Welcome to the Skull Session.
This is aura:
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 19, 2026
Have a good Tuesday.
“IT’S DEFINITELY DIFFERENT.” Will Howard is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB1 — for now.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday that the Steelers have not received word from Aaron Rodgers about his potential return in 2026, and “there is no expectation of a final decision prior to the NFL Draft.” That leaves Howard as the team’s starting quarterback entering minicamp.
The #Steelers have not received word from Aaron Rodgers on his future and there is no expectation of a final decision prior to the NFL Draft, per me and @TomPelissero.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 20, 2026
When minicamp begins today under new coach Mike McCarthy, Will Howard will be QB1. pic.twitter.com/niphLVfT3w
Rapoport’s report comes at an opportune time, as I was already planning to write about the former Ohio State quarterback and 2024 national champion in this Skull Session.
Howard recently told The Athletic’s David Ubben he made more money during his lone season at Ohio State than he did as a rookie in the NFL. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard said the same about his year at Notre Dame.
“I’m definitely making less with the Colts,” Leonard said. “And you see the numbers flying around college football. The money’s doubled since I’ve been there.”
Leonard declined to say how much he was making in his final season at Notre Dame but said reported numbers of $1.5 million were “overshooting it a little bit.” He said he made more than 10 times at Notre Dame what he was making the previous year at Duke.
Howard, too, said he made less as an NFL rookie than he did leading Ohio State to the national title as a transfer from Kansas State in 2024.
“It’s weird,” he said. “It’s definitely different.”
Leonard and Howard also pointed out a key difference between college football and the NFL when it comes to compensation.
“In college, the money is way more guaranteed,” Leonard said. “Only like $200,000 of my contract is guaranteed. You have to make the team every year for four years straight to earn it all.”
To be clear, Howard and Leonard aren’t complaining.
“You’re still in the top .0001 percent for people my age,” he said.
Later in the article, Howard detailed his decision to transfer from Kansas State to Ohio State. In his fourth season with the Wildcats, he learned his successor, Avery Johnson, would make more money than he did despite Howard being the team’s starter. That realization ultimately pushed the Pennsylvania native to seek a new opportunity for his final college season.
“I was a naive kid. I didn’t know. The nature of myself, I didn’t want anything or need money. I said I was good,” Howard said. “There were a lot of politics the last year. There were games I was splitting time with him for no reason that I knew other than there was money going to him that wasn’t going to me.”
Howard said he never signed a deal with Kansas State’s collective, though he did secure a few smaller deals through community businesses.
“Everything I did was on my own. They kind of took advantage of me and got me for cheap, so I decided to go somewhere else and make a little money,” Howard said. “It’s different when you go to a school, and you’re the guy getting money. It’s amazing how different you’re treated. It was the best decision I ever made.”
Howard’s decision paid off in both the short and long term.
In the short term, his deal with Ohio State included an apartment, a car (he chose a Ford Bronco) and seven-figure compensation. In the long term, he’s an Ohio State football legend who will probably never have to pay for a meal in Columbus again.
Now, the question is whether that success carries over to Pittsburgh. If Howard takes advantage of his opportunities, it won’t be long before his NFL contract makes his NIL deal look like chump change.
A RINGING ENDORSEMENT. A Basketball Hall of Famer attended Ohio State’s spring game on Saturday.
Yes, six-time NBA champion and seven-time All-NBA honoree Scottie Pippen was in the Horseshoe this past weekend with his son, Justin, who committed to head coach Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes earlier this month.
10TV’s Adam King interviewed Pippen to discuss the visit and share his excitement about Justin playing for Ohio State.
"We wanted to come to a team that is ready to compete for a national championship... the comfort of being around Diebler"
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) April 19, 2026
Scottie Pippen loved the atmosphere at the Shoe. He said he's looking forward to his son being a part of the Buckeye family, and what Diebler is building. pic.twitter.com/vxW8I75Ib2
“It’s great. It’s a great atmosphere here. It’s a great visit for us,” Pippen said. “I’m looking forward to seeing my son become a part of the Buckeye family.”
Pippen said “a lot of things” drew him and Justin to Ohio State, including the program’s current trajectory and the family’s relationship with Diebler.
“I think we wanted to come into a team that’s ready to compete for a national championship,” Pippen said. “The comfort of being around Coach Diebler. He recruited my son Scottie out of high school and never got a chance to coach him. He told me before he recruited Justin that he would like to coach a Pippen, so I have confidence and a belief in what he’s doing here, and I’m giving him my son and looking forward to some great things.”
That’s quite the endorsement.
Diebler is 46-31 (.597) in roughly two seasons as Ohio State’s head coach and led the Buckeyes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in four years this past March. He’ll look to build on that success in 2026-27, but he’ll need to assemble a competitive roster through the transfer portal.
