Somewhat lost in all the chaos, the Buckeyes started football practice yesterday. Regardless of who's leading the local team, football is almost here, folks.
ICYMI:
- Urban Meyer says in a statement that he reported allegations against Zach Smith in 2015 and apologizes for his answers at Big Ten Media Days.
- Zach Smith denies domestic violence allegations, says he "never committed domestic abuse."
- Zach Smith says Gene Smith was aware of the 2015 allegations.
- What we know concerning Urban Meyer's situation following his statement and Zach Smith's public appearance.
Word of the Day: Inchoate
THAMEL CONSULTS LEGAL EXPERT. There have been no fewer than 16 times in the past few days I've wished I had a lawyer on call to answer my questions.
Thankfully, Pete Thamel sought one out and got his #take on Urban Meyer's written statement.
From Thamel of Yahoo! Sports:
Legal experts saw Meyer’s maneuver in releasing the statement as a potential avenue toward a resolution for Meyer.
“If this scenario is accurate, then Meyer and Ohio State are in a much better position to resolve the matter with some type of mutual acceptance of responsibility and modest penalty or corrective measures,” said Stu Brown, an Atlanta-based attorney who frequently deals with colleges and coaches in NCAA issues. “The extent to which Meyer’s written statement is accurate will certainly be at the heart of the investigative panel’s inquiry. In my experience, the scenario is plausible, but the investigative panel must attempt to verify, not just trust.”
...
While Smith’s interviews helped Meyer’s factual timeline, Smith came off as scattered and unsympathetic when describing his “volatile” relationship with his wife, including times where he had to “defensively restrain her.” It further underscored a key question in the public sphere: Why did Ohio State keep Smith on staff through the alleged incidents?
Will that matter to the investigative panel, which includes a mix of trustees and outside legal experts? “From a legal analysis of whether Meyer sufficiently fulfilled his policy/contractual obligations, the ‘likability’ of a witness/interviewee shouldn’t matter,” Brown said.
I think the only thing clear to me after reading Meyer's statement is that this whole situation is far from over and it's going to take a full investigation for the process to be complete.
CAMPBELL COACH IN WAITING? There's been a ton of speculation that if Urban Meyer does resign or is fired, Iowa State's Matt Campbell could be the guy to replace him at Ohio State.
Campbell was quick to address the rumors at the beginning of his media availability on Friday – kind of.
Matt Campbell addresses the rumors of being a top candidate if Urban Meyer is fired at Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/qbAm3Pp3or
— CycloneFanatic.com (@cyclonefanatic) August 3, 2018
See, Campbell did the head coaching thing where he talks for two minutes without ever actually saying anything firm, but still somehow leaves you satisfied with his response.
Campbell managed to address the rumors that he could be the top candidate to replace Meyer while still leaving you no more or less confident that he's the top candidate to replace Meyer.
He's ready for the big time.
QUARTERBACK GURU TALKS HASKINS. Remember when Dwayne Haskins taking over for J.T. Barrett was the biggest storyline of the offseason?
Well, despite everything going down in Columbus right now, the Buckeyes still do have to replace a four-year starter at quarterback, and the guy tabbed to do it is still pretty damn talented.
Alex Gleitman of Bucknuts.com spoke to quarterback guru Quincy Avery, who worked with Haskins during the offseason, to discuss what the new Buckeye quarterback will bring to Ohio State.
From Bucknuts.com:
"He’s so smart and he’s so polished," Avery said of Haskins. "He has the ability to do a lot of things throwing the ball. He throws like a NFL veteran right now. He’s that accurate. He comes out and he works like a pro at this point already. He has a plan of things he wants to work on and he moves forward from there. I think that’s impressive for someone who is just over 21 years old, to be able to work in that manner. He has the ability to make every throw on the field, but he can also move. I think people take that for granted, his ability to move in the pocket. I think he’s going to have a special year."
...
"I think some of the things that Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day do [with Dwayne] are going to open up the offense a bit," he shared. "Ryan Day has a NFL pedigree and Kevin Wilson comes from a system where he wants to throw the ball around a lot. So, the more he (Haskins) throws the ball, I just think the more impressed people are going to be [with the offense]. They have some great backs at Ohio State, but the ability to really throw, and keep Dwayne out of the quarterback run game so much, it's going to be beneficial to him and the program.
"He can do anything that you want a quarterback to do in 2018. He's athletic enough to throw the ball and run it. He's going to have a big season."
Folks, I understand there's a lot going on right now, but regardless of how the Urban Meyer shakes out, the Buckeyes are going to play football in less than a month, so we may as well get excited about it.
MUSCHAMP LEARNS FROM MEYER SITUATION. As the youngest of five children, I've learned the easiest way to avoid making gigantic mistakes is to let my older siblings make them for me and then doing the exact opposite.
It seems that's the approach Will Muschamp is taking, reminding his coaches and players of exactly what they should do if they encounter or witness anything that should be reported to higher ups.
From TheState.com:
Muschamp was asked Thursday about issues of domestic violence that can crop up around a football program. He had this to say.
“If you see something, say something,” Muschamp said. “Told our staff again today and I’ve told them multiple times since I’ve been at the University of South Carolina. We are very transparent about everything that happens in our organization. We know exactly who to talk to, whether it is Dr. Carl Wells on campus, Judy Van Horn in our athletic department, when we feel one of those situations arises. Our players understand that and our staff understands that.
No matter where you stand on the entire issue, I think we almost all agree it could have been handled better. It's good to see others are learning from it.
DOLO VS GENO. As the Chargers start preseason games, Cardale Jones and Geno Smith are tied in the backup quarterback race.
#Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn says the QB competition between Geno Smith and Cardale Jones is tied.
— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) August 2, 2018
Who ya got – September Heisman or Poacher of Badgers, Controller of Tides, Slayer of Ducks, Troll Sultan, and 12th Son of Ohio?
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