A pair of former Ohio State assistants who are now head coaches elsewhere have shared their thoughts on the latest developments in the Zach Smith story.
Chris Ash and Tom Herman worked together for one season, alongside Zach Smith in 2014.
It was the last of Herman’s three years in Columbus and the first of Ash’s two seasons with the Buckeyes.
Ash is now the head coach of Rutgers, while Herman is at Texas.
“I’ve followed it, obviously,” said Ash. “I’d start by saying that we take any type of abuse, whether it be versus a female or male, domestic abuse or not, very seriously. We have a lot of sympathy for victims in those situations.”
Ash was on the coaching staff at Ohio State during the 2015 season when some of the alleged incidents occurred. However, he declined to talk about any specifics of the case.
“I can’t tell you who knew what, who knew what when, any of that type of stuff. I know I was there, and that’s about all I can tell you,” Ash said. “They’ll go through an investigation. Obviously you guys know how I feel about Coach Meyer and his family, but it’s a very serious situation and one that I’m sure all parties there will take very seriously.”
Herman was already at his next job by the fall of 2015. He left the Buckeyes after the 2014 national championship to take the head coaching position at Houston. When reporters asked Herman about Smith, he didn’t want to talk about it.
“I left the program after the 2014 season and the things that occurred, to my knowledge, happened in late 2015,” said Herman. “I really don’t think it would be fair or appropriate, to be honest with you, for me to comment about a situation at another program that happened while I wasn’t there.”
When asked if he was aware of any allegations of violence involving Smith and his wife during his time in Columbus, Herman declined to answer.
“Again, it’s always been my policy to not comment on another program. We’re at Texas, we’ve been at Texas for a year and a half. And as sensitive as a subject as this is, to comment in a forum like this, I think, would be very inappropriate.”
You can watch the responses from both coaches in their entirety below.
Former #OSU & current #Rutgers HC Chris Ash comments the ongoing investigation at #OhioState pic.twitter.com/M4NQexHSGB
— The Knight Report (@RutgersRivals) August 3, 2018
Tom Herman's full reaction when asked about the Ohio State situation pic.twitter.com/CO82jnp6UC
— Sports Night (@Sports_NightTX) August 2, 2018