Welcome to the Skull Session.
How about another look at the Buckeye Stripes?
Football but make it art pic.twitter.com/p4m5lTuIiK
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 14, 2026
Everything about this rollout has been chef’s kiss.
Have a good Friday.
“IT’S TRADITION THERE.” Arvell Reese’s favorite Ohio State memory was one of his first.
In behind-the-scenes footage of Reese’s pre-draft interview with the New York Giants — the team that selected him No. 5 overall in the 2026 NFL draft — the franchise asked him to share the highlight of his college career.
“Losing my black stripe,” Reese answered. “It’s a tradition there. That’s when you get fully accepted into the team, like earn your way on the team.”
Before draft night, it starts with the combine interviews pic.twitter.com/jVA4Guuqpn
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 11, 2026
Reese told the Giants he arrived on campus in the summer after graduating from Glenville High School. His first practice with the Buckeyes was on Aug. 2. He lost his black stripe on Aug. 18.
“That wasn’t long,” Giants coach John [REDACTED] said. “What’d you do?”
“Just playing hard and fast,” Reese replied.
When I spoke with Reese at Ohio State’s pro day, he said that’s exactly how he wants to play at the next level.
“Being violent. Think violently,” Reese said. “You just got to do it. That’s just what will be on my mind. Just be physical. I think everything that’s happened at Ohio State has prepared me for this moment.”
Translation: Developed Here.
THIS HONEY BADGER CARES. Honey badgers usually don’t care — but this one does.
This week, former Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL All-Pro Tyrann Mathieu adamantly picked Caleb Downs to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year after his first season playing for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.
“My take is Caleb Downs,” Mathieu said on his In the Bayou podcast. “This dude’s got — that’s everyone’s dream. That was Patrick Peterson’s dream. I remember talking to Pat, and he’d be like, ‘Whoa, dawg, if I could just go play for Jerry, bro.’ Could you imagine the Honey Badger in Jerry World? You know what I’m saying? I mean, every game is primetime. Rarely are you playing at 12; all your kickoffs is at 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 (p.m.). Like, people watching you. So yeah, I think Caleb’s got a great shot to have 100 tackles, and to get three sacks and three interceptions. I think that’s sort of my expectations for him.”
Mathieu said Downs has the talent that Jones will love. He thinks the longtime Cowboys owner will quickly put the former Ohio State safety on a pedestal.
“Jerry is gonna roll out the red carpet for him. Jerry is gonna put him in a nice jersey number. Son of a b– is gonna have f– memorabilia, toys, socks. He gonna roll out the red carpet for him. He’s gonna market him the right way, I should say that. All he gotta do is f– show up, be himself and let Jerry do the work. But I think Caleb Downs, that’s my pick to be Defensive Rookie of the Year.”
Downs needs a nickname to match the Honey Badger’s aura. He was a Silver Bullet; now he’s a Cowboy. Maybe something that blends both. How about The Ranger? I don’t know how I feel about it, but I like it better than the Emerald City Route Artist!
USA! USA! USA! Incoming Ohio State freshman Anthony Thompson will have the opportunity to represent the United States at the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup tournament.
The No. 8 overall prospect in the 2026 class, Thompson is one of 35 players scheduled to participate in the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team training camp beginning May 21 in Colorado Springs. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward is one of 18 members of the 2026 class invited to attend the event.
B1G opponents make for big moments.
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) May 12, 2026
The Big Ten opponents for our 2026-2027 campaign #GoBucks | #FightToTheEnd pic.twitter.com/zwLkSs3jtX
This May marks the third time Thompson has participated in a Team USA camp. He also attended two junior national team minicamps in 2025, one in April and another in October.
When Thompson arrives in Columbus, he will be Ohio State’s highest-rated recruit since Jared Sullinger in 2010 and the program’s first five-star prospect since D’Angelo Russell in 2014. He is also the Buckeyes’ first McDonald’s All-American since Russell.
“IT’S BEEN A BLAST.” Generations of Buckeye fans have grown up hearing Paul Keels and Jim Lachey call Ohio State football games. During the latest 12th Warrior Happy Hour, I asked Lachey to reflect on some of the biggest moments he’s witnessed — and narrated — over the last 29 years as the program’s radio color commentator.
“My first year in ’97 was pretty cool. Just the first game against Wyoming, I’m like, ‘Wow, this is pretty fun.’ We ended up winning that game and won several games that year,” Lachey said.
Lachey skipped a couple of years — a couple of 12th Warriors thanked him for passing over 1998 — and returned for Ohio State’s national championship season in 2002.
