Eric Boggs
According to an article written by Athlon Sports, Urban Meyer, the former head coach of Ohio State, has been accused of offering money to a recruit while he was a wide receivers coach at Notre Dame. BJ Johnson, a former Texas Longhorns receiver, revealed that Meyer tried to recruit him with improper methods when Johnson was a top high school prospect in 2000.
“Urban Meyer locked me in an office in my school and asked me straight up. He was like, ‘BJ. How much?’ And this was when he was at Notre Dame at the time. And, uh, it caught me off guard, ’cause I just thought we (were) talking football,” Johnson said. Unlike Meyer, Mack Brown, the head coach at Texas, did not offer Johnson any compensation. Johnson went on to have a successful career at Texas, recording 152 catches for 2,389 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Despite his recent nomination for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame, Meyer is facing heavy criticism. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum harshly criticized him last week, calling him a liar and a quitter.
“The other one is basically the worst of everything imaginable. He has lied. He has misled. He has quit several different times to spend time with his family. I realize Urban Meyer has won three national championships, but, beyond that, it’s embarrassing for him to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Nick Saban.”
Paul Finebaum
Finebaum, a paid ESPN personality who unapologetically waves the banner for the SEC, has never been a fan of Meyer while turning a blind eye to accusation of wrong doings by Nick Saban and the Alabama program. So it’s not surprising that Finebaum would fan the flames at a story about Meyer while simultaneously kissing the gold rings of Saban.
The topic of name, image, and likeness (NIL) licensing has become prominent in college athletics, allowing players to be compensated for their impact. Ironically, Meyer has criticized NIL, calling it cheating, which adds another layer to these recent revelations.
Meyer, who returned to FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff last season, is scheduled to reprise his role as an analyst for the wildly successful college football preview show. Look for Meyer to address these accusations at some point before the season begins. Hopefully, one day Meyer will also get to address Finebaum face to face. It would be interesting to see how the Mouth of the South would act in person when he isn’t hiding behind the protection of an ESPN microphone.
