me anything to do. I want to do anything to learn and master it and be able to teach it.’ When you see those traits, the want-to, but then just the eagerness to be able to coach. Then, with his background, he knew ball, he just had to learn the back-office stuff, which he learned pretty quickly. Being a quarterback, we knew he wouldn’t take long anyway.”

Bears passing game coordinator Press Taylor

“I think J.T. is somewhat similar to Ben [Johnson] in that there’s a certain intensity to him,” passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. “He takes his work very seriously. He’s very mature and serious in his approach. He wants to do a great job. He’s hungry to learn. It feels like there’s no ego.”

Ohio State fans would love to see Barrett return to Columbus as the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks coach — I’d love to see it too — but it looks like Barrett is destined for a long, successful career in the NFL, whether as an assistant or even one day as a head coach. But never say never!

 NEW DUBCAST. The first Eleven Dubcast of the week discusses the beginning of the 2026 transfer portal period for Ohio State, the host of departing Buckeyes and if OSU fans should panic relative to last year in tandem with other schools' signings.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "One Man Band" - Old Dominion.

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