Ohio St QB Barrett Being Investigated by Police in Dispute

((ht: buckeyextra.dispatch.com))

Well, it's never a good thing to have to report on an athlete being investigated by police. And while injured Ohio State QB J.T Barrett has yet to be charged with anything, he is being investigated and the evidence doesn't sound so good.

Police were called to Barrett's apartment Tuesday night after 9-1-1 calls from both him and his ex-girlfriend. Needless to say, the two accounts of what was going on differed a bit.

Barrett's call was him basically saying he wanted his 19-year old ex-girlfriend out of his house. While her call she claimed she had a domestic violence account. She said Barrett choked her and threw her across the room and that she was pregnant.

Barrett apparently told police later in the evening that she ran at him, pushed and swung at him and he just pushed her away.

Uh oh...

We hope this is much ado about nothing. Barrett was a revelation to the Buckeyes this football season. But this does not sound very good.

With the attention given to domestic violence issues, if indeed Barrett did what he is accused of by his ex-girlfriend, he's in a lot of trouble. And he should be.

But the investigation is not compete.

The Columbus Dispatch has the 9-1-1 Calls. Listen and decide for yourself...

tOSU's Kosta Karageorge Is Missing

((HT: WBNS-TV))

A walk-on for Urban Meyer's Ohio State team has been reported missing by his mother- and, apparently, has been missing since Tuesday.

The reserve defensive lineman and former Ohio State wrestler missed football practice Wednesday morning. His sister says the family has filed a missing persons report with three separate Ohio townships

She also says Karageorge has a history of concussions and has had some problems in the past.

Here's the latest out of Columbus...


Karageorge joined the Ohio State football team as a walk-on this season.

If anyone has any information as to Karageorge's whereabouts, the family is asking anyone to call: 614-747-1729.

Morning Wrap: Ohio State Runs Away from Michigan State

((ht: espn.com))

So goes the thought of the Michigan State playoff run.

The Ohio State Buckeyes behind 3 passing and 2 running TD's by rising star QB J.T Barrett took care of business Saturday night, pounding the Spartans 49-37.

The game may have been a Big 10 playoff game. The winner has smooth sailing to the Big 10 title game and a likely College Football playoff berth.

Barrett was without a doubt the best player on the field. He's gotten better each week. The 300-yards passing and 86 rushing yards were impressive, but the 35-points he accounted for were by far the most impressive stat.

The performance still doesn't explain how tOSU managed to lose to a crappy Virginia Tech team at home, but it all but erases the memory for most. There is still a game at scrappy Minnesota and the rivalry game with mediocre Michigan in Columbus, but the path has become a lot easier for Urban Meyer's team.

Let's see if they can avoid any hiccups.

Your highlights from ESPN.com:

Virginia Tech Does The Hokie-Pokie At The Horseshoe - Hokies Stun #8 Buckeyes 35-21

Virginia Tech head coach Frank Beamer said back in July that he looks forward to playing games like
Ohio State.  Games like that let's you know where your program is.

Judging from Virginia Tech's 35-21 win over Ohio State at the horseshoe the Hokies are looking good.

"When you play good teams like we play, you’ve got about a 50-50 shot of winning and when you go on the road, it probably goes down a little bit." Beamer said.  "I think this is a big, big win for the program and for the status of our program.”


Not only was it a heart breaker for Ohio State many streaks went out the window.

It's the first time the Buckeyes had lost a home opener since 1978 ending a streak of 35 consecutive home openers.

It's the first time Ohio State has lost at home to an unranked non-conference opponent since 1982 when Florida State defeated the Buckeyes 34-17.

The loss to Virginia Tech also snaps Ohio State's 25 game regular season winning streak, the nations best.

"I'm a little bit surprised. I thought our skilled guys would perform better, I thought we'd protect a little better," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. "Coaches don't get surprised, we get disappointed. Obviously, we've just got to work a little harder."

Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Brewer completed 23-36 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was 9 of 29 passing for 219 yards, one touchdown and 3 interceptions.

Barrett could not escape the Hokie defense who sacked him seven times.

Dadi Nicolas and Derek Di Nardo each sacked Barrett twice.

Ohio Tries to be Funny By Banning M's This Weekend

((ht: sbnation.com))

Apparently, well, at least acc-rding t- a res-lution passed in the state -f "HI" (ohio), every-ne living there is str-ngly enc-uraged not to use the letter "M" when speaking...-r writing this weekend.

