\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tThe Basketbucks led 14-2, then lost 74-57<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State is demolished on the road by Iowa, 74-57, as its NCAA Tournament chances sink to their lowest of the season. https:\/\/t.co\/l1pmfW1cBd<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) February 26, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n\tWoof.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHave a good Thursday.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cTHERE\u2019S GOOD BONES IN THERE.\u201d <\/strong>Ross Bjork told The Columbus Dispatch<\/a> this week that Ohio State is still planning to renovate the Woody Hayes Athletic Center \u2014 hopefully sooner rather than later.\n<\/p>\n \n\tFacilities used to be all the rage. College football\u2019s top programs engaged in an arms race to boast the best dining room, film room, team room and weight room. Then came the NIL era, followed by the current revenue-sharing era, and facilities shifted to the back burner. But that doesn\u2019t mean state-of-the-art buildings are no longer important for current and future coaches and players.\n<\/p>\n \n\tBjork said as much to The Dispatch, emphasizing the importance of Ohio State raising public awareness and building momentum as the Buckeyes prepare to update their nearly 40-year-old football facility.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe have advanced that project to the next round from a planning and fundraising standpoint. Sometime this spring, we hope to create more visibility around how much money has been raised, the timeline and the total cost of the building. Show some images, things like that,\u201d Bjork said. \u201cWe want to create some public awareness, public momentum around the Woody Hayes complex. We would also couple that with the ice rink, making sure we get the ice rink in the same stage, if you will. Here’s the funding outline, here’s the timeline, here’s where it could go, here’s what it looks like. And then we have some other projects that we want to create visibility around that we want to get off the ground.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tOhio State athletic director Ross Bjork discussed football scheduling, sponsorship patches, plans for a renovation of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and other hot topics in the rest of our Q&A: https:\/\/t.co\/hh1t7t9zkO<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/CbdWphYNE1<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) February 24, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n\tFor now, Bjork hasn\u2019t shared how much Ohio State has raised for the renovation. However, he estimates it will cost the Buckeyes around $100 million to complete the project.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe goal, Bjork said, is to create a more efficient building within the current footprint.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat we’re looking at is basically you would renovate all the existing spaces inside the current footprint,\u201d Bjork said. \u201cFrom all the offices and film breakout rooms, to the locker room, to the training room. We would move the equipment room to the back of the building, so it would actually have a loading dock. Right now, it’s in the center of the building, so when you have deliveries, you’re going down hallways and you might have a meeting going on. Just creating more of an efficient building inside the footprint. And then there’d be new spaces built, new weight room, new offices for the coaches, and really kind of a new entrance, a new lobby. But the rest of the building would be basically gut-renovated.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere’s good bones in there, there’s good space, we just need to organize it better, expand it, modernize it, and it’ll be the best building in the country. Now buildings are going to be built on efficiency. How does a player get from this point to that point in a quick amount of time? How do they train? How do they recover? How are they taught the game? Film rooms. Right now, we can’t fit the entire organization in the team meeting room. People are literally standing in the hallway. Things like that are just not functional in this modern era.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tOhio State has invested heavily in keeping up with the changing economics of college athletics. Bjork knows the next step is to ensure the team\u2019s facilities meet the same standard. In a sport where marginal gains matter, efficiency, functionality and modernization aren\u2019t luxuries \u2014 they\u2019re necessities. By maintaining a top-tier building, the Buckeyes stay at the forefront of the sport.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cHE IS EXCELLENT.\u201d <\/strong>Joel Klatt ranked his top 10 college football coaches this week, and Ryan Day came in at No. 2, trailing only Indiana\u2019s Curt Cignetti.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tDay ranked ahead of Georgia\u2019s Kirby Smart, Oregon\u2019s Dan Lanning, and Notre Dame\u2019s Marcus Freeman in the top five. Texas\u2019 Steve Sarkisian, Michigan\u2019s Kyle Whittingham, BYU\u2019s Kalani Sitake, Miami\u2019s Mario Cristobal\u00a0and LSU\u2019s Lane Kiffin rounded out Klatt\u2019s top 10.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tKlatt had no reservations about naming Day the second-best coach in the sport.