CHICAGO — Bill O’Brien, the fresh face of a massive reclamation project at Penn State, wasn’t the only football coach doing damage control Thursday at Big Ten media days.
Like O’Brien, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer is saddled with NCAA sanctions from the sins of the past regime. In Meyer’s case, he’s looking at scholarship reductions for three years and bans from Big Ten title contention and bowl competition this season.
While OSU’s penalty doesn’t approach the severity of Penn State punishment, Meyer’s feelings haven’t changed, only his description of the unexpected hardship.
When first learning of the sanctions less than a month on the job, he called it a “sucker punch” to the gut. Questioned about the sanctions Thursday, he likened it to getting “hit with that two-by-four.”
Adding to the distress was the arrest this summer of three players, leading to the dismissal of linebacker Storm Klein, and suspension of offensive lineman Jack Mewhort and tight end Jake Stoneburner.
Continue Reading: Meyer not dweling on Ohio State sanctions
