\n Welcome to the Skull Session. <\/p>\n
\n\tJeremiah Smith is hilarious.\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\tBrock Boyd is, too (check slide seven).\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\tHave a Good Friday.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0REST IN PEACE, BOB.<\/strong> I write with a heavy heart that former Ohio State kicker, punter and quarterback Bob Atha died Tuesday<\/a> after a years-long battle with cancer.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tMy dad and Bob were childhood friends \u2014 which, in my book, makes them brothers.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThey grew up together in Worthington. They played youth sports together. There were a few years of distance when my dad\u2019s family moved to Cleveland during high school, but they found their way back to each other \u2014 eventually even living together at Ohio State. My dad, a golfer. Bob, a football player. Sharing an apartment off High Street.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThey told me most of the stories. They spared me some. I think I\u2019m thankful for that. No, I\u2019m definitely thankful for that.\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\tFormer Ohio State kicker, punter and quarterback Bob Atha died Tuesday after a years-long battle with cancer. https:\/\/t.co\/RphCEX4yTF<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 2, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\t\u201cDad Lore\u201d is a never-ending list of unbelievable, adventurous, sometimes reckless stories fathers tell about their lives before they were dads. My dad has plenty of them. But almost none of those stories exist without Bob. And the ones that do? I\u2019m sure Bob was the first person he called to tell.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThey were best friends.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, they were brothers.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAs someone who also had to find his own brothers along the way, I know how much Bob meant to him. Which means he meant a lot to me, too.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tRest in peace, Bob.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSee you soon.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0\u201cHE\u2019S STILL A BUCKEYE.\u201d<\/strong> In Thursday\u2019s Skull Session, I wrote about Ryan Day\u2019s interview with ESPN\u2019s Kevin Clark,<\/a> including the Ohio State head coach admitting that Sonny Styles essentially forced him into retirement from basketball. I\u2019ll circle back to that conversation a couple more times in Friday\u2019s Eleven Warriors Morning Constitutional because, honestly, it was a thoroughly entertaining 20 minutes.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tLet\u2019s start with how Day answered this question: Could Jeremiah Smith have played in the NFL straight out of high school?\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI just kind of want to get through this (2026) class first and enjoy the fact that he\u2019s with the Buckeyes for another year,\u201d Day said with a laugh. \u201cWe just got off the field again, and he\u2019s still a Buckeye. That\u2019s what I\u2019m gonna focus on right now \u2014 the fact that he\u2019s still here \u2014 and try to find a way to get him the ball. I know Arthur Smith is excited about making sure he touches it as many times as possible this season.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\tFrom Day\u2019s lips!\n<\/p>\n
\n\tGet that man the football.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tDay continued, comparing Smith\u2019s looming departure to that of his son, RJ, who will begin his senior year at DeSales High School this fall.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMy son is going into his senior year of high school, and we\u2019re counting every day to make sure we appreciate it, because when he\u2019s gone, he\u2019s gone. It\u2019s going to be the same thing with No. 4,\u201d Day said, still smiling. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to talk about the future \u2014 we\u2019re just going to enjoy the fact that he\u2019s still a Buckeye.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tA true players\u2019 coach, Day said his relationship with Smith is one of many he wishes could last longer in Columbus.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s been like that with a lot of guys,\u201d Day said. \u201cWe just have to keep reloading.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0TOMMY TWO THUMBS. <\/strong>Now to another gem from Clark\u2019s interview: Who is the most badass player Ryan Day has ever coached?\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to say one person because there\u2019s been a lot of tough guys,\u201d Day said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tStill, he gave the nod to a pair of Buckeyes: offensive lineman Josh Myers (now with the New York Jets) and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (now with the Las Vegas Raiders).\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI remember getting ready to play in the national championship game in 2020 with Josh Myers, and he had a needle about this long (holds hands up) that he shot into his foot because he had turf toe,\u201d Day said. \u201cHe was literally biting a towel because he had to take the shot. He played that whole game with it and then later had to have surgery because he couldn\u2019t let his brothers down.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThat\u2019s one.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI watched Tommy Eichenberg in the rivalry game with one arm go out there and play,\u201d Day added. \u201cThere have been so many guys that I\u2019d hate to say just one. We\u2019ve had a bunch of them over the years. I think that\u2019s what makes the game special.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThen Day took it a step further \u2014 placing Myers and Eichenberg in truly elite company. (Hall of Fame company!)\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cProbably the guy that I was around the most that just had that knack overall was Kuechly when we were at Boston College. The guy was everywhere,\u201d Day said. \u201cHe was physical. He was tough. He was nasty. He was just badass altogether. If you ran a play one time, he was gonna tell you exactly where the next one was going, and he was gonna tell four guys where to go. You just had to throw him off the (practice) field because he was that type of player.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThat would be Luke Kuechly \u2014 a two-time All-American who led the FBS in tackles in 2010 and 2011, won just about every defensive award imaginable and then went on to become the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (2012), Defensive Player of the Year (2013) and a seven-time All-Pro.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIs that good?\n<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019ll let Day answer that.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cUnbelievable,\u201d Day said. \u201cHe was the best.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0ADAPT OR DIE.<\/strong> What is it Ryan Day said about the dinosaurs this week<\/a>? Adapt or die? It looks like Lane Kiffin has learned that lesson entering the 2026 college football season.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tEntering 2026, Kiffin reportedly sold the Tigers\u2019 athletic department and boosters on a $40 million roster, even though the school initially planned to spend between $25 million and $30 million.\n<\/p>\n
\n\n\t\tNEW: LSU planned to spend $25-30M on its roster but ended up at $40M+ after Lane Kiffin sold his vision, @whalexander_<\/a> reports<\/p>\n
“Why not win in Year 1? You don’t build stuff over three, four years anymore,” one donor said.<\/p>\n
Story: https:\/\/t.co\/PdXHZvNVHq<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PNv4uit3yS<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\u2014 On3 (@On3) April 1, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n\tWhat\u2019s hilarious about this development is that Kiffin once trolled Ohio State for reportedly spending $13 million to field its roster entering its national championship season in 2024.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBut then again, this is the same person who abandoned his child, abandoned his boy<\/a>\u2026\n<\/p>\n
\n\tNo, wait.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThat was Daniel Plainview.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tThis is the same person who abandoned a CFP semifinalist Ole Miss team midseason for LSU while the 2025 season was still happening, so he\u2019s not exactly a beacon of principle.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tBut hey, adapt or die, right?\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIt takes money to compete in today\u2019s college football \u2014 lots of it.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIt also takes culture. And that\u2019s a lot harder to buy.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tGood luck building it in Baton Rouge, Lane.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0<\/strong>“Ghost” – Justin Bieber.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE.\u00a0<\/strong>From state fair to Final Four: Brad Underwood’s long road to the big stage<\/a>…\u00a0Indiana’s Cignetti backs Hoover after turnover dig by Dykes<\/a>…\u00a0Danish warship sunk by Nelson\u2019s British fleet discovered after 225 years<\/a>… World\u2019s oldest known tortoise still very much alive despite rumor to the contrary<\/a>…\u00a0Hailee Steinfeld says she and Bills quarterback Josh Allen have welcomed a baby girl<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n