Skull Session: Jake Diebler Sees Tremendous Potential in Five-Star Freshman LJ Smith, Jake Ballard Launches an App for Dads to Record Lasting Memories for Their Children

By Chase Brown on June 23, 2026 at 4:55 am
LJ Smith
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

There's nothing like a good BOOM.

Have a good Tuesday.

 IT’S NOT GONNA BE MAY. Dusty May is leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks, and the Wolverines are promoting assistant Mike Boynton Jr. to interim head coach.

Boynton brings seven seasons of head coaching experience at Oklahoma State, where he went 119-109 and reached one NCAA Tournament — a run fueled by No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham. Cunningham powered the Cowboys to the Big Dance, averaging 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 35.4 minutes per game.

In other words, Boynton’s most successful stretch came with a generational NBA talent carrying the load. Michigan doesn’t appear to have that type of player on the roster this season, though the Wolverines still have enough talent to remain competitive at a high level — assuming they can hold the roster together through the 15-day transfer window.

We’ll see what happens, but for now, Michigan’s rapid rise to becoming a college basketball dynasty seems to have stunted with May’s departure, and that’s something you love to see as an Ohio State fan.

 THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS. National writers think Dusty May left Michigan for the chance to coach No. 1 overall pick and NBA Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. This Ohio State writer thinks he ducked the Buckeyes' newest five-star freshman, LJ Smith.

One week after Smith reclassified to 2026 and enrolled at Ohio State, May bounced for the Dallas Mavericks.

Coincidence?

I think not!

After a practice open to Eleven Warriors and other Ohio State media outlets last week, Jake Diebler called Smith an impressive prospect and said he’s excited to see him compete this summer.

“He can really score the ball, and he can score it from multiple levels,” Diebler said. “His ability to create gravity on the court — where the defense has to honor him even if he’s a couple of feet behind the line — is a great thing for everybody else. I think one of the things that he hasn’t always shown at the level he’s capable of is his ability to playmake, too.

“He’s got good size for a guard. He sees the game well. And listen, he’s younger and inexperienced, but he’s talented. It’ll be a process, but it’s great having him here. There’s been a lot of work to get that done, and we’re excited to have him and excited to see his growth here starting really next week.”

Diebler was careful not to place firm expectations on Smith ahead of his first season, noting he should still be a high school senior in 2026-27. In general, Diebler prefers not to burden players with external projections, instead sharing his own expectations internally and allowing them to define and push their own ceilings.

He pointed to a player like Malachi Branham, who “impacted winning” early in his freshman season before evolving into Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a one-and-done prospect.

“Oftentimes I think if we set a certain — whether it’s minutes, points, whatever — then that can oftentimes cap maybe what a guy could grow into because they could get discouraged or frustrated,” Diebler said. “I want them to know we believe in them, both (Smith and five-star freshman Anthony Thompson). We believe in them. They’re both going to impact winning for us. And I’m excited to see how they play for us in November because we need them to play well with our schedule, but also who they are as a player in January is going to look different.”

Diebler said he loves Smith’s basketball IQ, his talent and his “skill set that will translate” to the college game. That’s as much as he’ll share about the 17-year-old at this moment.

“Beyond that, in my mind, there’s a baseline of impact that I’m expecting, and then leaving room for this ceiling that he’s ultimately going to push up. And so that’s my expectation,” Diebler said. “You guys might have other ones, but I’m expecting him to impact winning. From there, what that looks like, how much that is, time will tell. But I think there’s no question he wouldn’t be here if we didn’t feel like he was going to have an impact on this team.”

He's already had a tremendous impact in sending May to the NBA. Anything more from Smith this season will be gravy.

 SOMETHING RESEMBLING LEMONADE. Former Ohio State tight end Jake Ballard turned the sourest lemon life had to offer and turned it into something resembling lemonade.

In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch's Kelly Tucker last week, Ballard shared that he spent the first two months of his son Benny's life miles from home in Duke University Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Benny was born 15 weeks premature during a tropical storm while Ballard and his wife, Olivia, were vacationing in North Carolina in August 2024.

Nearly two years later, Ballard is thrilled to report that Benny is healthy and thriving. The experience changed his perspective on fatherhood and inspired him to think about the legacy he wanted to leave for his son.

While sitting with Benny in the NICU, Ballard began writing messages to him in a notebook. But notebooks can be lost or destroyed. Wanting a more permanent way to preserve those memories, Ballard turned to his childhood friend, Columbus software entrepreneur and fellow father Justin Leffew, for ideas.

Leffew didn't have a system himself, but he had a concept.

“He's like, ‘What if there was an app where you can record your advice and memories and any type of videos that you want to pass down to your kids?’” Ballard said. “'You can lock them until they're old enough for that advice, or milestones, or birthdays, and just make it easier for dads to pass on whatever they want to.’”

From that conversation, Ballard and Leffew created Hey Dad.

Hey Dad is a mobile app that allows fathers to record video and audio messages, share advice and preserve memories for their children. Dads can schedule messages to unlock at milestone moments such as birthdays, graduations and weddings, with the app safely storing them until the designated date arrives.

Ballard tries to record messages for Benny once or twice a week.

“I like doing it in the car,” Ballard said. “I drive a lot, so that's kind of where I'm collecting a lot of my thoughts. And sometimes I'll just take a video of Benny and upload that or talk through it while I'm recording.”

Soon, Ballard won't just be recording messages for Benny. He and Olivia recently announced they are expecting their second child, a daughter, in October.

Ballard is focused less on growth metrics and more on impact with Hey Dad. He hopes that when fathers who use the app eventually pass away, their children will still have pieces of them to revisit and cherish.

“It doesn’t matter what their relationship is now, it can always get better,” Ballard said. “And being intentional with the videos or your advice or the memories you’re leaving behind – your kids will need that at some point. They might not know it now, but they will.”

This is so cool!

 WHEELS UP, MR. RUDZINSKI. Last week, I shared that Ohio State walk-on defensive back Ryan Rudzinski, the son of former Buckeye linebacker Jerry Rudzinski, would ride in the backseat of an F-16 with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds during the 2026 Columbus Air Show.

Ohio State football shared photos of Rudzinski's experience on social media over the weekend. It looks like Ryan Rudzinski had a blast:

Rudzinski earned the opportunity to fly with the Thunderbirds through his involvement with the 2nd & 7 Foundation, which promotes reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need while encouraging young athletes in the community to pay it forward.

2nd & 7 was founded by three former Buckeyes: Ryan Miller, Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel. Their foundation's website offers ways to donate, volunteer and stay up to date on programming, including an upcoming three-day youth football camp at Hilliard Weaver Middle School from June 22-25. The camp emphasizes teaching football fundamentals in a positive, encouraging environment for children ages 7-14, while also featuring guest speakers from the community.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "In Too Deep" - Sum 41.

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