Urban Meyer Banned from Contacting Ohio State Players amid Investigation

Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer is not allowed to communicate with Buckeyes players or members of the team's coaching staff while on administrative leave during an investigation into the handling of 2015 domestic abuse allegations against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith.

On Thursday, Ohio State associate vice president for university communications Christopher Davey confirmed to Bill Landis of Cleveland.com that Meyer is also banned from campus and doesn't have access to any "university-issued communication devices," including his OSU email account.

Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports noted the Buckeyes coach originally denied knowledge of the allegations from three years ago against Smith at the Big Ten media days, saying, "I got a text last night that something happened in 2015, and there was nothing."

College football reporter Brett McMurphy noted Aug. 1 that information obtained from the alleged victim, Smith's ex-wife Courtney Smith, showed Meyer had previous knowledge of the situation.

Meyer posted a statement on Twitter two days later admitting he "failed" with his comments at the media days but added he "followed proper reporting protocols" in 2015:

Ohio State announced a "special, independent six-person group" is investigating the situation ahead of the 2018 season.

Buckeyes offensive coordinator Ryan Day is serving as the team's acting head coach in Meyer's absence.

The team is scheduled to open the regular season Sept. 1 against Oregon State.