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Ohio St. Recruits Cade Stover, Garrett Wilson, More, Excited Urban Meyer Staying
August 23, 2018
Ohio State's decision to suspended head football coach Urban Meyer for three games, per Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors, instead of firing him following an investigation into how he handled domestic violence allegations against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith was welcome news on the recruiting trail.
"I'm so excited," linebacker Cade Stover said, per Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports. "It's such a blessing. I thought it would work out."
He wasn't the only one to comment, as wide receiver Garrett Wilson said, "It was awesome to hear that. I love him as a coach, so it meant a lot for sure."
Running back Sampson James called it "great news" and said it "put a smile on my face."
Meyer's prowess on the recruiting trail is one reason he has been so successful throughout his career. According to 247Sports, he brought in the second-best class in the country for 2018, and he currently has the No. 9 class for 2019 and No. 3 class for 2020.
Ohio State has a 73-8 record under Meyer and won the national championship in the 2014 season.
Now that Meyer has clarity on his job status, he can soon return to the recruiting trail and attempt to keep the Buckeyes as one of the national powerhouses competing for spots in the College Football Playoff every year.
Meyer wasn't the only one at Ohio State punished. According to ESPN.com, athletic director Gene Smith was also suspended following the investigation and will be out from Aug. 31 through Sept. 16.
ESPN.com passed along the statement from Ohio State regarding the punishments:
"Although neither Urban Meyer nor Gene Smith condoned or covered up the alleged domestic abuse by Zach Smith, they failed to take sufficient management action relating to Zach Smith's misconduct and retained an assistant coach who was not performing as an appropriate role model for OSU student-athletes. Permitting such misconduct to continue is not consistent with the values of the university and reflects poorly on Coach Meyer, Athletic Director Smith and the university. Their handling of this matter did not exhibit the kind of leadership and high standards that we expect of our athletic director, head coach, assistant coaches and all on the football staff."
Ohio State will be without Meyer for its first three games of the 2018 season, but a number of Buckeyes recruits were excited he will still be around when they arrive on campus.