Why?

Because it's their bizarre way -f standing behind the -nly University that any-ne in the state -f HI is supposed to -r all-wed t- care about, "HI State".

The G-vern-r of -HI- even Tweeted ab-ut the res-luti-n, taking pride and -wnership of his pr-clamati-n.

And the reas-n f-r this banning -f letters?

This week is their annual rivalry game with "Ichigan".

S-, while we respect traditi-n and understand that pe-ple often d- stupid things when it comes to f--tball rivalries, this -ne -ay be the silliest thing we've ever heard. It even t-ps "HI State cach Urban Eyer" banning media c-vering the team fr-- wearing blue shirts. -ade even m-re ridicul-us earlier this seas-n when he didn't tell any-ne he was d-ing it.

Having a little fun with THE rivalry. To*orrow, Ohio goes without a letter in the alphabet. #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/eXzLhcS7z9
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) November 29, 2013

And the reas-n f-r this banning -f letters?

This week is their annual rivalry game with "Ichigan".


N-w, bef-re y-u say we have n- sense -f hu--r, we say t- y-u "read this st-ry....cl-sely. You'll see -ur sense of hu--r has never been better.

Ohio St. WR Talks Smack on 'Bama/Florida St.--UPDATE: Meyer Ranks Team Over FSU

Guess there's a reason they play the games, but it's still interesting to hear.

Ohio State backup wide receiver Evan Spencer was asked an innocent question about how he thought his Buckeyes would fare against #1 Alabama or #2 Florida State.

It was his answer that's getting him much more attention than his job performance.

Spencer told Cleveland.com that; "We'd wipe the floor with both of them". Perhaps an honest answer to an honest question. But not one that Twitter or Sports Bloggers will let slide.

And no, we don't believe that Ohio State would beat, nor wipe the floor with either of the two aforementioned teams.

But it does make for some amusing conversation.

On a somewhat related note--OSU coach Urban Meyer took time on Monday to explain why he picked his team #2 over Florida State.

Something scant few others did….

Courtesy: Cleveland.com

With A Back-up Quarterback Ohio State Rattles Florida A&M

Ohio State calls Kenny Guiton the most famous back-up quarterback in college football.

Saturday against an over-marched Florida A&M team Guiton's fame reached a new zenith.

Guiton threw for an Ohio State record six touchdowns, all in the first half, in the Buckeyes 76-0 rout of the Rattlers.




"I had all day," Guiton said. "The coaches wanted to come out throwing the ball around and I thank them for the trust they had in me to be able to do that."

"He's an efficient player right now, he's an incredible manager, coach on the field so, you know, his time came." Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said.  "He was prepared, and his coach and him did a very good job. I think Tom Herman it's not by accident that this thing happened, now. It's not because he had the buckeye in his pocket or his lucky tee shirt; it's because he worked hard with the position coach to get ready for his opportunity and boy did he."

Yes he did coach Meyer.  

When asked if Braxton Miller was still the Buckeyes number one quarterback Meyer had a one word answer.

"Yes."

Quarterback controversy in Columbus, I think not.

Rolling Stone Has "New Revelations" On Hernandez

((HT: MyFoxBoston))

Which surprise some and are skeptical by others...

The Rolling Stone article on the ex-New England Patriots tight end claims that Hernandez was into angel dust, was one move away from getting cut by head coach Bill Belichick, and had a mother who married a drug dealer and had him move into her home after his father died.

It also disclosed that Florida head coach Urban Meyer made have covered up some indiscretions while he was on campus as a gator tight end...

Here's the early thoughts from MyFoxBoston
Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

But Patriots beat writer Andy Hart doesn't buy the assessment...especially the Belichick part...
((HT: CSNNE.com))


According to the article, Hernandez met with his head coach in February thinking he was in over his head. He went to California to rehab his shoulder, but stood up Tom Brady at a receiver camp and skipped appointments with his therapist.

Urban Meyer Has Issues With Color

"I'm not colorblind!"

((ht: foxsportsohio.com))

Okay, this is your stupid thing of the day.

Well, unless you are an Ohio State fan, but if you are, you don't see this the same way the other 99% of the universe does anyway.

It appears that if you are an NFL Scout or media member or anyone else visiting an Ohio State practice, you are not allowed to wear the color blue.

