Welcome to the Skull Session.
Northwestern gave media members an inside look at the ongoing construction of its new football stadium on Tuesday, and former Ohio State/new Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was dressed for the occasion:
The latest at new Ryan Field, set to open Oct. 2 when Northwestern hosts Penn State. pic.twitter.com/49JSEZ8ord
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) July 21, 2026
Chip Kelly. Purple vest. Hard hat. Football guy. pic.twitter.com/34NcAEaSqn
— Sammy P (@spshoot) July 21, 2026
Have a great Wednesday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S FIFTH-BEST QB. After surveying roughly three dozen coaches, general managers, personnel directors, scouts and front office staffers from around college football, The Athletic’s Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. ranked every projected starting quarterback in the FBS from No. 1 to No. 138.
Ohio State’s Julian Sayin was one of eight quarterbacks who earned a spot in Tier 1, which The Athletic categorized by the following description:
The best of the best. They have a strong combination of proven production and elite traits and are among the Heisman Trophy frontrunners. Coaches want to build their teams around them.
Despite being the only returning Heisman finalist from last season and the reigning national leader in completion percentage, however, Sayin was only ranked as college football’s fifth-best quarterback behind Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Miami’s Darian Mensah.
Khan and Morales wrote that deciding where to rank Sayin was “one of the most polarizing debates,” as they received “a wide range of opinions as to whether Sayin is an elite quarterback or just a product of Ohio State’s system and the talent around him.”
“He’s just a game manager. Overrated,” a Big Ten general manager said. “Not a guy who can win them the title.” Meanwhile, an ACC front office staffer said, “I think people are criminally low on Sayin. I think Sayin is a top-two or -three quarterback, and anyone else who doesn’t have him there is wrong.”
Personally, I agree with the unnamed ACC staffer. Outside of Fernando Mendoza, no quarterback in all of college football was more efficient than Sayin last season – and that was as a first-year starter who had played zero meaningful snaps at the collegiate level before last year. He’s not as athletic as Chambliss and Moore, but no quarterback in college football is more consistently accurate, and the narrative that he’s merely a game manager overlooks how excellent he was throughout the regular season a year ago.
That said, if I’m Ryan Day, I’m showing him the quote from the Big Ten GM first. Sayin already has a chip on his shoulder because of how last season ended, and opinions like that should only fire him up more to lead Ohio State to a national championship, which would be the ultimate way to prove his doubters wrong.
DGG’S DECISION DAY. The most anticipated recruiting announcement of the summer will take place this evening when five-star running back David Gabriel Georges announces his commitment to either Ohio State or Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Gabriel Georges has been Ohio State’s clear-cut top target at running back in the 2027 class for more than a year, as the Buckeyes have focused nearly all of their recruiting efforts at the position for this cycle on landing the 2025 MaxPreps National High School Football Player of the Year. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, tonight’s announcement appears likely to be bad news for Ohio State, as several national recruiting insiders have made predictions over the last few days that Gabriel Georges will commit to Tennessee.
Commitment tomorrow at 5h30pm EST https://t.co/C8LotAZn6k@247Sports @TomLoy247 @BaylorSchoolFB @ErikKimrey @jay_agenor
— David Gabriel Georges (@DavidGG27) July 21, 2026
Assuming tonight’s announcement goes as expected, it will be the most disappointing loss of the 2027 recruiting cycle for Ohio State. There’s no denying that, as Carlos Locklyn made it no secret how badly he wanted DGG in his room and the Buckeyes don’t have a clear Plan B at the position after going all in on their top target.
That said, Ohio State shouldn’t be accused of not trying hard enough to win this recruitment. The Buckeyes have been as aggressive as they’ve ever been in any recruiting battle with their efforts to court Gabriel Georges, sending their entire offensive coaching staff to visit him at his high school this spring and reportedly offering him an NIL deal worth more than $1 million per year.
But there is a limit to just how far Ohio State will go in bidding for a high school prospect. According to On3’s Chris Low, Tennessee is offering Gabriel Georges a deal in the range of $2 million per year. The Volunteers can also promise Gabriel Georges the chance to compete for an immediate starting spot in 2027, which the Buckeyes can’t because Bo Jackson, Isaiah West and Legend Bey – who Ohio State landed after another highly publicized recruiting battle with Tennessee – will all be back at Ohio State next season, assuming no transfers.
Even without Gabriel Georges, Ohio State has one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, led by loaded classes along the defensive and offensive lines and another five-star wide receiver in Jamier Brown. That said, the Buckeyes will need to go back to the drawing board quickly and figure out how to fill the absence of a running back in their class if Tennessee is DGG’s pick tonight.
19 OF THE NATION’S TOP 1000. After 25 Ohio State players were selected in the last two NFL drafts, the Buckeyes have plenty of draft prospects on NFL scouts’ radars once again entering the 2026 season.
The Shriners Children’s East-West Bowl (formerly known as the East-West Shrine Bowl) released its annual 1,000-player preseason watch list on Tuesday, identifying the top 2027 NFL draft prospects it’s watching from all levels of college football. Nineteen draft-eligible players from Ohio State made the list.
1️⃣9️⃣ Buckeyes land on the 2027 @ShrinersBowl 1000 Watch List. pic.twitter.com/nt3LRRwmj9
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 21, 2026
On the offensive side of the ball, Sayin is joined on the watch list by wide receivers Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss and Devin McCuin, tight end Bennett Christian, and offensive linemen Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels.
They’re joined on the list by 10 defensive upperclassmen who are expected to play major roles for Ohio State this season: defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson, defensive tackles Eddrick Houston, James Smith and John Walker, linebacker Christian Alliegro, cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. and safeties Earl Little Jr., Jaylen McClain and Terry Moore.
While Jeremiah Smith is Ohio State’s only slam-dunk first-round pick for next year’s NFL draft, all 19 of those players have a legitimate shot at being NFL draft picks next spring, giving the Buckeyes a real chance at having double-digit draft selections for the third year in a row.
Ohio State is one of 10 schools with 19 or more players on the East-West Bowl 1000. Texas Tech leads the way with a whopping 27 players on the list – though one of them is Brendan Sorsby, who won’t actually play for the Red Raiders this year after he was ruled ineligible for gambling – followed by Indiana (22), Miami (22), LSU (21), Ole Miss (20), Texas (20), Texas A&M (20), Notre Dame (19), Ohio State (19) and Penn State (19).
SONG OF THE DAY. “Hells Bells” – AC/DC
HOPE YOU’RE STILL READING. The Angels fired ‘The Baseball Spy’ after he filmed Rockies coaches (wonder where he got that idea from) … Wetzel: Michigan could have run this investigation through AI instead … SEC ejects legendary Finebaum Show caller from media days … Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero among ESPN layoffs in latest round of cuts … Who are the glow-in-the-dark Cosmic Chili Peppers? Meet the baseball team coming to Columbus.
