Current Texas head coach and former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman tipped off Brett McMurphy, initiating his reporting on Zach Smith and Urban Meyer, according to Jeff Snook, who cited several anonymous sources.
Herman and McMurphy have each responded to the report, claiming Herman had no involvement in McMurphy's reporting.
Snook's report alleges Tom and his wife, Michelle Herman, encouraged Courtney Smith to come forward with allegations against her husband with the goal of getting Zach fired after five-star receiver Garrett Wilson chose Ohio State over Texas in late April.
From Snook's Facebook page:
“They wanted Zach Smith fired,” one source said. “They had some dirt on him and wanted him off of Ohio State’s staff.”
The Hermans have even helped pay for Courtney Smith’s legal fees, two of my sources told me.
Tom Herman’s motive?
Herman was furious after five-star receiver Garrett Wilson committed to Ohio State in April over Texas, sources say. Wilson played at Austin (Texas) Lake Travis High, just miles from the Longhorns’ campus. Zach Smith was the Buckeyes’ primary recruiter in getting Wilson’s commitment.
Snook also reached out to Shelley Meyer for comment, though she declined:
“I really do appreciate you doing your job with integrity and checking on all the points, unlike some others,” Shelley said, via text Saturday afternoon. “I just can’t comment and I am very sorry. Thank u.”
Herman served as Ohio State's offensive coordinator from 2012 to 2014, working under Meyer and alongside Zach. Herman left the program after the team's national championship run to become the head coach at Houston, where he spent two before becoming the head coach at Texas ahead of the 2017 season.
Herman was asked about the situation regarding Smith and Meyer on Aug. 2, but declined to fully comment, saying that he was not there at the time of the allegations and would not comment on another program.
"The things that occurred, to my knowledge, happened in late 2015," Herman told reporters. "I really don't think it would be fair – or appropriate, to be honest with you, Brian – to comment about a situation at another program that happened while I wasn't there."
When asked if he, his family or his wife knew of any allegations regarding Smith, Herman again declined to comment.
"Again, it's always been my policy to not comment on another program," Herman said. "We're at Texas, we've been at Texas for a year and a half, and just as sensitive this is, to comment in a forum like this, I just feel would be very inappropriate."