Yes, blue.



According to coach whiny--uh---Urban Meyer, that's because blue is associated with the Buckeyes arch rival, Michigan.

Nice and adult there....

The other part of this issue, according to a report from Fox Sports Ohio, the school didn't exactly make this clear to visitors. Which is why several NFL scouts attending tOSU's 1st day of practice earlier in the month, were not happy.

Read the original story RIGHT HERE

Not only were they ordered to change clothes, they were derided on the field.

Now, that being said, Ohio State maniac, in the interest of disclosure, those same scouts said they weren't ticked about the policy, only that it wasn't made abundantly clear beforehand.

We will add that there is an unspoken rule for media covering teams NOT to wear the gear of the team they are covering, or any other team while covering sports, that rule is often ignored.

And honestly, we do get where they (Ohio St) are coming from and if the team and coaches choose not to wear blue, that is their choice, no issues or questions. Making outsiders adhere to such a
"Policy", is just plain rude to visitors who could care less about the rivalry, who doesn't like whom or whatever else this petty gesture is all about....

Carlos Hyde Video Released

((HT: Lost Lettermen))

The prosecution in the case are saying Hyde is the individual on the right half of the screen that appears to be taken aback and then lunges forward...


Allison Manning of the Columbus Dispatch lets us all know that Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde will not be facing charges in the above incident because the woman who was struck, apparently, did not want to press charges...

Police have closed the investigation, but Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer still has to determine the length of a suspension for Hyde that he is currently serving as a result of the incident in the first place...

The season-opener against Buffalo and, maybe, the San Diego State game looks like the answer...

Urban Meyer Gets Only One On-The-Field Question At Media Daze

((HT: ScoutingPennsylvania))

Here's the presser where tOSU head coach Urban Meyer has to answer every question about all the off-the-field stuff and nothing on-the-field...

Enjoy and snicker at your will...

That Was Fast... tOSU RB Carlos Hyde Dismissed (UPDATED: Or not... For Now...)

((HT: Columbus Dispatch/11 Warriors))

Tim May over at the Dispatch is saying that Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has dismissed Number 1 running back Carlos Hyde, who was named as a person of interest in an assault against a female in a Downtown Columbus bar this weekend.

Hyde had yet to be charged as of this morning. The alleged victim said in the police report she did not know her assailant, but that she could recognize him.

And, now, Meyer will get to face these questions in two days at Big 12/10 Media Day...

Corner Bradley Roby, who was arrested for "charges of battery resulting in bodily injury" as well in a separate incident, is also scheduled to be at media days. It will be interesting to see if he shows up as well or if he is told to stay home...

More when we know more...

1400 UPDATE: From Eleven Warriors... here's a picture of the police report on Hyde's case...

1545 UPDATE: Shocking no one, tOSU announces that Roby will not be attending B1G Media Days...

Head Coach Urban Meyer has announced that Hyde is now only "suspended from all team activites" and not dismissed...

“I have a clear set of core values in place that members of this football program are constantly reminded of," Meyer said at an afternoon press conference.

“Swift, effective and fair discipline is the standard for our entire athletics program. I applaud Coach Meyer for his immediate actions," Ohio State AD Gene Smith said on his Twitter account.

Sources (and we know about all those "sources") tell ESPN's Brett McMurphy that if Hyde is found not guilty, he will be reinstated...

It was a busy day for Corch Meyers...
((HT: WBNS-TV))

SEC Media Days Day #1: Will Muschamp Fires Back

For those of you unaware, the football season is just about upon us. And one of the events that makes college football fans...and in particular SEC Football fans heart go aflutter--Media Days.

The SEC's official/unofficial 2013 Season Kickoff began in Hoover, Alabama Wednesday afternoon. The event, which now draws over 1,000 accredited media types and hundreds of fans is a bit of a circus, 16 coaches with 2 players each taking turns shuffling between multiple media "Group" rooms and individual network interviews.

Batting leadoff today--Florida coach Will Muschamp, who while optimistic about his team, was a little less than thrilled at some shots taken by "Another Program" not in the conference.

That program, Ohio St., led by former Gator coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes are alleged to have alerted the NCAA twice to alleged recruiting violations---neither of which were proven and at least one of which may have cost Florida a recruit. Meyer claims it was his schools compliance department that turned the Gators in. And he knew nothing about it.

