Kirk Herbstreit on what Urban Meyer's suspension does for his legacy

Kirk Herbstreit is the face of ESPN’s college football coverage, and he happens to be an Ohio State alumni.

So, Herbie knows the program intimately, and he’s close with Urban Meyer. In wake of Meyer’s three-game suspension Wednesday night, Herbstreit hopped on SportsCenter to discuss the events. Among other things, Herbie was asked how the three-game suspension effects Meyer’s legacy as a head coach.

“Oh, I think it depends on how he responds moving forward,” Herbstreit said. “You mentioned what he has done on the field. This is a setback. This is a blemish on his resume, and how he conducts himself moving forward will dictate whether or not people will remember this five years or 10 years from now or not.

“I know him very well. I think you’ll see behind closed doors — not necessarily at press conferences really — talking about how he’s going to carry himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if not only Ohio State, but a lot of universities watch this … And I’m going to be very frank with you, when you’re a head coach at this level and you’re trying to chase championships you only have so much time in the day. … The last thing you feel like you should be worrying about is what’s happening with one of your coaches.”

Meyer was certainly on his way to becoming college football’s all-time coaches. He’s won three national titles (one at Ohio State) and has a combined record of 177-31, including a dominant 73-8 record at Ohio State.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens moving forward like Herbstreit said. How Meyer responds will mean everything.