Welcome to the Skull Session.
The Basketbucks led 14-2, then lost 74-57.
Ohio State is demolished on the road by Iowa, 74-57, as its NCAA Tournament chances sink to their lowest of the season. https://t.co/l1pmfW1cBd
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) February 26, 2026
Woof.
Have a good Thursday.
“THERE’S GOOD BONES IN THERE.” Ross Bjork told The Columbus Dispatch this week that Ohio State is still planning to renovate the Woody Hayes Athletic Center — hopefully sooner rather than later.
Facilities used to be all the rage. College football’s top programs engaged in an arms race to boast the best dining room, film room, team room and weight room. Then came the NIL era, followed by the current revenue-sharing era, and facilities shifted to the back burner. But that doesn’t mean state-of-the-art buildings are no longer important for current and future coaches and players.
Bjork said as much to The Dispatch, emphasizing the importance of Ohio State raising public awareness and building momentum as the Buckeyes prepare to update their nearly 40-year-old football facility.
“We have advanced that project to the next round from a planning and fundraising standpoint. Sometime this spring, we hope to create more visibility around how much money has been raised, the timeline and the total cost of the building. Show some images, things like that,” Bjork said. “We want to create some public awareness, public momentum around the Woody Hayes complex. We would also couple that with the ice rink, making sure we get the ice rink in the same stage, if you will. Here's the funding outline, here's the timeline, here's where it could go, here's what it looks like. And then we have some other projects that we want to create visibility around that we want to get off the ground.”
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork discussed football scheduling, sponsorship patches, plans for a renovation of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and other hot topics in the rest of our Q&A: https://t.co/hh1t7t9zkO pic.twitter.com/CbdWphYNE1
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) February 24, 2026
For now, Bjork hasn’t shared how much Ohio State has raised for the renovation. However, he estimates it will cost the Buckeyes around $100 million to complete the project.
The goal, Bjork said, is to create a more efficient building within the current footprint.
“What we're looking at is basically you would renovate all the existing spaces inside the current footprint,” Bjork said. “From all the offices and film breakout rooms, to the locker room, to the training room. We would move the equipment room to the back of the building, so it would actually have a loading dock. Right now, it's in the center of the building, so when you have deliveries, you're going down hallways and you might have a meeting going on. Just creating more of an efficient building inside the footprint. And then there'd be new spaces built, new weight room, new offices for the coaches, and really kind of a new entrance, a new lobby. But the rest of the building would be basically gut-renovated.
“There's good bones in there, there's good space, we just need to organize it better, expand it, modernize it, and it'll be the best building in the country. Now buildings are going to be built on efficiency. How does a player get from this point to that point in a quick amount of time? How do they train? How do they recover? How are they taught the game? Film rooms. Right now, we can't fit the entire organization in the team meeting room. People are literally standing in the hallway. Things like that are just not functional in this modern era.”
Ohio State has invested heavily in keeping up with the changing economics of college athletics. Bjork knows the next step is to ensure the team’s facilities meet the same standard. In a sport where marginal gains matter, efficiency, functionality and modernization aren’t luxuries — they’re necessities. By maintaining a top-tier building, the Buckeyes stay at the forefront of the sport.
“HE IS EXCELLENT.” Joel Klatt ranked his top 10 college football coaches this week, and Ryan Day came in at No. 2, trailing only Indiana’s Curt Cignetti.
Day ranked ahead of Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman in the top five. Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham, BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Miami’s Mario Cristobal and LSU’s Lane Kiffin rounded out Klatt’s top 10.
Klatt had no reservations about naming Day the second-best coach in the sport.
“Ohio State is an absolute pressure cooker. Day has the Buckeyes at the top every single year,” Klatt said. “There is not a coach that I deal with more in college football than Ryan Day. This guy is excellent. My conversations with Ryan Day about football, about running the program, about his philosophy, how he goes about recruiting, how he goes about talent evaluation, how he goes about game planning, hiring assistants, evaluating losses — all of those things. I learn so much when I talk with Ryan Day. He is excellent, absolutely excellent.”
Klatt noted that Day, who had no prior head coaching experience before Ohio State promoted him entering the 2019 season, is 82-12 in six years as the leader of the Buckeyes. Four of those victories came in the 2024 College Football Playoff as Ohio State beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame en route to the program’s ninth national title.
“Ohio State is the most consistent program in college football, full stop, through the eras. And we are seeing one of the great eras of Ohio State,” Klatt said. “There is not a more consistent college program in America, and yet, we are watching it at its zenith. Like, this is Ohio State at its peak, and a lot of that is because of Ryan Day.”
Klatt said Ohio State was “insanely good” under Urban Meyer, but it’s become “a little better” under Day. (Klatt joked that Meyer will undoubtedly text him about that claim, which I could totally see happening.)
“When you really look at the way that they have recruited, the way that they have been ranked in the polls, I know it’s very consistent, but boy, this is an era of Ohio State football that is up there with any of the eras from any program in the country,” Klatt said.
Hard to disagree with that take.
“LARRY IS A GREAT COACH.” During an interview at the NFL Combine, former Ohio State defensive coordinator and current Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley praised longtime Buckeyes assistant Larry Johnson.
“My one year with Larry, he’s just a really good technical coach, really demanding of his players, builds great relationships, and he’s a great evaluator,” Hafley told cleveland.com’s Stefan Krajisnik. “He’s recruited some really, really good talent. Even when I was there, there were some great players — and there will continue to be. And Ryan (Day) does such a great job with the evaluation process and building those guys from the ground up. But Larry is a great coach.”
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley spoke highly of Ohio State DL coach Larry Johnson today at the NFL Combine:
— Stefan Krajisnik (@skrajisnik3) February 24, 2026
Really demanding with his players. Builds great relationships. Hes a great evaluator. pic.twitter.com/ADGYdymiwW
Johnson has coached Ohio State’s defensive linemen since 2014. The two-time national champion assistant has developed a ton of Buckeyes into NFL-caliber players, including Joey Bosa, Tyquan Lewis, Dre’Mont Jones, Nick Bosa, Chase Young, Tommy Togiai, Zach Harrison, Tyleik Williams, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.
And that’s, I don’t know, half the list?
Johnson is great, like Hafley said.
There’s no doubt about it.
ALL HAIL THE RUSHMEN. One of Larry Johnson’s biggest recruiting wins was retaining Kenyatta Jackson Jr. for the 2026 season. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound defensive end considered entering the NFL draft after his redshirt junior year in 2025 but opted to return, ready to lead Johnson’s defensive line room this fall.
This week, ESPN’s Max Olson named Jackson as the “key played retained” for Ohio State this offseason, citing Jackson’s proven production in a room that also featured Kayden McDonald and Caden Curry.
The 6-foot-6, 265-pound pass rusher bypassed the draft to return as a fifth-year senior and prove he can keep developing into one of the Big Ten's best. Jackson moved into the starting lineup in 2025 and produced 32 pressures, 11 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and two pass breakups for the Buckeyes. His return was a much-needed win for this defensive front with Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald moving on to the NFL.
I expect Jackson to improve upon those pressures, tackles for loss and sacks this season — that is, if opposing offensive linemen don’t put him in a chokehold every time he rushes the quarterback.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Pain In My Heart" - Otis Redding.
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