Ryan Stamper is going home to reunite with his former boss.
Urban Meyer brought the Jacksonville native with him to Ohio State in 2012, and now he has hired Stamper on his new Jaguars staff. He'll join the first-time NFL head coach as a director of player assessment in a move first reported by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and confirmed by Eleven Warriors.
Stamper has spent the past nine years working in player development for the football program, and he was the assistant athletic director for player development for the past three years.
Working in an off-the-field capacity, Stamper played an integral role in keeping Ohio State's football players on the right path – by aiding them with academics and other non-football concerns – while often serving as a go-to resource for them in a variety of situations. He worked a great deal to distance the program away from being known as a "football factory" by coordinating the Real Life Wednesdays program created during the Meyer tenure that features a job fair, speakers and help creating resumés. He also helped players get internships and build connections with companies who might hire them once their football careers wrapped up.
Ion think people realize how big of impact Stamp makes ! This one hurts
— Teradja Mitchell (@teeraaw__) January 15, 2021
Though Stamper felt comfortable enough with Ryan Day to remain on the staff when he became head coach in December 2018, it was always possible that he would find his way back to Meyer if he reentered the coaching profession.
Stamper played linebacker for Meyer's Florida Gators in the late-2000s, winning two national championships and twice serving as a team captain. He earned the Forrest K. “Fergie” Ferguson award – which goes to the senior who "demonstrates leadership, character and courage" – his last year with the Gators. After one year as a police officer in Florida, Stamper joined Meyer's Ohio State staff to aid with player development.
Now, after nine years in Columbus, he'll go back to his home city of Jacksonville, rejoin Meyer and make his foray into the NFL.
Stamper is expected to be the only Ohio State staffer joining Meyer in Jacksonville. During Meyer's introductory press conference on Friday, Meyer said “there might be one” when asked if he was hiring any staffers from Ohio State, but said he promised Ryan Day and Gene Smith that he would not ransack the Buckeyes' staff.
“I talked to Gene and I talked to Coach Day, and you know my affection for both of those guys and the great university that we represented, and I won’t do that,” Meyer said.
