Marvin Harrison Jr.

Skull Session: Ryan Day believes Maryland poses a threat, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s emergence is unsurprising, and OSU subtly upped the running game on Saturday

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Welcome to Wednesday’s Skull session.

Today’s article begins with a clip of Jack Sawyer tearing down Indiana quarterback Dexter Williams, including sound bites from Gus Johnson and Paul Keels. Can he do better than that?

Let’s have a good Wednesday, shall we?

TIME TIME. Earlier this week, our poll question was, “Is Maryland a threat to the state of Ohio on Saturday?”

Of 6,002 responses, 61% answered “No” and 39% answered “Yes”. How do you think Ryan Day would answer this question, assuming he’s not reading Eleven Warriors‘ articles (what everyone should do) and vote on the daily poll?

Well, there’s no need to think about that question, because Day told the media on Tuesday precisely what he thinks of the Terrapins. The fourth-year Ohio State head coach expects a big challenge from Maryland on Saturday and cited the 52-51 overtime win in 2018 as proof of that team’s toughness.

So, to the 2,325 people who answered “Yes” to our poll question on Monday, I say congratulations because Coach Day agrees with you. For the 3,677 of you who said “No”, it’s time to get in shape! (I definitely didn’t answer the same way you did…totally.)

As the press conference continued, Day said Maryland was “always dangerous,” especially when playing at home in College Park. He reiterated that Ohio State was one game away from losing the 2018 game to the Terrapins and that suffering a loss in that game would have dramatically changed the season, as it would if the Buckeyes lost to Maryland in 2022. .

That said, Ohio State is on high alert for the Maryland game this weekend and is taking no chances looking past the Terrapins to the game against Michigan. Expect the Buckeyes to put them away early because reliving the anxiety-inducing game from four years ago isn’t something Day wants to happen on Saturday.

And, I’ll speak for everyone here, neither do we.

I should have seen it coming. From the moment Marvin Harrison Jr. walked into Ohio Stadium on Saturday wearing an all-red suit — reminding me of D’Angelo Russell’s outfit in the 2015 NBA Draft — I should have known that was meant for an otherworldly performance.

There’s a lot I should have seen coming to Harrison’s career, which in his second season looks destined for multiple All-American honors and maybe a Biletnikoff award or two. How did I not see it earlier?

Well, maybe because a lot of people haven’t seen it sooner either.

Harrison was a highly touted rookie at St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia, but wasn’t the most-wanted receiver prospect of his year. According to the 247Sports composite, he was just a four-star rookie and the No. 14 wide receiver in the Class of 2021. And who were the other receivers ahead of him?

The best wide receiver rookies 2021

RANK

PLAYER

STARS

EVALUATION

CREW

1 EMEKA AGBUKA 5 0.9945 OHIO STATE

2

JA’COREY BROOKS

5

0.9861

ALABAMA

3

TROY FRANKLIN

4

0.9808

OREGON

4

MARIO WILLIAMS

4

0.9801

OKLAHOMA

5

HE GOES TO THE ROOM

4

0.9788

ALABAMA

6

JOJO EARLE

4

0.9762

ALABAMA

seven

DONT’E THORTON

4

0.9719

OREGON

8

XAVIER DIGNE

4

0.9712

TEXAS

9

DEION SMITH

4

0.9690

USL

ten

CHRISTIAN LEARY

4

0.9672

ALABAMA

11

CHRIST HILTON

4

0.9646

USL

12

BEAUTIFUL COLLINS

4

0.9624

CLEMSON

13

BRIAN THOMAS JR.

4

0.9600

USL

14 MARVIN HARRISON JR. 4 0.9583 OHIO STATE

Looking at this list today overwhelms me. How did recruiting experts not realize that Marvin Harrison Jr. — son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison — would be the best of the bunch? No disrespect to other players, especially Emeka Egbuka, but that’s the reality two years later.

Not only is Harrison the best in this class, he’s the best receiver in America, regardless of age. Ask Jim Knowles, and he’d say Harrison is the best wide receiver he’s ever seen in his 35 years of coaching college football.

For stealing Perry Eliano, Tim Walton, and Ohio State cornerbacks and safe, Harrison is the best in America. BIA. That’s who he is after just 10 games in the 2022 season and a start in the Rose Bowl, in which he caught three touchdowns, in case you forgot.

It’s just stupid – I should have known! But now that I know, I enjoy watching it. We all are, I would say. And the best part? We have a few more games this season and another year in 2023 to see how great he can be.

RUN THE BALL. Ohio State ran the ball 43 times for 351 yards against Indiana on Saturday. This is quite well very good. But what made the running game so effective when it had been average to below average at best against Iowa, Penn State and Indiana?

Joel Klatt weighed in on his podcast this week:

Now, before you tell me, “Chase! It was against Indiana. They’re no good! You told me last week that the Hoosiers were no good!” Yes. It’s true – they are not good. But if they’ve also held their own defensively in the running game against some of the Big Ten’s best this season, and here’s the proof:

  • Sept. 2 vs. Illinois: 216 yards, 4.0 ypc

  • Oct. 8 vs. Michigan: 165 yards, 41. YPC

  • Nov. 5 vs. Penn State: 179 yards, 3.7 ypc

So what…

  • Nov. 12 vs. Ohio State: 340 yards, 7.8 ypc

Sure, failures in the short-range running game always make Ryan Day want to bang his head against a wall, but there was overall improvement in that department on Saturday.

Baby steps, people. No baby. Let’s see how Ohio State’s running backs and offensive line fared against Maryland on Saturday before putting it all on the line against Michigan in two weeks. That’s when we’ll see if the improvements have really paid off. For my part, I can’t wait to find out.

OLYMPIC VILLAGE. Ohio State women’s volleyball is on a roll as the Buckeyes have won 14 straight games and are ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA coaches poll at 19-5 and 15-1 in the Big Ten competition. .

One of the biggest reasons for the Buckeyes’ success this season has been as a junior against Emily Londot, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday and the AVCA’s National Player of the Week on Tuesday.

Londot had his best performance of the season against No. 4 Nebraska on Sunday, collecting 23 kills (one shy of his career high), a career-high 21 digs and four blocks. In the first set alone, Londot had 12 kills, including back-to-back kills when Ohio State trailed 29-28 to set the set point. It was his 10th double-double of the season, which leads the team.

The Utica, Ohio native is the ninth player in program history to earn National Player of the Week honors and the first since Taylor Sandbothe won the award on Oct. 4, 2016, according to a spokesperson for the team.

SONG OF THE DAY. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

CUT TO HUNTING. Estee Lauder to buy Tom Ford in deal valued at $2.8 billion… Global luxury sales set to hit record high this year, study finds… Cup price disparity world is a barrier to equal pay… Burglary in Ohio farm releases up to 40,000 carnivorous minks into the wild… Tiny alligator found next to Pennsylvania highway.


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