Meyer on the defensive in first media meeting
With suspension over, OSU coach admits mistake, rehashes events.
OSU’s head coach spent four minutes of an hourlong press conference on football, the rest rehashing the Zach Smith saga.
Urban Meyer spent the first four minutes of his press conference Monday talking about football.
The rest of the time — nearly an hour — was spent explaining and in some instances re-explaining the events that led to this being the first time the Ohio State football coach had met with the local media since before the season started three weeks ago. The Buckeyes host Tulane on Saturday.
1. Meyer stressed he does not condone domestic violence.
“When I was a child it was made very clear to me: it’s about core values and you can fix a mistake, (but) there’s no fixing domestic violence. When that takes place it’s dis- missal, immediate removal of the person from the program. And I was not suspended for that. It was very clear in the report,” Meyer said, referencing the results of an independent investigation commissioned by the university in August in light of a media report indicating Meyer knew about domestic violence allegations against assistant coach Zach Smith in 2015 but did not act on them.
2. The Powell Police Department told Meyer it concluded no domestic violence occurred.
Courtney Smith, Zach’s former wife, reported being abused by her then-husband in 2015, but a police investigation cleared Zach at the time.
“All I can go by is what I was told by law enforcement, and that was that there’s no domestic violence and this was a messy divorce with child custody involved,” Meyer said. “That’s what we were told.”
3. The PPD’s conclusion led Meyer to believe he could rehabilitate Zach Smith while on staff.
“Once I knew domestic violence was not part of the equation — how best to help these two young kids?” Meyer said. “Fire Zach Smith? Can he support that family? And what happens next? And I knew they were work-related. I thought all the work-related stuff was about this
Urban Meyer COLUMBUS — watched the first three Ohio State Buckeyes games at home as he served a threegame suspension. He admitted Monday in a news conference at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center he didn’t watch every play Saturday as his team rallied in the second half to beat Texas Christian 40-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“This one, in particular, I only watched the good plays,” Meyer said. “My daughter would keep me updated. It sounds silly, but I would leave the room.”
In the end, Meyer saw more than enough good plays. His team improved to 3-0 without him and won its third game in Texas in the last five seasons.
“It was very hard to watch because it was such an intense game,” Meyer said, “but it seemed as the game got tougher our players got better. That’s the sign of good people, a brotherhood and most importantly a very good team.”
Meyer returned to work Sept. 3 after being suspended for the season opener against Oregon State and has been with the team during the week since then. He wasn’t allowed to coach the second game against Rutgers or the third game against TCU.
Meyer credited the Buckeyes for an “incredible effort” in Texas and praised TCU and coach Gary Patterson.
“Coach Patterson has been a friend for over 20 years,” Meyer said. “I have incredible respect for that team. That certainly is a top-10 program, a top-10 team. It’s the first time we’ve got to coach against them, but you saw it Sunday when we started preparation for them. To go down in that environment and play the way they played, I’m just very proud of them.”
Ryan Day filled in for Meyer as acting head coach for the first three games, and Meyer thanked him Monday.
“I knew coach Day was a difference maker when we hired him,” Meyer said. “I followed his career. He was with me at Florida. His professionalism and what he’s done has been phenomenal, and the rest of our staff, with coach (Greg) Schiano, Kevin Wilson, Alex Grinch and the other coaches have been tremendous.”
Bosa update: Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa will not play against Tulane on Saturday, Meyer said. Bosa will undergo further tests this week on abdominal and groin issues after he suffered an injury early in the third quarter. He leads Ohio State with 14 tackles and five sacks in the first three games.
Jones honored: Ohio State defensive tackle Dre’mont Jones won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award Monday. He returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown and recorded a career-high six tackles, including two tackles for a loss, against TCU.
Weekly honors: Defensive tackle Robert Landers, a Wayne graduate, earned a champion grade from Ohio State’s coaches for the second straight week. He had four tackles against TCU.
These players also earned champion grades: Bosa; Jonathan Cooper; Davon Hamilton; Malik Harrison; Jordan Fuller; Isaiah Prince; Michael Jordan; Thayer Munford; Demetrius Knox; Malcolm Pridgeon; J.K. Dobbins; K.J. Hill; Johnnie Dixon; Binjimen Victor; Terry McLaurin; and Parris Campbell.
Jones and quarterback Dwayne Haskins were named players of the game.
Looking ahead: The Buckeyes play Tulane at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium in their final non-conference game. The Green Wave opened the season with a 23-17 overtime loss at Wake Forest, then beat Nicholls State 42-17 before losing 31-24 at Alabama-Birmingham on Saturday.