He’s off to a strong start with Pippen, who averaged 14.2 points, 4.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game at Cal this past season. Diebler has also added former Kentucky forward Andrija Jelavić and former Duquesne guard Jimmie Williams, and the Buckeyes have been connected to other prospects, including guards Jalen Reece (LSU) and Abdi Bashir Jr. (Kansas State).
“THIS IS LEGACY.” In another section about a father and son, I have to share this video of Lorenzo Styles Sr. speaking about Lorenzo Jr. and Sonny ahead of the NFL draft.
The Styles brothers are ready to carry on their family legacy
— NFL (@NFL) April 19, 2026
2026 NFL Draft April 23-25 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/a9mejrCsVJ
“Football has given me everything that matters: resilience, discipline, relentless effort when nobody’s watching. Over time, the game gave me something more: perspective,” Lorenzo Sr. said. “Because my greatest pride was never going to be what I accomplished. It’s what I get to witness now: my sons.
“Sonny arrived (at Ohio State) at 17. Skipped his senior year. Stepped into college football early. No easing in, no waiting his turn. When his moment came on the biggest stage, he didn’t just compete — he belonged. From there, he grew into more. A leader.
“Lorenzo made his impact in a variety of ways. At Notre Dame, he caught passes on offense, being dynamic with the ball in his hands. And at Ohio State, he locked in on defense, bringing speed, range and toughness. Game-changing moments — and when the moment opened, he hit it.
“Two different paths, but the same foundation. When the lights came on at the NFL combine, what people saw were years of hard work on display. Sonny: size, speed, power. Lorenzo: 4.27, elite speed, undeniable. The discipline, the consistency, the early mornings, the late nights. They didn’t just follow it — they embraced it. And now, seeing the NFL draft become the moment to accomplish their dreams? This is legacy.”
That is so dang cool.
The Styles family is one of a kind.
I look forward to seeing Sonny and Lorenzo’s lives change forever this week!
ANOTHER ONE COMING. Ohio State’s wide receiver pipeline will continue Thursday with Carnell Tate.
Last week, ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill detailed Tate’s rise from Chicago to Columbus and, soon, to the NFL. His journey has been shaped by both elite production and unimaginable adversity.
The Buckeyes have sent a parade of first-round receivers to the NFL since 2022, and Tate appears poised to follow that trend when the draft begins this week. While his 4.53 40 time at the NFL combine drew some outside criticism, those around him know his game will translate to the next level.
“He’s actually brilliant,” Will Howard told Merrill. “Carnell is kind of a little bit of a Swiss Army knife. He plays bigger than he is. He’s strong as hell, and he’s really sneaky fast… He is a hell of a blocking receiver, and he’s super unselfish.”
That combination of intelligence, toughness and versatility is exactly why Tate is projected to be one of the top receivers off the board — and why his impact at Ohio State went far beyond the box score.
Still, the story behind Tate is what truly sets him apart.
Before he ever caught a pass for the Buckeyes, Tate faced unimaginable adversity. In July 2023, just months after arriving in Columbus, his mother was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago. Despite that, Tate never wavered.
"The whole time I was like, 'Man, are you good?'" Brian Hartline told ESPN. "He wasn't, you know, he just never let it affect him and what he does and the people around him. And he just had a very pro approach to it. But the receiver room was heavy around him. I was as heavy as I could be around him, but I just ... That still to this day has not really left me, to be honest.”
109 seconds of Carnell Tate winning downfield pic.twitter.com/atVWDcMbYN
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) March 11, 2026
That “pro” mindset carried over to the field. Tate played in every game as a freshman, then blossomed into a key contributor on Ohio State’s national championship team. As a junior, he hauled in 875 yards and nine touchdowns — with zero drops — while finishing among the nation’s leaders in explosive plays.
And even as his star rose, Tate never lost sight of what mattered most.
Last season, he mentored a young Columbus boy who had also lost his mother, offering advice rooted in his own experience.
“I think about her every day,” Tate said he would tell the boy. “There’s not going to be a day where you don’t think about her… And it’s OK to accept those feelings … You're younger than I was, obviously, so the emotions are definitely different. But just let it out, bro. You've got a lot of people in your family that's going through the same thing, and you're all going to depend on each other."
That perspective — shaped by both success and heartbreak — is what NFL teams are really buying.
Tate has always let his play do most of the talking. But when asked at the combine to describe himself, he didn’t hesitate:
“If you want a game-changer,” he said, “you’ve got one right here.”
Another Ohio State wide receiver is headed to the league.
This one just happens to come with a story that’s impossible to ignore.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Beast of Burden" - The Rolling Stones.
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