Welcome to the Skull Session.
Less than one month until Ohio State returns to the practice field:
Training Camp is less than a month away Buckeye Nation, secure your spot today
— Ohio State Buckeyes (@OhioStAthletics) July 9, 2026
️ August 6 - August 8
⏰ 9 am - 12 pm
Woody Hayes Athletic Center
️ https://t.co/vjnkaxJRYN@OhioStateFB | @MyBobs | @safelite pic.twitter.com/nHWYdUxXCY
Have a good Friday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S EIGHTH (?!) BEST COACH? ESPN's college football writers ranked the top coaches in college football this week, and the top three looked familiar: Indiana's Curt Cignetti at No. 1, Georgia's Kirby Smart at No. 2 and Ohio State's Ryan Day at No. 3.
The Worldwide Leader added some spice to an otherwise predictable top three, however. ESPN's de facto Ohio State beat reporter, Jake Trotter, ranked Day No. 1. Bill Connelly ranked him... No. 8?!
You were the only voter to have Day at No. 1. Everyone else went with Cignetti or Smart. What was your rationale?
"Nobody wins more. Day owns the best winning percentage of any active coach while operating under the game's most demanding expectations. Two seasons ago, he delivered Ohio State's first national championship in a decade, leading the Buckeyes on a dominant playoff run. Last November, he finally cleared the one obstacle critics held against him, beating Michigan 27-9 in Ann Arbor. Every preseason, Ohio State is deservedly in the national title conversation. Every spring, the Buckeyes send a wave of talent to the NFL. When combining elite results, championship success, player development and the pressure that comes with the Ohio State job, Day is doing it better than anyone else." — Trotter
You had Day ranked No. 8. No one else had him lower than No. 4. What was your reasoning?
"Honestly, it's just really hard to evaluate the performance of a successful Ohio State head coach, as it has been the most consistently awesome program in the nation for decades. I may have dropped Day too far after last season, but I just didn't think he stuck the landing at all in 2025. When it was time to help that offense shift into gear late and ramp up the tempo and the risk profile against elite opponents, Day just couldn't do it. I'm not an Ohio State fan, but I was yelling at the TV during the Miami CFP game because the Buckeyes just refused to pick up the pace in the second half when they were down multiple scores. They weren't up for the task late in the season, and it cost them. Eighth is probably too low, but I guess it could be considered a challenge for 2026." — Connelly
I thought Ohio State's 2024 national championship had put to rest the debate over whether Ryan Day is a great coach or whether Ohio State is just a great program. Apparently not.
Connelly even admits at the end of his explanation that eighth "is probably too low." I'd drop the probably. It is too low.
Head Coach Ryan Day has been named to the 2026 @thedoddtrophy Preseason Watch List. pic.twitter.com/1e3BiIv2Vt
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 9, 2026
Day is one of only four active head coaches with a College Football Playoff national championship, alongside Cignetti, Smart and Clemson's Dabo Swinney, and he'll enter 2026 as one of the favorites to win another.
I like Connelly, and I respect his work, but this is analysis paralysis. Sometimes the answer is the obvious one. Day is one of the best coaches in college football. Ranking him No. 8 ignores too much evidence to the contrary.
THAT’S A LOT OF DEALS. There are still plenty of name, image and likeness issues to sort out in college athletics, but a recent report from the College Sports Commission provided some encouraging news: The CSC’s clearinghouse has rejected nearly $90 million worth of NIL deals since launching one year ago.
The clearinghouse can reject deals for three reasons. First, the deal does not serve a valid business purpose as defined by the House settlement. Second, the compensation is not at a rate and on terms commensurate with similarly situated student-athletes. And third, the deal does not include the direct activation of a student-athlete’s NIL.
In January, the CSC revealed “serious concerns” about some of the NIL deals submitted through NIL Go, the platform operated by Deloitte that reviews any NIL agreement worth more than $600.
At the six-month mark of NIL Go’s existence, the CSC had rejected $15 million in deals. That means the clearinghouse has since rejected nearly $75 million more in NIL proposals.