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOhio State is an absolute pressure cooker. Day has the Buckeyes at the top every single year,\u201d Klatt said. \u201cThere is not a coach that I deal with more in college football than Ryan Day. This guy is excellent. My conversations with Ryan Day about football, about running the program, about his philosophy, how he goes about recruiting, how he goes about talent evaluation, how he goes about game planning, hiring assistants, evaluating losses \u2014 all of those things. I learn so much when I talk with Ryan Day. He is excellent, absolutely excellent.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tKlatt noted that Day, who had no prior head coaching experience before Ohio State promoted him entering the 2019 season, is 82-12 in six years as the leader of the Buckeyes. Four of those victories came in the 2024 College Football Playoff as Ohio State beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame en route to the program\u2019s ninth national title.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOhio State is the most consistent program in college football, full stop, through the eras. And we are seeing one of the great eras of Ohio State,\u201d Klatt said. \u201cThere is not a more consistent college program in America, and yet, we are watching it at its zenith. Like, this is Ohio State at its peak, and a lot of that is because of Ryan Day.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tKlatt said Ohio State was \u201cinsanely good\u201d under Urban Meyer, but it\u2019s become \u201ca little better\u201d under Day. (Klatt joked that Meyer will undoubtedly text him about that claim, which I could totally see happening.)\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen you really look at the way that they have recruited, the way that they have been ranked in the polls, I know it\u2019s very consistent, but boy, this is an era of Ohio State football that is up there with any of the eras from any program in the country,\u201d Klatt said.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHard to disagree with that take.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\u201cLARRY IS A GREAT COACH.\u201d<\/strong> During an interview at the NFL Combine, former Ohio State defensive coordinator and current Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley praised longtime Buckeyes assistant Larry Johnson.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMy one year with Larry, he\u2019s just a really good technical coach, really demanding of his players, builds great relationships, and he\u2019s a great evaluator,\u201d Hafley told cleveland.com\u2019s Stefan Krajisnik. \u201cHe\u2019s recruited some really, really good talent. Even when I was there, there were some great players \u2014 and there will continue to be. And Ryan (Day) does such a great job with the evaluation process and building those guys from the ground up. But Larry is a great coach.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tDolphins coach Jeff Hafley spoke highly of Ohio State DL coach Larry Johnson today at the NFL Combine:<\/p>\n Really demanding with his players. Builds great relationships. Hes a great evaluator. pic.twitter.com\/ADGYdymiwW<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 Stefan Krajisnik (@skrajisnik3) February 24, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n\tJohnson has coached Ohio State\u2019s defensive linemen since 2014. The two-time national champion assistant has developed a ton of Buckeyes into NFL-caliber players, including Joey Bosa, Tyquan Lewis, Dre\u2019Mont Jones, Nick Bosa, Chase Young, Tommy Togiai, Zach Harrison, Tyleik Williams, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAnd that\u2019s, I don\u2019t know, half the list?\n<\/p>\n \n\tJohnson is great, like Hafley said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s no doubt about it.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0ALL HAIL THE RUSHMEN. <\/strong>One of Larry Johnson\u2019s biggest recruiting wins was retaining Kenyatta Jackson Jr. for the 2026 season. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound defensive end considered entering the NFL draft after his redshirt junior year in 2025 but opted to return, ready to lead Johnson\u2019s defensive line room this fall.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThis week, ESPN\u2019s Max Olson<\/a> named Jackson as the \u201ckey played retained\u201d for Ohio State this offseason, citing Jackson\u2019s proven production in a room that also featured Kayden McDonald and Caden Curry.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\tThe 6-foot-6, 265-pound pass rusher bypassed the draft to return as a fifth-year senior and prove he can keep developing into one of the Big Ten’s best. Jackson moved into the starting lineup in 2025 and produced 32 pressures, 11 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and two pass breakups for the Buckeyes. His return was a much-needed win for this defensive front with Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald moving on to the NFL.\n\t<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \n\tI expect Jackson to improve upon those pressures, tackles for loss and sacks this season \u2014 that is, if opposing offensive linemen don\u2019t put him in a chokehold every time he rushes the quarterback.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY. <\/strong>“Pain In My Heart” – Otis Redding.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0<\/strong>The real story of how Johnny Gaudreau\u2019s family got to Olympics<\/a>…\u00a0Toucan seen flying around Sin City has been rescued<\/a>…\u00a0A settlement is reached in a case tied to eBay\u2019s bizarre deliveries and harassment campaign<\/a>…\u00a0A Celtics friction test finally pinned down the sneaker squeak<\/a>…\u00a0Buc-ee’s sues yet another convenience store over logo similarities<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n
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