(UPDATE: Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer confirmed today (Monday, June 4) that Jake Stoneburner and Jack Mewhort have been suspended from all football team activities. And then issued no further comment at this time.)
Two very important Ohio State Buckeyes were arrested late Friday night (Saturday morning). The team’s best offensive lineman/projected starting left tackle and the starting tight end/guy who will be probably be QB Braxton Miller‘s top receiving target this fall were caught urinating in public; which led to obstruction of justice misdemeanor offenses.
From the website of Channel 10 in Central Ohio:
Tight end Jake Stoneburner and offensive lineman Jack Mewhort were arrested at about 2:30 a.m. by the Shawnee Hills police near the Bogey Inn, 10TV News reported.
A third man, Austin Barnard, was also charged. He is not affiliated with the football program.
Police told 10TV News that two officers saw the three men who they believed were urinating between buildings. The officers attempted to talk with them but they ran away.
Two of them were captured while they were crouched in between vehicles in a parking area used for the nearby Memorial Tournament, police said. The third person was found hiding in nearby woods after officers threatened to use a police dog.
All three were released about a little more than an hour later after posting $2,000 bond, according to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.
There’s been a belief, at least in the state of Ohio that all their problems are over just because Urban Meyer is here now. That despite the postseason ban in 2012, all is perfectly well, and Meyer is something like the second coming who will make everything perfect overnight.
Or at least it seems like the local media have really been overly favorable to and about Meyer. But let’s remember the Urban Meyer arrest record while he was at Florida. In September of his final season at UF, Meyer had seen 30 players already arrested within his program. And that’s one for every two wins.
This all seems to be glossed over in Buckeye land these days. So remember this fact, before you think that Meyer has everything in the program under control.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.