? Eh, family is overrated. Urban Meyer, continuing the pursuit of quality family time that led to his resignation at Florida, will forsake his expected role as an in-studio talking head this fall to pontificate from a broadcast booth instead, as a color man for noon kickoffs on ESPN. Meyer will join veteran boothmates Dave Pasch and Chris Spielman for early kicks in (mostly) Big Ten country, likely beginning with ?�drum roll, please ?�Akron at Ohio State on Sept. 3. I can't imagine what there could possibly be for Spielman and the Buckeyes' next head coach his new colleague to talk about there.
Meyer will also be appearing live from game sites on College GameDay and do some taped features for the show. According to an ESPN producer: "He wanted to do everything." Well, I'm sure he'll be home soon, girls. [USA Today]
? Just a few bad apples, part one. Ohio State trustees plan to launch a six-week review of the entire Buckeye athletic program in the wake of the scandals that have rocked the football team, though they also noted there is no reason to expect to find serious issues elsewhere. "The process and decision-making to date by the university has in our judgment been fundamentally sound," said Robert Schottenstein, chairman of the audit committee, in the board's first public statement since coach Jim Tressel was first implicated and eventually forced out for major violations of NCAA rules. "For the most part, we believe our compliance protocols in athletics are good." Depending on what they find, though, the trustees may be open to the idea moving oversight of athletic compliance out of the athletic department to ensure better accountability. [Associated Press, Columbus Dispatch]
? Just a few bad apples, part two. Meanwhile, North Carolina is likely to respond to the epic notice of allegations the NCAA dropped on its doorstep earlier this week by arguing that the university's good intentions were undermined by "rogue" employees who intentionally eluded even the most diligent oversight. If so, we're talking about a lot of rogues: Within the program, seven players were accused of accepting illegal benefits, a tutor was accused of committing academic fraud on multiple players' behalf and an assistant coach was charged with acting as a runner for an NFL agent.
"My position would be, knowing North Carolina's reputation, that we did have comprehensive programs in place and we did monitor all the ways we could monitor,'' said Michael Buckner, a Florida attorney who advises organizations on NCAA compliance and investigations, in an interview with the Fayetteville (NC) Observer. "The reason these violations occurred is we had individuals who intentionally avoided scrutiny and accomplished these violations in such a way there were no red flags. That's how I would argue it if I were North Carolina's attorneys.'' [Fayetteville Observer]
? Who wants to play for a BCS championship frontrunner, anyway? Alabama defensive tackle Darrington Sentimore, a former four-star recruit ranked among the nation's top incoming D-linemen in 2009, is reportedly "exploring transfer options" related to the latest of a series of vague disciplinary issues. If he does leave, Sentimore will be the sixth Crimson Tide reserve to transfer out of Tuscaloosa since the end of last season, following defensive lineman Brandon Moore, linebacker Petey Smith, running backs Demetrius Goode and Corey Grant and cornerback B.J. Scott. Safety Robby Green, who was academically ineligible for the entire 2010 season, is also likely to leave the team.
? Happy trails. In other comings and goings, Michigan State wide receiver Donald Spencer ? one of a dozen players suspended for the 2009 Alamo Bowl for allegedly launching an assault on a frat house ? is transferring to Indiana State after two years on the Spartan bench. Spencer is the third MSU player to leave the team in the last month, following fellow receiver/frat-house brawler Fred Smith and incoming freshman Onaje Miller. [Detroit Free Press]
? The Rap Sheet. Incoming freshman DeVondrick Nealy has been suspended indefinitely from Iowa State in the wake of a weekend arrest for shooting up the campus with a BB gun. Nealy, a Florida transplant, was charged with harassment of a public official after officers responded to complaints of a group "carrying a weapon and shooting things" a little after 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. [Ames Tribune]
Quickly… Yet another top Ohio prospect is going out of state, this time to Nebraska. … Oregon hires "The Cleaner" to make NCAA investigators go away. … Mack Brown's right-hand man is no longer a Texas employee. … Jimmer Fredette was on Penn State's radar as a football recruit. … Testing shows everybody been gettin' high. … And Barry Switzer is getting into the winery business. No further comment.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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