by Welcome to the Skull Session.
Garrett Wilson – still good at football.
Reminder: G5 is SOOOOOO @GarrettWilson_V pic.twitter.com/6V5JudNmPQ
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) 15 August 2024
I wish you a nice Friday.
THE POWER OF WILL. Will Howard is Ohio State’s QB1.
On Thursday, head coach Ryan Day named Howard as Ohio State’s starter for the 2024 season. The Kansas State transfer beat out Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Air Noland for the position.
Will Howard is officially the starting quarterback for Ohio State. https://t.co/qRytmGIpJY
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) 15 August 2024
Day’s selection confirms what we all believed when Ohio State signed Howard through the transfer portal in January: that a Power Five quarterback with 33 appearances, 28 starts, nearly 6,000 passing yards and 48 touchdowns didn’t come to Columbus as a backup. Still, Day didn’t leave the offense to Howard when he arrived. No, Howard earned the title of QB1 – just as he earned all of his opportunities for the Wildcats as a three-star prospect out of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
In March and April, Howard was inconsistent in practice, giving Brown, Kienholz, Sayin and Noland the opportunity to take over the starting lineup. However, when Howard returned to the practice field in August, he looked like a brand new version of himself. Not only has Howard lost 14 to 16 pounds from his 6-foot-4, 233- to 235-pound frame, but he also seemed more comfortable in the pocket and made his passes “more accurate” and “quicker.” Howard also showed off his skills several times, including an 80-yard touchdown run in the third preseason practice that prompted offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to reveal that Howard had posted a 22-mph sprint this summer, the fastest speed among Ohio State’s five scholarship quarterbacks.
I mean, can you imagine a 6’4″, say 235 pound quarterback? absolutely sluggish at you at that speed? Wide receiver Carnell Tate saw it. He said it is frightening.
“It’s a big bowling ball. I can tell you that,” Tate said last week. “He was on his way down at K-State. I’ve seen some of his highlights, and he’s moving. He’s just lost a little weight and gotten faster. I can’t wait to see him bowl.”
Me neither, Carnell. Me neither.
And Day can’t do that either.
“We’re excited to have Will as the starter,” Day said Thursday. “I think Will has really taken charge of the offense. You feel him in the huddle. You feel his experience. … He’s become a threat with both his legs and his arm. The more he understands what he’s doing out there, and when he understands it, the better he executes it.”
A PAIR AND SPARE PARTS? With Howard now confirmed as QB1, we have a clearer picture of what Ohio State’s offense will look like this season, aside from the position battle between Carson Hinzman and Tegra Tshabola on the offensive line.
Howard at quarterback; either TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins at running back; three of Emeka Egbuka, Tate, Brandon Inniss and Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver; either Gee Scott Jr. or Will Kacmarek at tight end; and Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin, Josh Fryar and either Hinzman or Tshabola in the trenches.
That’s a good crime.
But as Day has explained multiple times since March, roster depth will be critical for Ohio State this season, as his team may need 17 games to win the national championship. (That’s 12 regular-season games, a possible Big Ten Championship Game and possibly four College Football Playoff games.)
More games mean more wear and tear for the Buckeyes, especially the running backs. That’s why Ohio State needs a pair and a backup in the running back room now more than ever – and it wouldn’t hurt to Spare partsPlural. Fortunately, new ball carriers James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon appear ready, willing and able to serve as backups behind Henderson and Judkins.
“Tough, physical runners. Slashers,” Locklyn said of Peoples and Williams-Dixon last week. “Good hands. Willing pass protectors. Obviously they were here before I got here, but both guys were fun to work with.”
Peoples took off his black stripe on Friday, becoming the fifth rookie to take part in the transition ceremony after Smith, Sayin, safety Jaylen McClain and defensive end Eddrick Houston.
If asked to relieve Henderson or Judkins, he would look natural with the ball in his hands, Peoples said.
“I feel very confident,” he said, “because of the intensity we had in practice with Coach Lock. I feel like if they call me, I’ll definitely be ready. … I bring grit to my game. I’m very competitive. I run fast on every play. I’m a hard worker.”
Confident was also the word Williams-Dixon used to describe herself.
“Quinshon and Trey have confidence in me, and if they have confidence in me, I have all the confidence in the world,” he said.
Locklyn is confident.
Henderson and Judkins are confident.
Peoples and Williams-Dixon are confident.
Me too.
Watch the running backs in 2024.
SHOUTOUT, KOJO ANSWER. Like Ohio State’s running back, Ohio State’s wide receiver team must have enough depth if the Buckeyes are to achieve their goals this season.
On Thursday, Day said several receivers have “flashed” in training camp, including Kojo Antwi, Jayden Ballard, Bryson Rodgers and five-star freshman Mylan Graham. Of those pass receivers, Day seems most impressed with Antwi, who will enter his third season with the Buckeyes in 2024.
“I’m very impressed with Kojo Antwi,” said Day. “He runs good routes. He’s become very reliable.”
But the praise for the slot receiver from Suwanee, Georgia, didn’t end there.
“I just like his work ethic,” Day said. “He’s really changed his body. He’s changed his life. He’s changed his habits. I’m proud of the preseason that Kojo had and we really need him as a guy that can help us this year. I see some things in him that are pretty special and I hope we can continue to build on that.”
I was surprised when Antwi was not placed in the transfer portal this offseason, especially given his place in the rankings behind Emeka Egbuka, Tate, Inniss and Smith – maybe even behind Ballard and Rodgers.
But Antwi is still here. He is impressing his head coach. He is proving that doubters – like me – are wrong.
I hope he continues to do so this season.
AN URBAN MEYER PODCAST. Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer will be one of three hosts of a new college football podcast called “The Triple Option,” along with former Alabama and NFL running back Mark Ingram II and FOX commentator Rob Stone. The trio also host “FOX Big Noon Kickoff,” which will air on Saturdays in the fall.
This season the game changes. We are launching a brand new show, The Triple Option, with @CoachUrbanMeyer, @markingramII and @RobStoneONFOX Providing expert analysis, opinion, unique insights and championship perspectives on the most important topics in CFB, NFL, leadership and more! pic.twitter.com/a52S18zzOt
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) 14 August 2024
According to Sinclair, The Triple Option will take you “through the ever-changing landscape of the sport we all live for.” In each episode, Stone will ask Meyer to examine “championship-level leadership and locker room culture,” and Ingram will “provide the player perspective from every level.”
“From the expanded College Football Playoff, NIL, conference realignment, the increasing popularity of the NFL Draft and everything in between, Meyer, Ingram and Stone have the experience and perspective to offer fans unprecedented access to the game they love,” Sinclar said in a press release.
Meyer coached at Ohio State from 2012 to 2018. In those seven seasons, the Ashtabula, Ohio, native led the Buckeyes to an 83-9 record, including 54-4 in the Big Ten. Meyer’s teams won three Big Ten Championship Games and twice appeared in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes won a national title in 2014 by defeating Oregon 42-20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
After retiring as head coach of the Buckeyes in 2018, Meyer joined Ohio State’s sports department and later became a commentator on FOX. He also had a brief and controversial tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, leading the NFL franchise to a 2-11 record before the Jaguars fired him and he returned to FOX’s college football desk.
SONG OF THE DAY. “The Waiting” – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
Get to the point. Tiny South American deer makes its debut at New York Zoo… A stowaway marmot becomes a local icon… At least one arrest made in connection with the death of Matthew Perry… Romanian gymnast wins bronze medal in controversial judging case… Crashed truck covers California highway with boxes of raisins.
