Skull Session: Caleb Downs is a Buckeye Through and Through, Freshman Safety Kaden Gebhardt is a Dude and a German Named Freddy Takes Over the Internet

By Chase Brown on June 11, 2026 at 4:55 am
Caleb Downs
Samantha Madar / Columbus Dispatch
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Behold, Buckeye Stripes.

Have a good Thursday.

 “I’M A BUCKEYE.” The transfer portal has created an interesting question for college athletes: once you reach the NFL or graduate (or both), which school do you actually call your own?

Two of the clearest examples from Ohio State are Joe Burrow and Jameson Williams.

Burrow spent three seasons with the Buckeyes from 2015-17 before transferring to LSU for his final two years. There, he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Tigers to a national championship in 2019. Burrow has said he went to school at Ohio State, but played football at LSU.

Williams, meanwhile, played two seasons at Ohio State from 2019-20 before transferring to Alabama in 2021. He broke out with 79 catches for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns in his lone season with the Crimson Tide, earning first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American honors. Williams later said on an Instagram Live that Ohio State doesn’t claim him, so “I don’t claim them.”

This week, Caleb Downs was asked whether he claims Alabama and/or Ohio State in an appearance on the St. Brown Podcast with NFL wide receivers Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown.

The conversation started when Amon-Ra asked Downs why he transferred from Alabama to Ohio State before the 2024 season.

“I went there for Coach (Nick) Saban, so it was really like when he retired, I don’t necessarily know why I came here because at the end of the day I wanted to go there to learn from him,” Downs said. “It pretty much just turned back to high school recruiting, and then Ohio State was my second school.”

Equanimeous wanted to know which school he claims as his No. 1.

“I’m a Buckeye,” Downs answered. “I claim Coach Saban as my coach (along with Ryan Day), but I’m a Buckeye.”

I love the answer, but it should be obvious, no? Downs played two years at Ohio State compared to one at Alabama. He was also a two-time unanimous All-American and a national champion for the Buckeyes, so of course, he bleeds scarlet and gray. Still, I like how he claims Nick Saban as one of his coaches. I would too if a seven-time national champion considered me one of the best players he’s ever coached.

 ALL IN THE FAMILY. Jake Diebler hosted the Ohio State men’s basketball team at his home Tuesday to kick off the summer, going all out to set the tone for the offseason. From cornhole and giant Connect 4 to an inflatable arcade basketball game, the head coach pulled out all the stops to ensure his players, coaches, and staff had a great time.

These are the kinds of nights that go a long way in building culture within a program. They’re also the kind of nights that make me miss being part of a team!

 DUDES OF THE WEEK. Ohio State’s late push to flip three-star defensive back Kaden Gebhardt from Clemson is already looking like a smart move.

Gebhardt joined fifth-year offensive lineman Carson Hinzman and second-year linebacker Tarvos Alford as Ohio State’s Dudes of the Week to open June workouts. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety from Lewis Center looked absolutely yoked in a photo the Buckeyes shared on social media Wednesday.

A high school teammate of four-star linebacker CJ Sanna, Gebhardt may have been the better player at Olentangy High School. He was certainly the more productive one, recording 418 tackles, 11 interceptions, 17 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery across four seasons with the Braves.

Gebhardt earned All-OCC honors in each of his four years at Olentangy and was named OCC Defensive Player of the Year as both a junior and senior.

If Gebhardt continues stacking Dude of the Week honors in the weight room this offseason and carries some of that same production to Columbus, Ohio State may have found a diamond in the rough in its 2026 recruiting class.

 COMING TO AMERICA. The internet has fallen in love with a German soccer fan discovering what the United States has to offer ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.

I know this isn’t Ohio State news, but he’s become a bit of a sports phenomenon — and I think it’s red, white, and blue enough to be worth sharing here. Honestly, it might be the best sports content we get all summer as we wait for college football to return this fall.

The fan’s name is Freddy. He’s a man from Bavaria who loves soccer, and last week he told his social media followers he was heading to the U.S. for the World Cup. Since then, he’s been documenting the trip, taking in some of America’s most iconic stops: Buc-ee’s, Chili’s, Waffle House, the Smoky Mountains, and the Peach State.

Here are some of Freddy’s best posts from the week:

I hope he has the absolute best time in America.

If he’s here to follow Deutschland during the tournament, he’ll also be heading through Houston, Toronto, and New York City (or technically East Rutherford, New Jersey). Whether he is or isn’t, I can’t wait to see where he stops next. A foreigner experiencing the Land of the Free is proving to be must-watch content.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Higher Love" - Steve Winwood.

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