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Former Ohio State assistant football coach Zach Smith says he did not inform his former boss, Urban Meyer, that he was arrested and charged with drunken driving in 2013. Smith was arrested and charged with speeding and operating a vehicle while intoxicated in February 2013, one year after he joined the Buckeyes staff. He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and had his license suspended for six months. "I handled it on my own without involving OSU," Smith said through his attorney, Brad Koffel, on Monday afternoon. Ohio State fired Smith on July 23 after past allegations of domestic abuse came to light in a report from college football reporter Brett McMurphy. The university placed Meyer on paid administrative leave Aug. 1 while it determines whether Meyer and others at the university handled accusations about Smith properly. Smith's OVI arrest was not made public until Monday morning, when it was first reported by the Toledo Blade. In an employee performance review weeks after that arrest, Smith received a 5 -- the best possible score -- in the category of "[u]nderstands and adheres to University's core values." He was sentenced in the city of Dublin Ohio's Mayor's Court in April 2013. He pleaded guilty to a charge of physical control, a first-degree misdemeanor. Along with a suspended license, Smith had to complete 72 hours of driver-intervention courses. According to court records, Smith he allowed limited driving privileges. Koffel, his attorney, said that included the ability to drive on recruiting trips and other trips related to his job. A spokesman for the university said Ohio State is looking into the 2013 arrest. Smith was arrested on a criminal trespassing charge in May. Police in Ohio and Florida, where Smith was on the Gators' coaching staff under Meyer, also investigated domestic assault accusations made by his ex-wife, Courtney, in 2015 and 2009. Neither instance resulted in criminal charges. Meyer initially denied knowing about the 2015 allegations when asked about them the day after firing Smith. He reversed course a little more than a week later, saying he failed to speak accurately after Courtney Smith said that she believes Meyer knew about the incident. "He never told Coach Meyer, nor did Coach Meyer even learn of this [until today most likely]," Koffel said in a text message about the OVI. "Much like the criminal trespass case, Zach chose to deal with it on his own and did not involve the university or athletic department." Zach Smith was expected to meet with the group appointed by Ohio State to investigate Meyer's culpability. Koffel said he couldn't comment on whether that meeting took place. Courtney Smith's attorney told reporters that her client met with the investigative team on Monday, adding that she welcomed the chance to do so. The panel investigating the allegations made by Courtney Smith said it expects to complete its review by Sunday. At that point, it will deliver its findings to Ohio State's president and board of trustees to determine whether any further action is needed. Meyer is on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
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