Urban Meyer's National Championship Homecoming Celebration in July

GENEVA, Ohio — Urban Meyer claimed he was on vacation.

His mannerisms suggested otherwise.

For the fourth straight year, Meyer found himself spending a July morning standing in front of a rather sizable crowd at the impressive SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio—just outside of his hometown of Ashtabula.

And for the fourth straight year, the Ohio State head coach found himself interrupting his own speech, making sure that he had the attention of every member of his audience.

"Eyes up here, eyes up here," Meyer repeated. "No. 5, eyes up here."

Only Meyer's directions to the person in the No. 5 scarlet and gray jersey weren't aimed at Braxton Miller or Jeff Heuerman but rather a child who couldn't have been any older than six or seven years old. This hasn't been an uncommon occurrence at the annual youth camp that bares Meyer's name—along with that of childhood friend and Eastern Kentucky head coach Dean Hood—where campers grades 1-8 enjoy the full Meyer experience at no cost.

But as opposed to last year's camp, where Meyer's keynote speech—and presence for that matter—felt more like a mere formality, Wednesday's seemed as if he were accepting a lifetime achievement award. Announced as the reigning national champion that he is as camp came to a close, Ashtabula's favorite son didn't only relay his message by reflecting on the Buckeyes' run to the college football crown but spoke to the resurgence of the region that raised him.

"In this great state's history, I can't remember momentum like this," Meyer said. "Northeast Ohio is starting to roll a little bit. LeBron James has done so much for this state. I was so proud when I went up to Game 3 [of the NBA Finals], that this is my home state, this is my hometown.

"To see the energy in the state of Ohio is fantastic."

Ben Axelrod

The fourth-year Ohio State head coach would go on to admit that he's a part of that as well, thanks to the Buckeyes' capturing of the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship. Meyer's camp in Ashtabula has always been a big draw, but this year was different, with 100 more campers than the year prior attending the event that might as well have doubled as a homecoming coronation.

"I loved growing up here," Meyer said. "I want to see Ashtabula do great."

As it often is, it was hard to ignore Meyer's presence in Geneva, as he was rarely unable to spend more than five minutes without being asked to sign an autograph or pose for a picture. Dressed in a white Nike pullover and khaki shorts, he always obliged, even if having to do so while directing campers to their next drill.

Having spent more than a decade in the spotlight as one of college football's top coaches, Meyer is no stranger to the handshakes and hugs that come along with being a public figure. But the attention he received on Wednesday was different than what he's experienced in previous years at the same event, although not necessarily different from what he's already seen throughout the offseason.

Because while Wednesday may have been his true homecoming, the past six months have served as an almost nationwide celebration of the Buckeyes' national championship. Between an appearance on the Late Show, first pitches in New York, Cleveland and Cincinnati and the customary White House trip, Meyer has seemingly been everywhere this offseason, even if he downplayed his championship tour.

"I expected life to get a little simpler when we won [the national championship at Florida] in '06, and the thing that I shared that our players and our coaching staff in particular is that it just gets a little more complicated," Meyer said. "That one's over, you have to move forward. It's sometimes hard throwing out first pitches everywhere, but it's time to move on. I watch that real close."

The Ohio State head coach, however, did allow himself to express excitement over attending the ESPYs later this month, as well as taking part in next week's festivities at the MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati.

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

That, too, should serve as a homecoming of sorts for Meyer, who was a walk-on defensive back on the University of Cincinnati football team in 1984. But it won't come close to the scene that was set on Wednesday, with even one of his closest childhood friends finding himself in awe.

"It's kind of like watching your kids [play sports]. You're more nervous for them than for yourself," Hood said of witnessing the Buckeyes' championship chase. "When I was watching the Ohio State games, I was more nervous than I was at any point in our games."

Participating in a press conference that was as much for show as it was the media members in attendance, Meyer and Hood answered questions about OSU's quarterback competition—no real update—and defensive end Noah Spence, who transferred from the Buckeyes to EKU after being ruled ineligible by the Big Ten.

But all the attention always found its way way back to Meyer, who brought up on his own that it was just 10 months ago that his team found itself losers of three out of four games.

"I'm in vacation mode right now," Meyer said as he downplayed questions about the upcoming season.

And maybe he was.

But on this July afternoon, all eyes were on Meyer—even the ones that belonged to that kid in the No. 5 jersey.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.