Welcome to the Skull Session.
Ohio State men's basketball is back in the win column.
BUCKEYES WIN.#GoBucks | #FightToTheEnd pic.twitter.com/eQw0IiWA7G
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 27, 2026
Have a good Tuesday.
THE BEST OF THE BEST. Ohio State made up 8% of ESPN’s top 100 players from the 2025 college football season. Yes, there were eight Buckeyes on the Worldwide Leader’s list, including Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith, Kayden McDonald, Arvell Reese, Julian Sayin, Caden Curry, Carnell Tate and Sonny Styles. Is that good?
Here’s where Ohio State players finished the year, according to Bill Connelly, David Hale, Adam Rittenberg and Max Olson:
No. 5 - Caleb Downs
The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Thorpe Award winner finished his college career with another spectacular season. He was the lynchpin of a defense that allowed just 9.3 points per game, the best mark in the country. Downs is projected to go in the top 10 of the upcoming NFL draft.
Note: Only Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., and Texas Tech linebackers David Bailey and Jacob Rodriguez ranked higher than Downs
No. 8 - Jeremiah Smith
One year after shattering Ohio State's freshman receiving records, Smith had another banner season. He was a Biletnikoff Award finalist, the Big Ten Receiver of the Year and a unanimous All-American. Though the Buckeyes didn't win either game, Smith had eight catches for 144 yards in the Big Ten championship, then seven receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown in the CFP quarterfinal against Miami. He also had a touchdown in the regular-season finale as Ohio State snapped a four-game losing streak to Michigan.
Note: Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss ranked between Downs and Smith
No. 14 - Kayden McDonald
McDonald helped plug the run for an Ohio State defense that ranked second in the Big Ten, allowing just 89.4 rushing yards per game and 2.94 rushing yards per play. McDonald led the Big Ten with a run-stop rate (tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage) of 7.8%. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-American is yet another Buckeye projected to go in the first round of the draft.
Note: Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, Texas A&M Cashius Howell, Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano, Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and USC wide receiver Makai Lemon ranked between Smith and McDonald
No. 17 - Arvell Reese
Reese was all over the field in the opener against Texas -- with nine tackles and a sack -- setting the tone for his All-American season. The Big Ten Linebacker of the Year lined up and off the edge, harassing the opposing quarterback from multiple spots. He's a projected top-five pick in the upcoming draft.
Note: Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore and Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds ranked between McDonald and Reese
No. 23 - Julian Sayin
Sayin had an outstanding first year as the Buckeyes' starting quarterback. The Heisman finalist nearly broke the FBS record for completion percentage and finished third nationally with a QBR of 88.5. Sayin didn't play his best against Indiana in the Big Ten championship game or in the playoff loss to Miami. But those big-stage experiences should help him in 2026.
Note: Indiana offensive tackle Carter Smith, Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion and Texas Tech defensive tackle Lee Hunter ranked between Reese and Sayin
No. 38 - Caden Curry
A second-team All-Big Ten selection, Curry led the Buckeyes with 11 sacks. He also had two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Curry was especially outstanding in Ohio State's Big Ten championship game loss to Indiana. He had seven tackles and two sacks, including a series of monster hits, and helped keep the Buckeyes in the game to the end.
Note: I’m done with the notes
No. 50 - Carnell Tate
Tate had a breakout junior season, emerging as a star opposite Jeremiah Smith. He had only one drop all year and finished third in the Big Ten behind Smith and Biletnikoff winner Makai Lemon, averaging 3.06 yards per route. Tate, who is a projected top-10 draft pick, is positioned to be the fifth Ohio State receiver to go in the first round in the past four years.
No. 66 - Sonny Styles
One of only three returning starters from Ohio State's national championship team in 2024, Styles was again key to a defense that surrendered fewer than 10 points per game. He had a successful tackle rate per attempt of 97.5%. Styles is another Buckeye who is being projected to go in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft.
Of the eight Buckeyes, only Smith and Sayin will return to Ohio State next season. That may be cause for concern, but I’ll ask this: Downs, Tate and Styles were well-established — but who would have predicted McDonald, Reese and Curry would become top-100 players in their first years as starters? Not me, but I’m sure glad they did. I'm looking forward to the next group of players to go from no names to household names in 2026.