“You get to 2002 and Coach Tressel was 7-5 his first year, and we’re kind of kidding with him, like, ‘Hey man, that’s probably not gonna be good enough here at Ohio State.’ Then the next year, he went 14-0 and won it all. But to see the intensity of that (2002 national title game) — Miami, a great team, 34 straight wins, several pro prospects who ended up being great pro football players on that team,” Lachey said. “To see the way our defense went out there and dominated — you know, Mike Doss making plays, Matt Wilhelm all over the field, Darrion Scott and Will Smith getting pressure on the quarterback.
“Maurice Clarett taking the ball from Sean Taylor after that interception was probably one of the greatest individual-effort plays that I’ve ever seen, where it’s going one way and, boom, a second later, we’ve got the ball back. You’re like, ‘Whoo, dodged a bullet there.’ And then double overtime, I mean, they get it 1st-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Are you kidding me? With all that talent and that big offensive line, it comes down to a fourth down.”
Lachey said he knew Ohio State had Miami beat before the Hurricanes snapped the ball.
“A lot of times I’m looking at offensive linemen’s stances, and I’m like, ‘There’s no way that guard will get to (Cie Grant) in a dual read. There’s no way.’ He is going to come off the corner,” Lachey said. “I’m up there screaming, ‘You’re going to get this!’ And if Cie had gotten (Ken Dorsey) the first time, there would have only been one scream, but they kept dodging him with Dorsey pulling out, and it ends up being incomplete.”
Lachey called it “incredible” to see Ohio State win another national championship that year. He tried hard to win one as a player but fell short. He thought the Buckeyes had the talent to win one in the ’90s but never quite lived up to expectations.
“It’s just a great feeling as a Buckeye to see the Buckeyes win it all — and the way they did that year,” he said.
Lachey said Ohio State’s 2014 title was also among his favorite memories.
“In 2014, you suffer a tough loss to Virginia Tech, like, ‘God, I can’t believe we lost that’ … and then to see how that team turned. You know, you lose (Braxton Miller), you lose J.T. (Barrett), and you go into the Big Ten championship with Cardale Jones,” he said. “But boom, waxes Wisconsin and gets a chance to play Alabama in New Orleans … and then dominates Oregon. It was pretty cool to get the second national championship.”
The 2024 title, too.
“After losing that final regular-season game against Michigan, they were playing Tennessee at home, and you see all the orange in the stadium, you’re thinking, ‘Oh, man, the Buckeye faithful has given up on us.’ And they come out, and before you know it, it’s 21-0 and that game’s over,” Lachey said. “And then you go to the Rose Bowl and play against Oregon, who we lost a close game to out there. And to see the domination of that game, up 34-0 in the second quarter, you’re like, ‘What? They’re unstoppable.’
“And then you get a chance to play Texas and then Notre Dame. It was kind of what it’s all about. To win those types of games. To see Jack (Sawyer) and the defense step up (in the Cotton Bowl) … and then Notre Dame, I mean dominating in that game after they had what seemed like about a nine- or 10-minute drive to start the game. Then Ohio State gets the ball back and has a nice lead during the first half. We kind of let them back in the ball game, and it ends up being close, but the next thing you know, it’s 3rd-and-11 and you see a great play down the sideline, and Jeremiah (Smith) hauls it in. And you end up kicking the field goal, you make the game a two-score game and get another national championship.”
Oh, and the wins over That Team Up North have been great, too.
“The Big Ten championships, beating Michigan — I’ve been involved in a lot of those games,” Lachey said, “but to see this team win three national championships and compete for three more … it’s been a great run. Other guys in the Big Ten that do this across the country always kind of get jealous of Paul (Keels) and me. We’ve gotten to call all these national championship games. That’s been abundant. We don’t take that for granted. It’s not easy to get there. There are some teams that never get there. We’ve had the opportunity to do it six times, so it’s been a blast.”
Those are some remarkable moments called by remarkable men in Keels and Lachey. They’ve been a duo for 29 years — three years longer than I’ve been alive — so I’ve never known another voice calling Ohio State football on the radio.
For nearly three decades, they’ve narrated some of the biggest moments in program history with passion, authenticity and an unmistakable love for the Buckeyes. I thank them for their 29 years of service to Ohio State football, and I look forward to the next 29.
NEW DUBCAST. The final Eleven Dubcast of the week — and of George Eisner's over 250 episodes hosting the show since 2023 — welcomes back Dan Hope to discuss Ryan Day wanting multi-year commitments from incoming Ohio State players and movie roles beginning to surface in NIL deals.
SONG OF THE DAY. "Out of the Blue" - The Figs.
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