Urban Meyer remains on paid administrative leave at Ohio State amid an ongoing domestic abuse scandal, but his absence from the football field hasn’t removed his presence along the recruiting trail — at least, not yet.
Even as recently as Monday — well into Ohio State’s investigation into Meyer’s role in the Zach Smith domestic abuse scandal — recruits have reaffirmed their commitment to him. Just look at five-star receiver Garrett Wilson (Lake Travis, Austin, Texas), who told Eleven Warriors he believes “Coach Meyer is going to come back stronger” after the conclusion of the scandal.
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The Buckeyes still have the best class in the Big Ten and a top-10 class in line for 2019, according to 247Sports. That's the impact Meyer has on the potential future of the program. Since his arrival in 2012, Ohio State has maintained the top class in the Big Ten and a top-five class in six of the past seven cycles. Steve Wiltfong, director of recruiting at 247Sports, said those commits are monitoring Meyer's future closely.
"They build tremendous relationships with kids," Wiltfong told Sporting News. "Tremendous relationships. These kids are pulling for Urban Meyer to get through, and I'm sure they've been in communication with him and the staff."
| Year | Big Ten | National |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | 1 | 4 |
| 2015 | 1 | 7 |
| 2014 | 1 | 3 |
| 2013 | 1 | 2 |
| 2012 | 1 | 5 |
Marc Givler, a recruiting analyst at BuckeyeGrove.com, said the timing of the investigation hasn’t hurt Ohio State’s recruiting efforts. It’s a dead period — meaning players can’t take official visits — and most recruits are busy at practices preparing for the 2018 high school football season.
"(Ohio State) hasn’t had any decommits, and no one has hinted they are leaning that way,” Givler told SN. “They’ve actually survived this at that point. If there can be good timing, this would be it. It’s the slowest recruiting month anyway.”
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Meyer is 73-8 since taking over at Ohio State, but he was placed on paid leave after firing receivers coach Zach Smith on July 23. Meyer's knowledge of a 2015 incident involving his ex-wife Courtney Smith — in which no charges were filed — has become the focal point.
Givler said there’s a prevailing wait-and-see-attitude among Ohio State recruits when it comes to Meyer’s future, and the stories involving the Smith family largely haven’t had a negative effect on their interest in the program.
“That’s hard, to go down that road with a 16-year-old kid,” Givler said. “If anything, I’ve had a few kids tell me this whole thing has been blown out of proportion in terms of Urban Meyer’s involvement. If anything, the circus around the Smith family has taken the heat off Meyer.”
How will that affect the Buckeyes’ 2019 cycle, especially considering fellow Big Ten program Maryland — dealing with allegations of a toxic culture created by coach DJ Durkin — had a decommit in the wake of its own scandal?
"With a couple guys that are uncommitted I think it's made an impact, but (not yet) with the guys that are committed,” Wiltfong said. "(Ohio State) evaluates extremely well. There are a lot of people that want to play at Ohio State, for them to find guys that can keep them in the championship discussion every year. They get guys with championship DNA. They rarely miss.”
Wiltfong added that interim receivers coach Brian Hartline, who played the same position for the Buckeyes from 2005-08, should make an impact on the recruiting trail.
"Status quo," Wiltfong said. "Coach Meyer sets the tone, (player personnel assistant director) Mark Pantoni leads the charge and the assistant coaches understand the expectation about how important recruiting is."
MORE: Meyer can only blame himself for poor priorities
All that said, if Meyer resigns or is fired, that dynamic change within the program. He's one of the best recruiters of all time, and the Buckeyes’ string of top classes are indicative of that. Would they be able to replicate that without him?
"That would be a challenge," Wiltfong said. "Some of those guys love Ohio State so it wouldn't be a complete unraveling, but some of those guys are committed to play for a staff. If Urban Meyer isn't the head coach, then there's no guarantee (interim coach) Ryan Day won't be there next year."
That would be the hypothetical key to keeping the class together without Meyer. Givler said Day was instrumental in landing Wilson, along with 2019 quarterback Dwan Mathis (Oak Park; Belleville, Mich.) and 2020 quarterback Jack Miller (Chaparral; Scottsdale, Ariz.).
While Givler believes Day was given the interim tag to help keep continuity in the recruiting, losing Meyer would be a blow hard to overcome in the Buckeyes’ next cycle.
“There would be such a level of uncertainty on the future of the program,” Givler said. “I don’t know how they would keep all that together in ’19.”
