Skull Session: Josh Pate Calls Ohio State “The Top Program in the Country,” Jake Diebler and Ross Bjork Are Working Together to Improve the Buckeyes’ NIL Funding

By Chase Brown on February 17, 2026 at 5:00 am
Ryan Day and Urban Meyer
Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

It’s been a minute since I’ve done a RAPID FIRE SKULL SESSION™. Now is the time for its triumphant return.

We’ll get through this quicker than Doc Holiday draws his pistol.

Say when.

 “SUPREME ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.” Josh Pate praised the Buckeyes last week, calling Ohio State the top college football program in America entering 2026.

“I think Ohio State is the top program in the country,” Pate said. “Ohio State is 37-6 over the past three years. They’ve got a national championship mixed in here. They are a top-five recruiting program in the country. They are a very, very high-value portal program — translation, they don’t need to flood themselves with a bunch of transfers because they recruit and develop very well, but when they do need to, they can be very selective and very effective in the transfer portal. 

“And they’re just excellent at staffing. I don’t know that many programs at all are doing it better. Just think about what’s happened the past three years at Ohio State. You had two coordinator turnover situations, just this past year it happened. You lose Chip Kelly, who was a foundational piece of that (title) run and then you elevate from within. But then also you go and get Matt Patricia because Jim Knowles moves on, and if anything, they improved defensively, which is just really hard to do. That is supreme organizational structure there.

“Ohio State is here as long as Ryan Day is there. And even above and beyond Ryan Day — not to overlook him, one of the best doing it right now — but to move beyond him, Ohio State as a program has been resilient over the past several head coaches they’ve had."

TL;DR: Ohio State is THE standard. Nobody does it better than THE Buckeyes.

 JJ’S GOT NEXT. Pro Football Focus’ Dalton Wasserman didn’t undersell Jeremiah Smith’s NFL potential last week, telling his PFF College Football Show co-host Max Chadwick that Smith is the same level of prospect as Calvin Johnson in 2007 and Julio Jones in 2011.

“This is the Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones level of wide receiver prospect going into next season, and if there’s a team picking first overall in 2027 that for any reason doesn’t need a quarterback, it’s gonna be this guy,” Wasserman said. “To be honest with you, he could walk into the NFL right now, and I think he’d be a top-15 receiver immediately, if not better than that. He’s a freak of nature. … To me, he’s the most freakish talent in college football right now.”

With Arch Manning and Dante Moore returning for another season — and quarterback being the most valuable position in football — it’s hard to imagine Smith going No. 1 overall in 2027. But the franchise sitting at No. 3 might feel like it's picking first if Smith is still on the board after the first two selections.

 OSU → NFLU. When Jeremiah Smith reaches the NFL, he’ll join an elite group of former Buckeye wide receivers at the next level. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seattle Seahawks) and Chris Olave (New Orleans Saints) were among the league’s top pass catchers in 2025, particularly when it came to piling up yardage.

The 33rd Team posted a graphic on Monday highlighting that the Buckeyes were the only school with multiple wide receivers ranked in the top 10.

Remember: Ohio State is Wide Receiver U — and no one else is close.

 GIVE CREDIT TO KYLE YOUNG. Former Ohio State men’s basketball standout Kyle Young had his number retired at Jackson High School over the weekend. His Ohio State head coach, Chris Holtmann, attended the ceremony and shared photos at… 3:27 a.m. on Monday?!

Young scored 1,582 points in four seasons at Jackson. As a senior, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 18 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while leading the Polar Bears to a 28-2 record and a Division I state championship.

In five seasons under Holtmann at Ohio State (2017–22), Young averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. His best season came as a junior in 2019-20, when he averaged 7.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 58.5% from the floor.

Congratulations to Young on his jersey retirement — and cheers to Holtmann for making the trip during a busy season at DePaul.

 “OHIO STATE IS A REALLY SPECIAL PLACE.” I included Gus Johnson’s comments about Ohio State’s men’s basketball NIL spending in the Monday Skull Session. Jake Diebler addressed them in a press conference hours later.

“First and foremost, not all information is accurate information,” Diebler said. “There’s an element to NIL that’s hidden, so everything you see or read, regardless of who it’s from, there’s a lot of inaccurate information out there. … The one thing I know is that Ohio State is a really special place. Part of what makes Ohio State special is the fact that we’ve got a big-time athletic department that strives for excellence in 36 sports.”

Diebler said he’s working with Ross Bjork and the athletic department to increase funds for the men’s basketball program — but none of those conversations will have an impact on this season. For now, all Diebler can focus on is beating Wisconsin on Tuesday.

“I’m excited about the things that are happening to help us be better in certain spaces,” Diebler said. “There are things in motion that can’t impact the here-and-now but are exciting about the future. I’m appreciative of what Ross and his team, how we’ve been able to work together. It’s a fight. It’s a battle. We’re fighting it together and I’m appreciative of that.”

Beat the Badgers.

 START THE CAMPAIGN. I hope this is the first of many Ohio State wrestling tweets about Jesse Mendez during the break between the regular season and postseason, because he deserves to win the Dan Hodge Trophy.

A two-time NCAA champion and one-time Big Ten champion — which tells you all you need to know about how hard it is to win a Big Ten title — Mendez is 19-0 this season with 17 bonus-point victories: three major decisions, nine technical falls and five pins.

Some consider Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling the favorite at 27-0 (18 tech falls and three major decisions). But I still want to see Ohio State make its case for Mendez.

Get that man a Hodge Trophy before he graduates.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "What Can I Do" - Penelope Road.

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