Of course, the NIL landscape remains complicated. In recent months, schools have sought to compensate athletes through revenue-sharing agreements — which fall outside the CSC’s jurisdiction — as well as through separate NIL opportunities. Ohio State and other major programs have reorganized their athletic departments or created new entities to facilitate school-related NIL deals.
But no matter how complicated the NIL market remains, we are starting to see guardrails emerge in what has been the Wild, Wild West of college athletics, and I will gladly celebrate it.
One example of the CSC's new authority came in May, when it won an arbitration case after denying millions of dollars in NIL deals that 18 Nebraska football players had arranged with Playfly Sports, a sponsorship and marketing firm that works with schools and athletes across the country.
“This process shows the system is working as intended: a decision we made was challenged and a neutral arbitrator assessed the facts to inform a final decision,” CSC CEO Bryan Seeley said after the arbitrator’s ruling.
When the West gets a sheriff, the frontier gets a little less Wild.
MY FAVORITE OFFSEASON TRADITION. Former Eleven Warriors reporter James Grega Jr. has transformed Ohio State’s club football team into a perennial powerhouse, and one of my favorite offseason traditions is watching one of his many talented players earn a call-up to the varsity roster.
In 2026, defensive back Jackson Gula became the latest club football standout to make the jump, joining Zach Hayes, Glorien Gough and Ian Gesce as former club players currently on Ohio State’s varsity roster. He is the sixth member of the program to climb the ranks, joining those three Buckeyes as well as Chris Booker and De’Shawn White.
NEWS: Jackson Gula has been called up to play for @OhioStateFB.
— Ohio State Club Football (@ClubFootballOSU) July 7, 2026
Gula joins Zach Hayes, Glorien Gough and Ian Gecse as former Club Football players that will now be teammates in 2026.
Gula posted 29 tackles, 8 PBUs and 3 INTs last season and was named a Second Team NCFA AA. pic.twitter.com/1mh3AK23Zs
Gula made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2025. Despite appearing in just six games, he recorded 29 tackles, eight pass breakups and three interceptions en route to earning second-team NCFA All-American honors. His interception in the fourth quarter of the 2025 NCFA National Championship Game sealed the deal as Ohio State defeated Coppin State, 28-8, to win its second consecutive title and fourth championship in six years.
Before arriving at Ohio State, Gula was a standout at Streetsboro High School in Northeast Ohio, where he totaled more than 400 career tackles, 12 interceptions and four forced fumbles while earning three All-Ohio selections.
I look forward to seeing him in the Big Leagues!
THE HAPPIEST OF HOURS. Eleven Warriors has another big announcement. On July 16, 12th Warriors will have the chance to go behind the scenes with an Ohio State legend as we continue our 12th Warrior Happy Hour, an exclusive series where members of our perks program get direct access to Buckeye greats in a live Q&A.
Following Andy Katzenmoyer, J.K. Dobbins, Maurice Clarett, Michael Jenkins and Jim Lachey, Jake Ballard headlines our fifth Happy Hour. The Ohio State tight end — and, later, a Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants — will join us virtually at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.
During the relaxed, interactive experience, 12th Warriors will hear untold stories, ask questions and connect with Ohio State history like never before. It’s our way of saying thank you for backing independent coverage, representing 11W and being like the great state of Ohio — the Heart of It All.
So, 12th Warriors, select a drink of choice, log on and let’s make some memories. We’ll share further details in the Premium Lounge.
Not a 12th Warrior?
It’s a great time to join.
For $85 a year (just 23 cents a day), you can join a perks program designed to flip the paywall system, keeping our coverage free for all, by paying it forward. Membership perks include admission to our 12th Warrior Happy Hours, a $40 voucher to Eleven Warriors Dry Goods, access to the Premium Lounge and more.
Want to chat with Ballard, help the site and score other perks?
Become a 12th Warrior now!
SONG OF THE DAY. "Give It Away" - Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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