Urban Meyer speaks (finally) on Hernandez situation

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer finally broke the silence on the alleged murder that his former player Aaron Hernandez took part in a couple weeks ago. Meyer, the former Florida Gators head coach when Hernandez attended the university, admitted that he purposely kept distance from the media frenzy that soon followed the revealing of his former player's involvement:

“I’ve been, on purpose, staying away from this whole thing, but I’m not now,” Meyer told The Dispatch yesterday before embarking on a family vacation. And he added that, foremost, his “prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.”

Meyer has a similar approach to coaching as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, so his response was eagerly awaited by anybody following the story. Though we are still waiting for Bill's reaction (don't hold your breath), hearing Meyer's opinion is the next best thing. When asked about his initial recruiting report on the former tight end, Meyer said:

"When one of our (Florida assistant) coaches started recruiting him up in (Bristol) Connecticut, it was right after his father had died suddenly. There was a lot of emotional trauma with that. Years ago, that would weigh forever on my chest — “What could we do? What could we do?” Then I’d talk with other coaches, and in essence the conversation was you do the best you can. But at the end of the day, there is free will. You can’t change people. You can set the table and try to help them, make sure there is a spiritual component in their life, make sure there is a family atmosphere. And that’s what we try to do — it’s what we’ve tried to do everywhere."

Meyer opens up and answers some difficult questions regarding Hernandez, his recruiting out of Bristol, past run ins with authority, and even the role that college football coaches play as a student's 'quasi-parents'. It is really in depth and thorough so I recommend you check out the direct link, posted above.

Anthony Aidonidis
@aidonidis18