THEY REALLY BEAT OPPONENTS THAT BAD. Friend of the program Parker Fleming — of CFBGraphs, not college football coaching — shared a weekly DID WE REALLY GET BEAT THAT BAD? graphic throughout the 2025 season.
Last week, Fleming posted the season-long leaders in net success rate, with Ohio State checking in at No. 1.
DID WE REALLY GET BEAT THAT BAD?
— parker fleming (@statsowar) January 23, 2026
Season Net Success Rate
FBS vs FBS 2025
~DISASTER GRAPH~ https://t.co/wmNNigmdoz pic.twitter.com/oPGluBGBzk
Man, Ohio State really did beat its opponents that bad all year. And when the Buckeyes lost, they didn’t lose that bad. They lost on the margins. That’s it. There may not have been a more talented team in college football this past season, but special teams miscues, turnovers and crucial penalties ended their championship dreams. That’s exactly what happened to Ohio State — and it’ll forever make me wonder what could’ve been.
WHAT HAPPENED TO QB DEVELOPMENT? Last week, The Athletic’s Antonio Morales wrote about quarterback development in college football. His conclusion wasn’t that it’s good or bad — it’s that it essentially no longer exists. Why? Because patience doesn’t exist either.
“There’s no such thing as a build,” a Power 4 head coach told Morales. “You may go from being undefeated to being on the hot seat in 12 months. So this era just forces you to constantly win, which removes the ability to have growing pains with a young quarterback.”
Morales noted that both Indiana and Miami started veteran transfers at quarterback this season. Mendoza was a two-year starter at California before becoming a Heisman Trophy winner and national champion for the Hoosiers, while Beck spent three years as a backup and two years as a starter at Georgia before leading the Hurricanes to the title game.
Here’s a wild stat: As many as 45 of the 68 Power 4 programs could start a transfer at quarterback in 2026, according to Morales. He wrote that the number has been trending in that direction for years as “quarterback development has become an afterthought at most high-level programs.”
“(Coaches) don’t want to risk their careers in an ultra-high-pressure environment on kids who have not played yet,” a P4 front office staffer said. “They could’ve seen flashes in practice, but people don’t know what they truly have until a kid is in a game setting. They want to make as many educated guesses as possible — that lies in the guys with experience on the field.”
Morales also described what I would call the Curt Cignetti Problem™. After winning a national championship in year two at Indiana, Cignetti eliminated all excuses for coaches who have asked for patience. Now, fans and administrators look at their school and think, If Indiana can do it, so can we.
“In the new era, people are not patient,” a Power 4 head coach said.
The good news for Ohio State is that while Julian Sayin is technically a transfer from Alabama, the Buckeyes have actually developed him for two years. His projected backup in 2026, Tavien St. Clair, told me before the Cotton Bowl that he had no plans to transfer this offseason — and he didn’t — instead embracing the long game and a chance to compete for the starting job in 2027.
“It all goes back to the reason I committed here in the first place,” St. Clair said. “I felt like the development at the quarterback position was the best in the country, and the track record speaks for itself. If you stick to the process and stay consistent here, good things will happen for you in the back end.”
St. Clair added, “However long it takes. Just grateful for the opportunity to be here. I’m learning a ton of things behind Julian this year, so just continuing to grow and add things to my bag that I can add to my skillset from Julian’s game, from Lincoln (Kienholz’s) game, from Coach Day’s knowledge and Coach Fessler’s knowledge. I’m just really excited to learn and continue to grow on my journey.”
So, Ohio State has proven it can do both. It can dip into the transfer portal to land Will Howard, who led the Buckeyes to a national championship, or develop quarterbacks like Sayin and St. Clair. Is one approach better than the other? I’m not sure. But in today’s college football, the ability — and willingness — to develop quarterbacks is becoming increasingly rare.
THE BIRTH OF OHIO STADIUM. Still hunkered down amid Winter Storm Fern? I’ve got something to help you pass the time.
Over the weekend, WOSU Public Media posted a 2001 documentary titled “The Birth of Ohio Stadium” to its YouTube channel. The film looks back at the campaign to build the Horseshoe in the early 1900s — from fundraising and skepticism to construction — and traces how it evolved into one of the most recognizable symbols in college football.
It’s worth a watch, especially if you enjoy old photos, deep Buckeye lore and reminders that people once complained about Ohio Stadium being unnecessary.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star.
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