Breaking news: Ohio State football Head Coach has commit a QB player from Philadelphia due to his lack of…..
A member of Ohio State’s football support staff was placed on administrative leave in December because of a university investigation, according to a letter from the school’s human resources department obtained by ESPN on Wednesday.
Ohio State quality control coach Joe Lyberger, who worked with the linebackers, received the letter from the school on Dec. 27 informing him that he would be placed on paid leave effective immediately and would not be allowed at the Buckeyes’ facilities.
According to the letter, Lyberger was instructed to immediately return all university property and keys, and not delete any “emails, documents, and/or materials produced during
your tenure as an employee.”
The Columbus Dispatch first reported the story — less than two weeks after Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-23 on Jan. 20 to win the College Football Playoff national championship. The news also came on the heels of Penn State hiring former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles for the same position earlier this week.
The letter did not specify the allegations against Lyberger. The investigation was initiated by the school’s Office of Institutional Equity, which helps the campus community “prevent and respond to all forms of protected class harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct,” according to its website.
A school spokesperson said there would be no comment because it is a personnel matter. Lyberger’s Columbus, Ohio-based attorney, Sam Shamansky, told ESPN he is unclear of the accusations against his client.
“I’m not really sure. [The letter] is a bunch of vagaries,” Shamansky said. “Can you imagine being in a criminal justice system and not knowing exactly what you’re accused of doing? If you’ve got evidence, show it. If you have videotapes, let’s see them. Why are we waiting around? My client has been asking for this information for a month.”
Shamansky said he doesn’t know how long the investigation will run other than “too long.”
“While my client twists in the wind,” he said, “the university machine moves at its own pace.”
Lyberger, in his fourth season with the Buckeyes, came to Ohio State after working two seasons as a defensive assistant at Bucknell. Before that, he was a graduate assistant at Ohio Dominican University. He graduated from Slippery Rock in 2016, where he also playe
d football.
North Carolina’s Providence Day School is used to seeing the biggest names in college football roam its halls.
In the 2024 class, the school’s starting quarterback signed with Michigan. This cycle, one of its offensive tackles is the nation’s No. 7 overall recruit and will play at Tennessee in the fall. Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry have all made visits to campus in the past month.
But there was something different about the morning of Jan. 7.
From the parade of coaches in their polos, quarter-zips and Air Force 1s, one coach stood out. Bill Belichick, winner of eight Super Bowls and renowned for his makeshift sleeveless hoodies, was the first coach any player had seen show up wearing a suit and square-toed dress shoes.
“The jacket and tie he wore was different — I got a lot of funny comments on Twitter about that,” offensive tackle Leo Delaney, ESPN’s No. 62 recruit in the 2026 class, told ESPN. “But I think that represents the style of his recruiting and coaching. It’s formal. It’s straightforward. It’s old-school. He’s exactly how you expect him to be.”
If Belichick’s arrival at North Carolina represents one of college football’s most fascinating stories in 2025, the first chapter has been written on the recruiting trail over the past 54 days. And it has offered insight into an overhauled Tar Heels program and early answers to a central question surrounding Belichick’s hiring: How will a 72-year-old who has coached in the NFL since 1975 deal with recruiting teenagers for the first time?
Belichick inherited a recruiting class in tatters upon landing at North Carolina on Dec. 12. Less than two months later, his remade class enters Wednesday’s national signing day at No. 48 in ESPN’s class rankings, up from its place outside the top 75 in late November, when the school fired Mack Brown. Since Dec. 20, Belichick’s staff has added 15 pledges to the program’s 2025 class. The class is headlined by ESPN 300 quarterback Bryce Baker.
North Carolina has also built a modest transfer portal class of 18 additions for Belichick’s debut season, highlighted by Thaddeus Dixon (Washington), Daniel King (Troy) and Pryce Yates (Connecticut). Meanwhile, the Tar Heels managed to retain a number of starters who initially entered the portal this offseason with linebacker Amare Campbell and offensive linemen Austin Blaske and Aidan Banfield among the team’s key returnees.
Belichick might seem like an unlikely recruiter. But he’s leaning into an unmatched strength and delivering a clear pitch on the trail.
“The focus with this new staff is on preparing everything for the next level,” North Carolina quarterback commit Au’Tori Newkirk said. “Everything is being run like it’s the next level. The motto is that we’re going to be the 33rd team in the NFL.”
The full extent of Belichick and his staff’s ability to recruit, identify talent and construct a roster at the college level will be better measured in the 2026 cycle and beyond. But Belichick’s immediate recruiting appeal has been evident, built on decades of NFL success and a clear plan for what he intends to build in Chapel Hill.
“The opportunity to play for Bill Belichick? It’s hard to pass up,” said defensive tackle commit Nicco Maggio, a former Wake Forest signee who committed to the Tar Heels
on Jan. 24.
