Zach Smith vs Tom Herman

by Brendan Paschal

Right when you think the entire drama surrounding Ohio State, Urban Meyer, and Zach Smith has reached its end…Zach Smith jumps on Twitter. Oh, the beauty of social media. Instead of holding a press conference or getting a reporter to agree to meet with you, like you did in the old days, nowadays you can unload whatever you want to say for the entire world to see within seconds. That is exactly what Zach Smith did this past Sunday, Nov. 11. While many Americans were getting ready for the week and trying to enjoy the last few hours of the weekend, Smith was unleashing hell on Twitter. I haven’t seen this much hate pointed at one man since the 2016 election.

Image from USA Today.

Smith was the epicenter of all of the preseason chaos at Ohio State. This summer Brett McMurphy exposed the fact that Meyer kept Smith on as an assistant coach even after he had learned that Smith was abusing his now ex-wife, Courtney, back in 2009. This is where it gets sticky. The only conclusive fact that we have is that Smith did in fact abuse his wife. After that, everything becomes hearsay. Meyer said he didn’t know anything about it. Courtney Smith claims he knew everything. But this all happened back in the summer. Meyer was “punished” – more like a received a slap on the wrist – while Smith was fired, and things seemed to settle down. That is, until Smith took to Twitter this past Sunday.

While everyone else seems to have moved on, Smith has not. His most recent target, Tom Herman, is now the head coach at Texas. Smith and Herman were colleagues at Ohio State, and during one of the official investigations it was reported that Herman had been the whistleblower. Well, Smith has not learned to forgive and forget. In fact, he’s been looking for anybody he can take down with him. This past Sunday, Smith accused Herman of cheating on his own wife during their tenure together at Ohio State.

While many Americans are enjoying a peaceful afternoon on the Lord’s Day, Smith was sitting at home – probably in his parent’s basement since his wife left him and he has no job – accusing Herman of infidelity. He follows up that tweet with a text message exchange between the two.

Before looking at Smith’s sent messages let us take a moment to fully appreciate Herman’s response. It is so much better than simply hitting him with a “k”. First, he does not allow Smith to rile him up as he doesn’t say anything that would incriminate himself via text message. Second, the “Hook Em!” rubs it in Smiths face all the more because it reminds Smith that he not only has a job, but is now a head coach.

But Smith doesn’t stop there. He continues to berate Herman with tweets all afternoon that are just plain distasteful, plus he doesn’t say anything else of substance.

BEFORE turning Tom Herman into the next Hugh Freeze we must take a few things into consideration.

1. Smith has nothing to lose – The man lost his family, his job, and most importantly his reputation. A man is nothing without his name. Don’t believe me? Read The Crucible. Now, Smith is either telling the truth or making up lies to try to become relevant again.

2. Let’s say Smith is actually telling the truth. Well, he claims to have video proof. Yet, during his 10 hour rant on twitter not a single shred “damning evidence” appeared. That’s suspicious. You can tweet all you want, but at the end of the day, none of this matters unless you show your proof.

3. Tom Herman doesn’t seem to care what Smith says. Throughout this entire debacle Herman has remained calm, cool, and collected. If you had someone claiming to have evidence that could ruin your marriage, career, and reputation wouldn’t you be concerned? Herman has yet to show any sign of panic.

Now this could easily turn into an even uglier ordeal, but as of now, I’m holding off on any judgement of Herman…except for the fact that he can’t beat Maryland.