COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has now served his suspension completely and will be back on the sidelines for the first time this season on Saturday. On Monday, he took his customary position behind the podium for his first press conference inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center since the spring. What did the Buckeye head coach have to say? Here are the highlights.
+ It was an incredible effort by the team on Saturday. Going into that environment and playing the way he played, he is very proud of the guys.
+ Dre’Mont Jones had seven QB hurries against TCU.
+ The offensive line played well. J.K. Dobbins had a great day with post-contact yardage.
+ Binjimen Victor didn’t have any catches, but is really coming on.
+ Johnnie Dixon was great on special teams. Jahsen Wint played well on special teams, “And needs to.”
+ The Plan to Win was executed very well, featuring turnovers, defensive scores, great field position, and outstanding kick coverage.
+ Meyer thanked the fans for the support down in Texas.
+ “I knew Coach Day was a difference maker when I hired him.” Meyer thanked him, “but most of all I want to thank our players. It was very hard to watch because it was such an intense game.” As the game got tougher, the players got tougher.
+ Meyer apologized for his performance at Media Day. “There was zero intent to mislead.” “I didn’t listen closely to the questions.”
+ Meyer was asked the night before Media Days to comment on a felony assault arrest regarding Zach Smith. He asked for research on it, his staff looked and said there was no arrest on record. He was told there was nothing to it. He hung up the phone, went to bed, and then woke up for media days. So when he was asked the next morning, he was answering about a felony assault arrest that never happened.
+ There has never been an intent to mislead.
+ In 2012 Meyer was hired and was putting together a staff and the staff was going fast. He looked into Zach Smith. He had worked at two other universities and was getting very, very high recommendations. In 2012, 2013, and 2014 he did an excellent job. In 2015, Gene Smith told Meyer there was a domestic issue. “We were both furious.” Meyer told him that if he was guilty of domestic violence, he would be terminated immediately. Gene Smith agreed. Meyer asked Gene Smith what to do, Smith told him to allow the police to do their job and not get involved. Meyer was hearing back from law enforcement that this was not domestic violence, just a “very messy divorce with child custody issues.” Meyer then had to make a decision. Once he was told there was no domestic violence, he made a decision to keep Smith on staff with the thinking that it would help stabilize him. They put him in counseling. Gene Smith and Urban Meyer spoke with Zach Smith who had money issues due to supporting two homes. There was a prescription drug issue as well. They worked through all of it and Meyer thought things had gotten better and were fixed. Smith did a good job last year and had job offers last year to move on, but decided to stay. It appeared that things were going well for the family, and that was also what Zach Smith told him. Then when Meyer was on vacation, he got alerted to a trespassing incident, so he called Zach Smith immediately and Smith told him that it was actually from a couple of months ago. Meyer was furious. Then in Chicago at Big Ten Media Days, he was told about the protective order and Zach Smith never told him about it, so at that point Meyer began termination proceedings.
+ “I have never deleted a text message and I have never changed the setting on my phone.” Many people have access to his phone. He texts a hundred player a day and has hundreds of videos of his grandson on his phone, so his phone began locking up, so he gave it to an IT person. The IT person increased his storage and changed the setting on his phone regarding text messages to delete them after one year.
+ The hardest part isn’t necessarily missing the game but missing camp. It was tough to watch the games though. “I only watched the good plays.” “I don’t yell, I just squeeze my arms and wake up with bruised arms in the morning.”
+ “I have a great relationship with our president. I’m as close with Gene Smith as anybody. This to me has never been a job.” His passion for Ohio State has not diminished. “My love is unwavering for Ohio State. Even moreso now. My apology is to Ohio State.”
+ “I was suspended for the fact that I went too far…” in trying to support a coach who needed help .
+ “I’m not a social media guy.” His initial statement on his suspension was at the behest of his family because people believed that he was suspended for turning a blind eye to domestic violence. He wanted to reiterate that that was not the reason for the suspension. “We all felt it was very necessary to be clear what was taking place.”
+ Meyer apologized for putting President Drake in this situation.
+ “I can’t be more impressed” with his assistant coaches. It is hard to win a college football game. You take nothing for granted.
+ Asked about memory issues impacting his job, “I’m very healthy. I’ve had cyst issues over the years.” The memory issues has not impacted his coaching at all.
+ Asked if his credibility has been shattered, “That’s tough to take.” His love of his players and team and university has never wavered. Regarding credibility issues, that is why he wants to be clear and open with the media in this forum and on ESPN.
+ “I found this whole thing to be an educational process.” The core values have been there from day one at Bowling Green.
+ After going through this, Meyer believes now he needs to ask more questions and you can’t just rely on law enforcement. He has always been told to ask fewer questions and leave it to law enforcement.
+ Meyer has had conversations with colleagues. Do you question the police? You can’t do that. Do you speak to the people themselves? You can’t always do that because it’s tampering. So you give it to HR and let the professionals do their work.
+ Nick Bosa is out this week due to an abdominal issue.
+ Ryan Day did a fantastic job and Meyer has asked how he can assist him in moving forward. He hasn’t been as involved in the offense since his return and focused mainly on fundamentals and special teams.
+ Meyer hopes his administrative staff isn’t too intimidated to bring issues to him.
+ Meyer told Tom Herman and Zach Smith that they would be fired if they ever went to another strip club again. He then instituted a morality clause to make sure it never happens again.
+ Meyer believes damage has been done to Ohio State, but he wants to make sure people understand that they never turned their back toward domestic violence.
+ There are four pillars that Meyer constantly makes sure his staff focuses on — respect toward women, opioids, mental health, and concussion issues.
+ Coaches can’t go out and investigate, but you can ask questions.
+ Asked why should people think Meyer is a trustworthy person, Meyer said for six and a half years they have worked hard to develop players as men. The program is always evaluated by those above him. “This was a window in time where I made an error.”
+ The University is aware that IT changed the settings on Meyer’s phone months before these issues came up.
+ Meyer accepts the accusation of giving people too many opportunities. He does that outside of football as well. Zach Smith was the first coach he’s ever had to fire.
+ When Meyer was hired he has to have a full-time compliance officer in the building. Whenever he hears of a situation he contacts those above him immediately because he’s a football coach and not equipped for many of the problems that come out. He asks for help from the departments who need to be involved. Be it Title IX, legal, etc. The program has received high marks because he doesn’t handle these things on his own, he involves the people who are supposed to be involved. “I do seek advice.” Off-the-field issues get elevated instantaneously.
+ Meyer tries to stay away from who is credible and leaves that to the police. People have asked why he didn’t reach out to Courtney Smith, but he wasn’t allowed. There was an investigation going on. If there is never a charge, never an arrest, how do you respond?
+ “No two children and a wife should go through…” a media frenzy like this.
+ The positives of college football aren’t reported enough.
+ This was a scenario where there were so many things coming from the outside and two families were involved, Meyer still struggles with how to help in a situation like this. Every Friday they have Family Nights. As a leader you are obligated to the families. Once domestic violence was taken out of the equation, Meyer’s mindset was his obligation to stabilizing the family. Looking back it was the wrong decision, but at the time he thought it was the correct decision.