After Ohio State announced suspensions of AD Gene Smith and head football coach Urban Meyer, the two addressed the media along with lead investigator Mary Jo White and school president Michael Drake.

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Drake, Smith and Meyer took questions from the media. Smith was asked if Urban Meyer had made him aware of Zach Smith’s arrest for domestic violence in 2009 while he was a graduate assistant on Meyer’s Florida staff. Smith said Meyer did not make him aware of the 2009 arrest.

It is not known why Meyer did not mention the incident to Smith. The 2009 arrest did not result in any charges, which could easily be interpreted to mean it would not have prevented Ohio State from hiring the grandson of legendary coach Earl Bruce. It certainly raises questions to if Gene Smith would have handled allegations of domestic violence made against Zach Smith in 2015 – an incident Gene was aware of – differently.

The 2009 arrest did not appear to hinder Zach Smith’s journey up the coaching ladder. In 2010, he was hired by Marshall head coach Doc Holliday, a former assistant at Florida under Meyer, to be the Thundering Herd’s special teams coach. For the 2011 season, he worked under another former Meyer assistant at Florida, Temple head coach Steve Addazio, as the Owls’ wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator. In December 2011, Meyer hired Zach Smith to be Ohio State’s wide receivers coach, a position he held until last month.