COLUMBUS, Ohio – September 3rd reads as Labor Day on the calendar but to many Ohio State fans it read as Independence Day, at least for Urban Meyer. The embattled Ohio State head coach saw his suspension come to an end, at least the one that has kept him off campus and out of the WHAC as his Buckeyes (1-0, 0-0) team starts the 2018 season.
Meyer arrived on campus somewhere around the 6:00 a.m. hour on Monday morning for a full day of work for the first time since going on a paid administrative leave on August 1st that turned into a suspension after the Ohio State University Board of Trustees handed down their punishments to Meyer and Athletic Director, Gene Smith.
While Meyer is now able to work with his team and coaches during the week, he still cannot coach on Saturdays for two more weeks and will be able to get back on the sidelines in week four when the Buckeyes host Tulane.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Day has been holding things down in Meyer's absence with the help of a veteran and high-regarded roster of coaches. The Buckeyes responded well in week one with a 77-31 win over Oregon State and now have their sights set on Rutgers (1-0, 0-0) to start Big Ten play.
Monday is typically an off-day for players and generally reserved for treatment and voluntary work. All of the coaches were at the WHAC however and had a chance to see Meyer for the first time, in some time.
"It was good," defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said on Wednesday. "Excited to have him back, everybody is. Coach is a very focused guy, as you know, and we hit it running, got back to it."
The sentiment was echoed by Day.
"A lot of the coaches hadn't seen him much, again, so embracing and great to see you back, but we got back to our meeting," Day added. "We had our meeting; it was business as usual."
The date of Meyer's return had been spelled out in his punishment and Day was asked in a joking manner if he cleared any items out of the head coaching office on Sunday night or waited until Monday morning.
"I think you know the answer to that," Day said with a laugh.
There is no doubt that the time away from the team was tough for Meyer and everyone will get to learn more about that when Meyer grants his first interviews since returning, sometime down the line. It won't take Meyer long to get back up-to-speed with everything in terms of football, Meyer was on no vacation while away from his team.
"Coach is Coach, you know?" Day said. "Talked to the staff about moving forward, going to the game. We debriefed on Saturday's game and now we're working at game planning today."
"We got right down to business," Schiano added. "Today is a big day as a coach. Monday is your big game planning day, and Coach was sensitive to that. We got together as a staff and met, and it wasn't very long and then got together and begin work on the game plans."
Meyer and the Buckeyes will get back to the practice fields on Tuesday and will have a few days to prepare for former Ohio State assistant coach and current Rutgers head coach Chris Ash. Meyer will run the show through Friday and Day will lead the team on Saturday as Meyer has to make it through two more Saturdays before he can run through that tunnel again with his team.
