Skull Session: Jeremiah Smith is Built Different, Tennessee Quarterback Nico Iamaleava “Soaks Up Everything” and Vol Fans Will Steal the Shoe’s Goalposts

On By Littum

Welcome to Skull Session.

Three more sleeping places.

Have a good Wednesday.

JJ IS BUILT DIFFERENT. This is a friendly reminder that Jeremiah Smith is built differently and deserves at least 10 targets against Tennessee.

That’s all.

Thanks.

“HE RECORDS EVERYTHING.” Nico Iamaleava… ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va … You’ll want to know that pronouncement before Saturday, as the Tennessee quarterback could be the difference between a win or a loss for the Buckeyes.

Iamaleava has completed 199 of 303 passes (65.7 percent) for 2,512 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2024. This weekend, the sophomore, who signed an $8 million name, image and likeness deal with the Volunteers, can make a statement with a win over one of college football’s best teams in one of college football’s best venues.

“That’s why I came to Tennessee, not to break records or anything like that or to be known by all the fans out there,” Iamaleava shared. ESPN’s Chris Lowe. “It’s about this team, my brothers. We want to win the last game of the season. I think I’ve gotten better every game. I still feel like I haven’t played my best game yet, really our whole team, but we’re looking to put it together.”

Iamaleava’s teammates believe in him.

“The first time I met Nico in person, I knew he had the right stuff,” senior center Cooper Mays said. “There was no entitlement, none of that. He wanted to earn everything. He wanted to grow as a player. You’ve seen him do it. I think it’s probably the best it’s been yet, his comfort level and his command. I think the big thing for us is we’ve been better at guarding him. … He’s got that experience now and is just able to play ball. That’s going to exponentially increase how comfortable you are.”

His coaches also believe in him.

“He soaks up everything, wants to learn everything, absorbs everything he can from coaches and teammates,” said McKenzie Milton, an offensive analyst at Tennessee this season before becoming the quarterbacks coach at his alma mater, UCF. “Yeah, he might come in as the top dog, but watching the way he brings guys in — maybe guys who struggle a little bit — while staying humble and just being a sponge is the definition of a leader. ”

Later in Low’s article, Milton added, “He’s still young in the sense that he can get so much better in certain areas. But that with him, and you’re talking about a kid who has everything, and I think he’s one of the most talented, if not the most talented kid I’ve ever been around.”

Ohio State respects that talent as it should.

In press conferences Monday and Tuesday, Ryan Day, Jim Knowles and Sonny Styles said Iamaleava is an X-factor for the Volunteers.

“It takes all 11 (to defend him),” Styles said. “It starts with the rush line, where everybody is in the rush lines where they need to be. And then if he happens to get out (of the pocket) because he’s a great athlete, you’re going to have a chance to make some great games. You have to be able to hang on and hang in there.

“Whoever you’re on, stick with them. Be disciplined in your coverage. It sucks for a defense when you feel like everybody’s covered and he comes out of the pocket and runs 20 yards. It sucks for a defense. It is difficult to work with. We want to have a plan for that to be able to counteract it.”

Part of that plan – a massive part of that plan, I have to believe – involves Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun being at their best on Saturday. Knowles is confident that both will be.

“Big confidence in both of them. Jermaine (Mathews Jr.) too. It doesn’t matter who we play,” he said. “Tennessee will challenge us in certain ways, but those guys are on an island all the time. I mean, like I said, forget who you’re playing. It’s one-on-one a lot of times out there. Anyone can step back and throw the ball into the air.

“We have full confidence in our corners. There are ups and downs in every season, in every career, but those guys are great players and they’re really good people. They work hard. They’re resilient. They bounce back. They will have a great fight.”

I certainly hope so!

AN INCREDIBLE FAN BASE. Ohio State fans have a bad reputation. People think the Buckeye Nation is full of arrogant, loud and obnoxious people. And yes, of course we are sometimes! But my goodness, Tennessee fans are all the time.

ICYMI: Some Tennessee fans have hatched a plan to steal the goalposts from Ohio Stadium and throw them into the Olentangy River if the Volunteers beat the Buckeyes this weekend.

I have a thousand problems with this. I am sharing three of them.

First, Ohio State is a touchdown favorite over Tennessee. For Volunteers fans to assume their team will come to Columbus and beat the Buckeyes with no problem is ridiculous.

Two, even if Tennessee beats Ohio State – and that’s one massive if – do the Volunteers fans have such arrogance that they would try to rush the field and steal the Buckeyes’ goalposts? (For those who think these fans are kidding, I don’t think they are. These fans are rabid, remember).

Three, even if Tennessee beats Ohio State and the Volunteer fans storm the field, do these fans think Buckeye Nation would let them leave the stadium without a fight? I can assure them that Buckeye Nation would make the brawl after The Game look like an undercard.

Now, in all this, I do not mean to condone or encourage violence. I just want to convey a simple message: Tennessee fans are insufferable. Let’s hope Ohio State puts them in their place on Saturday.

“I FEEL SO TERRIBLE FOR OUR CHILDREN.” Last week, in the Skull session, I included some comments from Lane Kiffin in which the Ole Miss head coach called the current college football calendar “stupid.” There were plenty of reactions to that, most of them by appointment with Kiffin, so I wanted to share that SMU coach Rhett Lashlee also expressed his frustration with the sports schedule, namely the winter transfer portal window.

“I feel so terrible for our kids and kids around the country,” Lashlee said. “There’s no other sport at all that has free agency in the season. It’s sad. It’s terrible. You hear the story of (Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula) saying, ‘I don’t have a choice.’ That’s wrong. That is unacceptable. He should not make that decision.”

Pribula is not alone in his decision to leave a College Football Playoff team in search of a new destination. Some of Lashlee’s players, including backup quarterback Preston Stone, have made the same choice, as have six Buckeyes: quarterbacks Devin Brown and Air Noland, wide receivers Jayden Ballard and Kojo Antwi, offensive lineman Miles Walker and linebacker Gabe Powers.

“The really easy thing is you don’t have a transfer portal in December. That’s the really easy answer and it solves all the problems,” Lashlee said. “Why on earth would we put kids in a position where they have to decide, have to I switch to playoff? Should I transfer or play my bowl game? School-wise, it doesn’t make sense either, because your years end in May, not December.”

Already a minute into his rant, Lashlee continued to fire shots at the current circumstances of college football.

“I hate it. I hate it for our players. I told them on Monday, ‘I hate that you guys get a chance to play in the College Football Playoff, yet you’re either forced to decide if I going in the portal or not.’ Or let’s call it what it is: people bombarding our roster and trying to pick people off our roster. Oh, and they got finals. Oh, and—it just goes on and on .It’s really easy.Don’t have a transfer portal in December.

“The long and short of it is, the easy answer is, not having free agency, not having a portal window that puts kids in a position where they either have to make those decisions or be incredibly distracted by the environment.”

Scorched earth.

Tell ’em how it is, Rhett!

SONG OF THE DAY. “Talk too much” – COIN.

CUT FOR ME. Tom Cruise gets a top US Navy honor to boost the military with its screen roles… On the 13th best tv series in 2024… “Bluey” is on its way to the big screen with a feature film coming in 2027… At the Florida Senior Games, pickleball is the crown jewel… Kevin McCallister’s purchase in “Home Alone” was $20. What would it cost in 2024?