It's likely Urban Meyer, like most Fortune 500 CEOs, has never personally sent a tweet in his life. But, that doesn't mean his online #brand is lacking.
As pointed out today by ESPN's corporate toad, Darren Rovell, and confirmed through UTSports.com, Urban Meyer is the most followed college football coach on Twitter.
What might be more intriguing, however, is the list's No. 2, Jim Harbaugh, who ascended to such heights despite only being on Twitter for two months. (Jim's son, Jay, claims his father's insane Twitter account is run by Jefe Harbaugh himself.)
Here's the nation's top 25; I added the percentage of "real" followers, as dictated to me by TwitterAudit.com:
| RANK | COACH | SCHOOL | FOLLOWERS | AUDIT % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | URBAN MEYER | OHIO STATE | 238,378 | 85% |
| 2 | JIM HARBAUGH | MICHIGAN | 192,743 | 81% |
| 3 | BUTCH JONES | TENNESSEE | 174,019 | 73% |
| 4 | MARK RICHT | GEORGIA | 160,696 | 48% |
| 5 | LES MILES | LSU | 159,144 | 62% |
| 6 | BRIAN KELLY | NOTRE DAME | 124,049 | 62% |
| 7 | BERT BIELEMA | ARKANSAS | 116,791 | 52% |
| 8 | GUS MALZAHN | AUBURN | 114,488 | 54% |
| 9 | JAMES FRANKLIN | PENN STATE | 100,505 | 76% |
| 10 | HUGH FREEZE | OLE MISS | 97,023 | 60% |
| 11 | MIKE RILEY | NEBRASKA | 95,306 | 57% |
| 12 | CHARLIE STRONG | TEXAS | 91,463 | 68% |
| 13 | MARK STOOPS | KENTUCKY | 85,702 | 51% |
| 14 | KLIFF KINGSBURY | TEXAS TECH | 79,162 | 66% |
| 15 | BOB STOOPS | OKLAHOMA | 74,698 | 60% |
| 16 | DAN MULLEN | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 74,024 | 66% |
| 17 | KEVIN SUMLIN | TEXAS A&M | 67,085 | 82% |
| 18 | GARY PINKEL | MISSOURI | 56,968 | 67% |
| 19 | STEVE SARKISIAN | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | 54,645 | 80% |
| 20 | MIKE GUNDY | OKLAHOMA STATE | 52,142 | 62% |
| 21 | MIKE LEACH | WASHINGTON STATE | 51,129 | 78% |
| 22 | DANA HOLGORSEN | WEST VIRGINIA | 50,882 | 69% |
| 23 | STEVE SPURRIER | SOUTH CAROLINA | 44,403 | 87% |
| 24 | MARK DANTONIO | MICHIGAN STATE | 43,593 | 76% |
| 25 | JIM MCELWAIN | FLORIDA | 43,330 | 78% |
Yes, you read that right: Not only does Urban Meyer lead the way in followers, but he only trails Steve Spurrier, who joined Twitter yesterday, in "real follower percentage." That's the kind of dominance we've come to expect from Ohio State's football coach.
Am I surprised that the SEC coaches have some of the lowest real follower percentage? No. Sometimes perception means more than reality, after all.
