Skull Session: Ohio State Lands Five Commitments in Nine Hours, Ross Bjork Says There Could Be “Big Value” in Jersey Patches for the Buckeyes

By Chase Brown on January 13, 2026 at 5:00 am
James Smith
John Reed-Imagn Images
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Monday was absolute cinema.

I hope Tuesday is the same!

 BOOM BAM BAP BADA BAP BOP POW. Ohio State landed five commits with 19 stars between them in nine hours: Five-star James Smith, four-stars Qua Russaw and Justyn Martin, and three-stars Hunter Welcing and Terry Moore.

Andy Anders called it: Patience will be a virtue for Ohio State’s transfer portal haul. Here’s to many more BOOMs in the future.

 NO MORE MAROON 5. I have friends everywhere…

… including Ohio State’s campus.

Julian Sayin

Julian Sayin’s Villain Arc is loading.

 “THERE’S A BIG VALUE THERE.” News that Ohio State could add sponsorship patches to its football jerseys (and jerseys in other sports) received considerable pushback on our website and across social media. Ross Bjork knows this, so he did an interview with The Columbus Dispatch’s Joey Kaufman to explain how the Buckeyes will approach the potential addition to Ohio State’s historic uniforms.

“There’s nothing that’s been secured. It’s early in the process,” Bjork said. “We want to be thoughtful, diligent and mindful of our brand.”

Given Ohio State’s status as one of the biggest brands in college football, Bjork said the Buckeyes should have their pick of the litter among sponsors.

“From a purely football standpoint, if we have the biggest brand, highest TV viewership, the most eyeballs, one of the top social media numbers in college football, there’s a big value there,” Bjork said. “We will take our time as needed to make sure that we get the value and right partner.”

Oprettyricky posted in the Eleven Warriors Forum that 11W should be Ohio State’s patch sponsor. “I can’t think of many (logos) that would look good, but the 11W logo would look great.”

We agree, Oprettyricky.

Unfortunately, we don’t have the facilities for that big man.

Maybe Bjork will give us a hometown discount, though!

 JUST MY TWO CENTS. Allow me to break from the Ohio State content with some thoughts on Jacksonville Free Press associate editor Lynn Jones-Turpin’s comments to Jaguars head coach Liam Coen on Sunday.

ICYMI, the Jaguars lost to the Bills, 27-24, at home in the NFL Wild Card Round. After the game, Jones-Turpin congratulated Coen for turning the franchise around in one season.

“I’m going to tell you, congratulations on your success, young man,” Jones-Turpin said. “You hold your head up. You guys have had a most magnificent season. You did a great job out there today. You just hold your head up, OK? Ladies and gentlemen, Duval. You keep it going. We got another season.”

The 19-second clip has circulated on social media in the past 24 to 48 hours, drawing criticism from journalists and praise from fans. The criticism? Jones-Turpin’s sentiment, while kind, is unprofessional because journalists are to remain objective. The praise? Jones-Turpin encouraged a human who deserved it.

I see both sides; I would argue more than most.

When I was a journalism student at Ohio State, I learned about the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics. It states that ethical journalism is fair and accurate, objective and not subjective. But here I am writing a column for which my bosses offered one guiding principle: write like a fan, short for fanatic, which means unquestioned enthusiasm or devotion to a cause. Sound objective?

Yes, I am an Ohio State fan. I have been for 26 years. The son of two former Ohio State athletes and one current Ohio State coach, I literally have Buckeye in my blood. I don’t have any transfusions scheduled to remove it. 

Still, my fandom makes me feel awkward at Ohio State press conferences. I tend to keep my head down when I’m in the same room as Ryan Day and the Buckeyes. I’ll let the real journalists do their job and ask questions, I think. I don’t want to be unprofessional.

But I have often wondered if it matters or if I’m taking myself too seriously. I adhere to a code of ethics, but do Ohio State’s coaches and players even know it exists? Do the fans? I’m not so sure.

The reality is that, in today’s news environment, it’s hard to define a journalist. For every Dan Hope, there’s an Ohio State fan account that also breaks Buckeye news. Accuracy still matters, of course. Integrity still matters. But the line between “journalist” and “media member” has never been blurrier — and pretending otherwise feels dishonest.

Jones-Turpin didn’t ask a question. She didn’t frame a narrative. She spoke to a human being who had just poured a season of his life into a job that ended painfully. That’s not objective journalism, but it’s also not some ethical sin.

Maybe the issue isn’t that Jones-Turpin crossed a line. Maybe it’s that we’re still arguing about a line that no longer exists.

I’ll probably still keep my head down at Ohio State press conferences. Old habits die hard. But moments like this make me wonder if professionalism isn’t about sounding detached — it’s about knowing when the story isn’t the score, the stat or the soundbite. 

Sometimes, it’s just the person standing at the podium.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix.

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Ohio State Transfer Portal Tracker: Ohio State Adds 11 Transfers, Loses More Than 25 Players to Transfer Portal

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Former Duke Safety Terry Moore Transferring to Ohio State

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