'I Maybe Overdid It:' Urban Meyer's Hollywood Offseason

COLUMBUS, Ohio — There was Snoop Dogg, doing his best to dutifully participate in an interview with a television crew following his participation in the MLB All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game.

The rap superstar wasn't saying anything particularly insightful, going through the motions of his media obligations in Cincinnati on the eve of the Midsummer Classic. But he would soon find himself a part of a video that would go viral on Sunday night and into Monday morning—one in which, despite his celebrity, Snoop Dogg wouldn't even be the star.

No, on this night, that role would belong to Urban Meyer, who teamed up with the "Gin and Juice" singer in the celebrity softball game that will air on tape delay following the annual Home Run Derby on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night. As Snoop Dogg answered a question, the Ohio State head coach could be heard bellowing "Snooooop," as if he were a pre-streaking Will Ferrell in the movie Old School, before flashing a boyish grin at the camera interviewing the music icon.

It wasn't the first time Meyer has found himself in the spotlight this offseason, and it won't be the last—not with with a trip to Los Angeles along with a select few of his players for ESPN's ESPYS where the 2014 Buckeyes—and Meyer himself—are nominated for a number of awards. 

From throwing out the first pitch at no fewer than three different major league ballparks to appearances at charity events and courtside seats at NBA Finals games, Meyer has hardly been a hermit this offseason as he's basked in the glory of Ohio State's run to the national title.

"I probably maybe overdid it a little bit," Meyer said at the Walking the Talk fundraiser run by Cleveland Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. last Friday in Sandusky, Ohio. "There's no such thing as a bad one—a charity event or an event to help people."

National championship offseasons are nothing new to Meyer, who's been through the drill twice before at Florida, albeit never in his own home state. In Ohio, the Buckeyes head coach is always in high demand, but never more than he is after a national title season, as the Ashtabula, Ohio, native has learned via the countless appearance requests he's received in the past six months.

And despite his already busy schedule, more times than not, Meyer has obliged.

"It's unique that they're all my friends saying, 'Can you do this? Can you do this? Can you do this?' And you can't say no," Meyer said from the event in Sandusky, which happened to fall on his 51st birthday. "I didn't have to, but when Ted Ginn says 'I need you up here,' I go do it."

Of course—as the Snoop Dogg story above shows—there's been plenty of variety in Meyer's offseason, and it hasn't been all for the sake of a good cause. In fact, sometimes the Buckeyes have been the beneficiaries of their head coach's spring tour that has now extended into the summer, as the Ohio State program has received plenty of positive publicity following its championship season.

It started just four days following the Buckeyes' win over Oregon in the national title game, when Meyer made a stop during a recruiting trip in New York to make an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. There, the three-time national champion coach playfully refused to say the word "Michigan" and discussed the state of college football in what proved to be Meyer's first of many pit stops of the offseason.

After national signing day and spring football occupied Meyer's schedule from February until April, Meyer quickly returned to the limelight thanks to the national champions' customary trip to the White House. From there, it was full-speed ahead, with first pitches in Cleveland, Cincinnati and New York, before sitting directly behind LeBron James' bench for June's NBA Finals in Cleveland.

It may not be his preferred term, but the reality is that Meyer's offseason has been that of a celebrity, which isn't all that uncommon nowadays for a college football head coach.

But unlike Jim Harbaugh, who's used his unique personality to put his face at college football's forefront, Meyer's publicity tour has been based on substance, as evidenced by the standing ovations that have followed him across the state.

But having already been through this before, Meyer knows better than to read into the constant hugs and handshakes he's been greeted with for the past six months.

Elsa/Getty Images

"I expected life to get a simpler when we won [at Florida in 2006] and the thing that I shared with our players and our coaching staff in particular is that it just gets a little more complicated," Meyer said at his annual youth football camp in Geneva, Ohio, on July 1. "That one's over. You've got to move forward. It's sometimes hard throwing out first pitches everywhere and all that stuff, but it's time to move on."

Maybe not quite—at least not with the ESPYS on Wednesday, where the Buckeyes are nominated for "Best Team," quarterback Cardale Jones is up for "Breakthrough Athlete" and Meyer has a great shot to walk away with the award for "Best Coach." But after Wednesday's red-carpet outing, just two weeks will remain until Big Ten media days, with fall camp right around the corner.

From there, Meyer will have his hands full with perhaps the most intriguing quarterback competition in college football history—which he's answered questions about at just about every stop he's made this offseason. But even with nothing more than mere memories from it remaining at that point, Meyer's 2015 offseason will go down as the most eventful of his career—even if he didn't anticipate it being so.

"Probably," Meyer answered when asked if this has been his busiest offseason yet. "I've done a lot this year."

And football season hasn't even started yet.

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.