Read more about those allegations RIGHT HERE

Muschamp took a minute during an early side session and fired back, saying in part; "We appreciate our friends from Ohio educating us on NCAA rules. They certainly know a thing or two about them"

Oooohhh....burn.

And a little later in the main session with writers, he took a very indirect shot at Meyer and the heat Meyer has been getting regarding discipline when he was in Gainesville.

Q- "How much is a head coach responsible for the off-the field behavior of its players? Can a head coach know everything that's going on and control that?

A--"Well, you're 100% responsible. When you sign an athlete to come to the University of Florida, I look at his parents, guardians, whoever is important to him in his life, tell them it's my job to be an extension of what's already happened at home. But you're a hundred percent responsible for the young man. Everything that happens."

"I can't possibly know everything that happens every single night with our football team. You also can't stick your head in the sand and pretend everything is okay either. You need to be very aware of the kind of guys your guys are hanging out with....But you are 100% responsible for every student-athlete on your football team"

Is Urban Meyer Sabotaging The Florida Gators?

((ht: orlandosentinel.com))

So Florida Gator fans, you still loving on former head coach Urban Meyer?

We ask this in light of a report that Meyer...or an assistant coach reported the Gators had a "Secondary" NCAA violation over a high school running back from New York named Curtis Samuel. Samuel was also being recruited by the Buckeyes.

As the story goes, the NCAA allegedly investigated, found nothing wrong with the contact, but Samuel summarily dropped Florida from his list of potential schools.

Hmmmm....

For what it's worth, Meyer claims it was not-true that he turned the Gators in, but that an assistant did it.  Which raises the obvious question...would a college assistant coach do something like that without informing his boss.

Yeah.

Anyway, read the story with the allegations from the Orlando Sentinel RIGHT HERE

Yes, we find this amusing.

And according to the Sentinel's Mike Bianchi, this isn't the first time its happened. Maybe its just us, and we aren't exactly Gator fans, but it makes us laugh to know most Florida fans hold Meyer in such high regard. And that he speaks, at least publicly, in reverential terms about his former employer.

But it appears that he'll do whatever he deems necessary when it comes to recruiting, or for that matter anything else to win. We can't totally fault him for that, but if that's what you want to be, at least own it, don't try coming across as "The Good Guy".

And no, we won't wade into the Hernandez part of the story.

Corch Urban Meyers Get Undefeated Season At tOSU

((HT: WBNS-TV))

In a back-and-forth game reminiscent of just about every other game in the series, Ohio State held on to beat Michigan 26-21 at the Shoe...

The Buckeyes were down 21-20 at the half and kicked two field goals for the second half scoring- despite the thought that they could have scored more than just the six points...

More like 14...

Ohio State (now 12-0, 8-0 in the Big Ten/12/14) has an outside shot at finishing at the top of the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, but they're going to need some help- and a lot of lobbying from Columbus...

Jim Tressel was allowed on campus long enough to honor the 2002 national champ team. He was as warmly received as one would expect by the largest crowd to ever see this game...

All of the above causes fans to do this...

Pick Your Own Caption---Urban Meyer, Pete Rose and Pete Rose Jr. sitting in a tree

Urban Meyer with Pete Rose and Pete Jr./Courtesy: cincinnatireds.com

In today's version of pick your own caption...we give you this:

 1) Joker, Joker..and an Urban.
 2) Three of a kind
 3) Who are these guys?
 4) Know any good tattoo parlors?
 5) What do these 3 have in common? (Hint--think Truthiness)
 6) We are....the 3....Amigos!
 7) What are the odds?
 8) Curly, Larry and Moe? If so which is which?
 9) You know....we didn't actually "Pay" for our seats...
10) Yeah...Ohio State and Cincinnati Reds fans probably don't see the humor in this that we do....

Got any suggestions?

Ohio St. TE arrested

Jake Stoneburner/Ctsy: 10tv.com

Jake Stoneburner, the in-house leader to start at tight end for the Ohio State Buckeye's finds himself in a wee bit of trouble the Saturday.

It seems the rising senior was arrested early Saturday in Shawnee Hills, Ohio and charged with obstruction.

According to reports by WBNS-TV and the Columbus Dispatch, it isn't clear exactly what Stoneburner did to court trouble with the local po-po, but it was apparently enough to land him in the "Big House", albeit briefly, since he apparently was released on bail.

