Ohio State Football: Secondary Violations More Bad PR for Buckeyes

After the Ohio State's football program was hit with a one-year bowl ban, probation and other penalties by the NCAA after the 2012 season, you'd think the Buckeyes would do whatever it took to stay out of the headlines. Unfortunately for new head coach Urban Meyer that hasn't happened.

Ohio State has committed 46 secondary violations in 21 sports since last June according to a report in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The school's football program committed nine of those violations, but none of them were actually troubling.

In fact, some of the infractions are downright silly. One involved assistant coach Mike Vrabel chewing smokeless tobacco on the sidelines during games last season, and another came from new head coach Urban Meyer texting "good luck" to recruit Noah Spence at a game in December. 

Again, these were minor, insignificant violations that will barely raise the NCAA's eyebrows. 

The problem for Ohio State is that any time it gets mentioned in connection with an NCAA violation for the next few years, everyone will assume the worst. And going forward Meyer and his staff would be wise to pay close attention to the rule book as often as possible, so these minor infractions don't ever really get headlines.

The perception of Ohio State as a dirty program will persist until the Buckeyes run a clean ship for a number of years. The stain of the tattoos for memorabilia scandal and the violations involving boosters and extra benefits won't just wash away because there is a new head coach in town. It will take time for the program to earn back respect nationally, and until then it should to whatever it can to stay out of the headlines.

Any violations committed by Ohio State's football program, minor or not, will impact it's reputation nationally. That will have a big effect on recruiting efforts as well as future rulings if the school ever gets into trouble with the NCAA again. Urban Meyer and his staff need to study up and be sure to obey the letter of the law.

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