Boston College head coach, former Urban Meyer assistant Steve Addazio comments on 2009 Zach Smith incident

At Big Ten Media Days, Urban Meyer said that, to his knowledge, the only domestic incident involving Zach Smith and then-wife Courtney Smith came in 2009 when Smith was a graduate assistant on Meyer’s Florida staff.

From the podium, he said, “As I do many times, most coaches and people in leadership positions, you receive a phone call, first thing you do is tell your boss, let the experts do their jobs. We’re certainly not going to investigate. It came back to me that what was reported wasn’t actually what happened.”

Now another coach who worked with Zach Smith at Florida and later employed him has commented on the 2009 incident. Current Boston College head coach Steve Addazio was on Meyer’s staff all six seasons (2005-2010) at UF. In the gap year between Meyer’s final season at Florida (2010) and first at Ohio State (2012), Addazio became the head coach at Temple. He hired Smith as wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator. After one season (2011) on Addazio’s staff, Smith was hired away by Meyer.

Addazio has released his own statement on what happened at Florida in 2009. While the language could be more detailed, it does state that the Smith matter was “in the hands of university personnel,” indicating UF officials were aware, presumably because Meyer had reported the incident.

“While an assistant coach at Florida in 2009, I was aware that there was an issue in the personal life of Zach and Courtney Smith,” Addazio said in his statement. “I did not know specifics, and I knew the matter was in the hands of university personnel and that the couple was involved in counseling. As a husband, father and coach, I have zero tolerance for domestic abuse. There is no place in our program at Boston College for any member of our staff involved in domestic violence.”

Meyer released his own statement Friday saying he properly reported incidents involving Smith at both Florida and Ohio State.