Skull Session: Jaylen McClain Names Three Under-the-Radar Buckeyes Entering 2026, Urban Meyer Reflects on the Cost of Ohio State's 2016 Loss to Penn State

By Chase Brown on July 16, 2026 at 4:55 am
Urban Meyer and James Franklin
James Lang – Imagn Images
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Welcome to the Skull Session.

Earl Little Jr., Beau Atkinson and Payton Pierce are the Dudes of the Week.

Have a good Thursday.

 “HE’S AN ANIMAL.” Before Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain heads to Big Ten Media Days on July 29, he sat down with 10TV's Austin Ward and Adam King to discuss how the Buckeyes are preparing for another championship run in 2026.

Near the end of the conversation, King asked McClain to share a few Buckeyes flying under the radar entering preseason camp. McClain didn't hesitate to name Wisconsin transfer linebacker Christian Alliegro.

“Christian, the linebacker,” he said. “He’s gonna be a dog for us. I’ve seen him do some special things in the spring and in the summer. You’ll see him do some special things.”

McClain also made sure to show some love to BIA, naming Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. and four-star freshman Jay Timmons as defensive backs Ohio State fans should keep an eye on this fall.

“Obviously, I got my safeties. I got Earl. He’s a fast football player. I like his game a lot, and I learn from him as well,” McClain said. “And we’ll go with a young guy, Jay Timmons, he’s gonna be a baller.”

Returning to Alliegro, who recorded 53 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks in 10 games at Wisconsin last season, McClain praised the veteran's instincts and physicality, qualities that have already stood out to Ohio State's coaches and teammates.

“He’s an animal,” McClain said. “He just plays really fast and aggressive. You could tell that at his old school, he was one of the best players on the field, too. Being able to come here and show me — well, not just me, but the coaching staff and the other players as well — he’s going to be able to do the same things? It means a lot.”

Alliegro has intrigued me ever since I learned he broke his arm against Ohio State and kept playing. A 6-foot-4, 241-pound linebacker with enough adrenaline and toughness to shrug off a broken arm is a frightening sight. Pair him with Payton Pierce, who brings a similar edge in a slightly smaller frame, and the Buckeyes could once again boast one of the nation's best linebacker rooms in 2026.

Then again, with James Laurinaitis leading the room, would anyone expect anything less?

 SCARY TERRY’S BREAKOUT YEAR. It's important to distinguish under-the-radar players like Christian Alliegro and Earl Little Jr. from true breakout candidates. To me, a breakout candidate is someone who hasn't yet proven himself at a high level — a player like Jay Timmons, for example — not someone who already has All-Big Ten or All-ACC honors on his résumé.

You'd think the Worldwide Leader would use the same criteria when identifying breakout candidates.

Alas, it does not.

In an article naming breakout candidates for all 32 NFL teams earlier this month, ESPN's Ben Solak selected former Ohio State wide receiver Terry McLaurin for the Washington Commanders — the same Terry McLaurin who has caught 498 passes for 6,961 yards and 41 touchdowns, earned two Pro Bowl selections and a second-team All-Pro nod, and posted five consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons.

Can a receiver entering his seventh NFL season with that résumé really be considered a breakout candidate?

Solak thinks so.

"He's clearly very good, and everyone knows this. So how can McLaurin break out? By posting a career year. His first season with over 100 receptions," Solak wrote. "It's safely assumed, given his steady production, that McLaurin is an average No. 1 receiver. I think he can be much better than that."

McLaurin very well could put together the best season of his career, and I'd love to see him do it. But calling a proven veteran who turns 31 in September a breakout candidate still feels like a stretch.

 WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN. Urban Meyer believes one missed penalty changed the course of Ohio State's 2016 season.

In a clip from The Triple Option released this week, Meyer said an uncalled penalty on a late field goal attempt prevented the Buckeyes from tying Penn State — and ultimately cost them a Big Ten championship.

Holding a 21-17 lead with 4:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Ohio State lined up for a 45-yard field goal on 4th-and-7. Penn State blocked Tyler Durbin's kick, and Nittany Lions cornerback Grant Haley scooped up the live ball and returned it for a touchdown, turning Ohio State's three-point lead into a 24-21 deficit.

The Buckeyes had one final chance to respond, but Penn State's defense forced a 4th-and-23 from Ohio State's own 29-yard line, where the offense failed to convert.

“By rule, you can’t physically pull the field goal protector out of the way of the guy jumping through, and Penn State, the one win they got against us in 2016, they blocked the field goal,” Meyer said. “I turned it in, and I didn’t bitch a lot about it; my fault that we ran the field goal team on late. That cost us the Big Ten championship in ’16, and they later came back and said it could have been, and should have been, a penalty, if I remember right. That’s one that might have been — if they would have thrown that flag, obviously we win.”

Ohio State's loss to Penn State was its only regular-season defeat in 2016 and kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship Game. Penn State went on to beat Wisconsin 38-31 for the conference title, but the College Football Playoff selection committee still selected Ohio State over the Nittany Lions for the four-team playoff.

Penn State lost to USC in the Rose Bowl.

Ohio State lost to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

I wonder if those results would have been different if the referees had thrown a piece of yellow laundry 10 years ago at Beaver Stadium.

The world may never know.

 THE RIVALRY NEVER SLEEPS. Ohio and Michigan battle over everything — even who can have the most cases of explosive diarrhea.

The rivalry never sleeps.

And neither will you if you get cyclosporiasis.

Stay safe out there.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Breakdown" - Jack Johnson.

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