Read the story from 10tv.com RIGHT HERE

Also no word yet on what new head coach Urban Meyer plans to do. And it will be very interesting to see just how the "Urban-ator" does react. He's drawn a lot of criticism in the past couple of months over his lax attitude toward n'er do well's at the University of Florida and we are very curious to see if true, will it carry over to Columbus.

In the meantime, enjoy your off-season college coaches, you have another 60 days or so before you have your players under control again.

BREAKING: Urban Meyer to Ohio State

Urban Meyer

((ht: espn.com))

Pillar of honesty and straight talker Urban Meyer is "Officially" going to be back on a college football sideline.

ESPN.com is reporting that Meyer has accepted the job at Ohio State, per his agent.

You'll recall, Meyer vehemently denied being "Interviewed" for the job over the past week. However, OSG Sports, along with multiple other blogs reported that he had been negotiating privately for the gig.

Today verifies that report, the only question is; will he be introduced at tomorrow nights basketball game like the plan that we've all been told.

And yes, you can hear the hissing from Gainesville even as we write this.

Update--Despite Urban's agent Trace Armstrong (former UF player) telling CBSSports.com that the announcement is "Pre-mature"...the school has scheduled at 5:15 eastern press conference to "Announce it's 'New' head football coach".

Oh well...we kind of liked the idea of the introduction at the basketball game...

Reports: Urban Meyer agrees to deal with Ohio State

((ht: wkmg/clickorlando.com))

Urban Meyer

We pass this story on with the caveat that the source (WKMG-TV) has been very wrong about such things before...but this does make some sense.

WKMG sports reports that the agreement in principle that was first reported this past Friday by SportsbyBrooks.com and ElevenWarriors.com is for a pretty big contract.

The TV stations sports director, Dave Pingalore says its 7-years, $40 million.

Read the entire story RIGHT HERE 

By the way, Eleven Warriors is reporting that a guy named Bill Greene of Scout.com says it is also a done deal too.

What does this all mean? It means Urban Meyer will be in Columbus next season. It means that Urban Meyer took a year off because he wanted his dream job. He's got it. The folks in Gainesville aren't real happy, but they'll get over it.

All reports say that Meyer will be announced early next week and will retain interim coach Luke Fickell as his top assistant.

SportsbyBrooks also says Meyer is making the rounds, reaching out to former tOSU football players and telling them he's taking the job and looking for input on possible assistants.

Congratulations Ohio State, you got your man. Despite the potential of a "USC"-like penalty coming from the NCAA, you've got someone that will make you better and make you more competitive with the SEC teams.

You can celebrate now.

Urban Meyer: Haven't interviewed at Ohio St. but if offered a decision looms--*UPDATED*

Urban Meyer

((ht: gatorsportsc.com))

**Update** 2:54pm.--According to SportsbyBrooks is reporting Meyer was pulled from his role as analyst for this weeks Ohio State/Michigan game.

--Clay Travis of Outkick the Coverage says the plan has been to introduce Meyer at the 11/29 Ohio State/Duke basketball game.

Hmmmm...the plot thickens and it sounds like the cat is almost all the way out of the bag.
--------------------------------------------------------

Original story:

Well, Urban Meyer just made the day of countless people in the state of Ohio and managed to confirm what multiple outlets reported over the weekend at the same time.

The former Florida Gators coach, who stepped away last season after 2 National Titles and reams of success in North Central Florida told Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun in an interview that "He has not interviewed for the Ohio State job.". He goes on to tell Dooley that "If something happens with Ohio State than I will have a decision to make."

You can read the entire interview/story from GatorSports.com RIGHT HERE

Again, we told you on Saturday about the multiple reports stating that Meyer has "Not" interviewed for the job, BUT, there is an agreement in principle between his representatives and the school. That agreement, 1st reported on SportsByBrooks.com and ElevenWarriors.com said that nothing would be formally announced and it is not binding at this time. Rather, the plan is to announce it at the end of the season and/or when the school has some idea of the sanctions they will be facing.
'
That gives Meyer an out should he change his mind, which is a possibility, but if you read Dooley's interview, it sure sounds like he's thinking hard about it. Considering his talk of family and the fact that his family ties run all over the state of Ohio, we suspect it is only a matter of time before this is done.

Probation, sanctions or otherwise, Ohio State is still the "Plum" job that would attract a coach like Meyer. We think it will be done before the year is out.