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Zach Smith Meets With Ohio State Investigators

By August 14, 2018 (8:14 pm)Football

Former Ohio State wider receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Zach Smith met on Tuesday with the investigators appointed by the university, Smith’s attorney told ESPN.

Smith was fired July 23 after national college football writer Brett McMurphy brought to light a history of domestic abuse allegations made against the former assistant coach. Smith’s ex-wife, Courtney Smith, met with the investigative team on Monday.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is being investigated for how he handled knowledge of the allegations.

Zach Smith’s attorney, Brad Koffel, told ESPN that his client “answered all the questions asked of him during the hours-long meeting.”

McMurphy’s report pointed out two domestic violence allegations Courtney made against Zach. When Zach was a graduate assistant for Meyer at Florida in 2009, an incident report from the Gainesville (Fla.) Police Department stated that he was arrested June 21 early in the morning for aggravated battery on a pregnant victim. Courtney was three months pregnant at the time. In 2015, three years into Zach’s tenure on the OSU staff, the Powell (Ohio) Police Department reportedly responded to Courtney’s residence in late October for an incident involving Zach. The alleged dispute stated that Courtney was a “victim of sustained physical abuse by the suspect.”

A day after firing Zach, Meyer said at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago that he was not aware of the 2015 allegation. Ohio State placed Meyer on paid administrative leave on Aug. 1, the same day McMurphy issued a report stating that Meyer’s wife, Shelley, knew about the 2015 incident. On Aug. 3, Meyer released a statement in which he noted that he passed the information he had regarding allegations through proper channels in 2015.

The investigative team is expected to come to a resolution on the Meyer probe by Sunday.

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