Skull Session: An Ohio State Fan Wants Ross Bjork to Experience a Football Game from the Bleachers, Archie Griffin is the 2026 Agonis Club of Columbus Person of the Year

By Chase Brown on May 18, 2026 at 4:55 am
Ross Bjork
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Go Cavs.

Have a good Monday.

 A SUNDAY BOOM?! Sundays are supposed to be for rest. Then again, there are exceptions — like the Buckeyes landing a commitment from four-star defensive end Wyatt Smith, a product of the same high school that produced Joey and Nick Bosa. That’s the kind of boom that wakes up the entire state.

I’ve watched the Hoop Mixtape.

I’ve seen enough.

Give him No. 97 and let him get to work.

 UNDERCOVER BOSS: OHIO STATE AD. One of my favorite pastimes is reading The Columbus Dispatch’s Letters to the Editor. Sometimes they’re good for a laugh; sometimes they’re good for reflection. This week brought both, but the one that stood out came from Powell’s Benny Wolfinger, an Ohio State season-ticket holder who insists Ross Bjork is out of touch.

“My wife and I are longtime OSU football season-ticket holders, and after receiving the survey email from OSU, reading Rob Oller’s comments regarding the stadium restrooms and, finally, your published letters, I have a few comments,” Wolfinger wrote. “Rather than having our athletic director and his entourage review the consolidated survey responses from ticket holders and view the recommendations of potential actions to take, why don’t they personally experience what we season-ticket holders do? This coming season, I suggest they divide up and sit individually in the seats we common folks sit in (no premium seating or seats between the 20-yard lines) and experience what it’s like to stand up to let other ticket holders pass by for their seats, standing in line for concessions and the time they had to wait to use the restrooms.”

Wolfinger shared an example to drive his point home.

“At a game last year, I left my seat with three minutes left in the first half to use the restroom and get my wife and me some snacks and bottled water. The lines were so long that I returned to our seats halfway through the third quarter. My wife attempted to contact me, but the weak Wi-Fi did not allow her messages to go through,” he wrote. “I believe an experience such as this would provide the AD and his staff more valuable feedback than a filtered survey.”

I love it.

Ohio State could even turn it into a #content opportunity — make it an episode of Undercover Boss.

Come on, Ross! Spend a game in the fans’ shoes!

 MAN OF THE YEAR. On Aug. 19, the Agonis Club of Columbus will recognize Archie Griffin as its 2026 Person of the Year. The club had to settle for “Year” because there’s no award for “Decade,” “Half-Century,” or “Century.”

Jokes aside, it’s a fitting honor for college football’s only two-time Heisman Trophy winner.

On May 9, the 11W staff collaborated on an article chronicling Griffin’s seven NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as his decision to remain visible in Columbus for decades through Ohio State, charity work and public appearances. Through all of it, Griffin has embodied class since his record-setting career at Ohio State, and I’m glad to see him continue to receive the recognition he deserves.

Truthfully, it took Ohio State, Columbus and the state of Ohio too long to celebrate his greatness, but the recent tributes — the 50-year helmet stickers, dotting the “i,” ringing the Victory Bell and now Person of the Year honors — have been a welcome correction.

 “FOOTBALL COME AND GO.” There’s only one Archie Griffin, and there’s only one Jeremiah Smith.

Like Griffin, Smith has a good head on his broad shoulders. He offers glimpses into what motivates him from time to time, including this X post from Saturday afternoon:

This post — which Ryan Day shared later that evening — is another sign of Smith’s growing maturity. If anyone in college football had the “right” to act like a diva, it would be the sport’s best wide receiver. Instead, Smith remains the same driven, humble person he has been since arriving in Columbus as the No. 1 overall prospect out of South Florida. That’s special.

 THE BUCKS ARE HOT. Over the weekend, Ohio State baseball swept Michigan in Ann Arbor for the first time since 1999. The Buckeyes also earned the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

This outcome warrants the following video (which regular Skull Session readers will anticipate before scrolling):

The Bucks are hot.

You don’t like it when the Bucks are hot.

They don’t like it.

I love it.

Make some noise this week, Buckeyes!

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Rein Me In" - Sam Fender, Olivia Dean.

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