CFB notebook: OSU probe of football program, Meyer to end Sunday

Ohio State officials announced Friday evening that its investigation involving the Buckeyes' football program and head coach Urban Meyer will be completed Sunday as planned. The investigators will share their findings with the university's Board of Trustees in an executive session next week. Meyer was placed on paid administrative leave Aug. 1 after the ex-wife of former assistant coach Zach Smith accused Meyer of mishandling domestic assault allegations she made against Smith. Ohio State appointed the special working group to review the allegations on Aug. 5 and said the investigation would be completed in two weeks. University president Michael Drake and the board of trustees will determine what action is needed after hearing the results of the investigation. The university statement Friday said public notice of the meeting will be released at least 24 hours in advance, and that following deliberations with the board, Drake will announce his decision. The independent working group is chaired by former Ohio House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson. The investigation is being led by Mary Jo White, former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Interim head coach Ryan Day has been running the Buckeyes' fall practices and has released a full rundown of each position group to update the media and fans on the status of the team. --The University of Pittsburgh announced via Twitter that wide receiver Taysir Mack, a transfer from Indiana, will be able to play immediately this season. The NCAA granted Mack, who transferred to Pitt in January, a waiver, but it was not immediately clear what grounds were used to justify the move. The Twitter post on the Pitt Football site read: "Coach Pat Narduzzi announces that WR Taysir Mack will be eligible immediately for 2018 after receiving a waiver from the NCAA.#H2P #LockTheGates." The 6-foot-2, 183-pound Mack was with the Hoosiers for two seasons and it was believed he would have to sit out this year to satisfy NCAA transfer rules. However, Narduzzi was holding out hope in recent months that the NCAA would grant him the waiver. A three-star recruit out of Grand Street High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2016, Mack was rated the No. 7 player at any position in the state of New York as a senior. After redshirting as a true freshman at Indiana, he caught 23 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns in 2017. As a high school senior in 2015, Mack caught 45 passes for 900 yards and 15 touchdowns. He originally made an oral commitment to Rutgers before signing with Indiana. Mack will have three years of eligibility at Pitt. --Matt Womack, who started all 14 games at right tackle for national champion Alabama last season, sustained a broken right foot in practice on Thursday and underwent surgery on Friday. Womack, a redshirt junior, broke the same foot working out during the spring and missed all 15 of the Crimson Tide's spring practices. In a Twitter post, Womack wrote: "Thank you for all of the prayers on my surgery today! I know these injuries over the past 6 months didn't happen to me, it happened for me! Comeback season is in full effect!" A native of Hernando, Miss., Womack first sustained the injury in an on-field workout and aggravated it walking up a flight of stairs. Womack's father told ESPN that the surgery went well but that his son might be out for six weeks, which if accurate would mean he could return for a Sept. 29 game against Louisiana-Lafayette. The Crimson Tide opens the season against Louisville on Sept. 1. Womack won the starting job at right tackle last season after strong spring and fall camp performances and was part of an offensive line that has four starters returning, including All-SEC selections Ross Pierschbacher and Jonah Williams. In early practices, Womack was getting competition from sophomores Alex Leatherwood and Jedrick Wills, who is expected to get the starting role. Willis came in at right tackle last season when Alabama went to an extra lineman, with Womack becoming a second tight end. --With Ohio State transfer Joe Burrow the front-runner to win the starting quarterback job at LSU, two of the players competing for the job announced that they are transferring. Lowell Narcisse tweeted this week that he plans to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the fall and Justin McMillan also said he is leaving the program. Narcisse, a Louisiana native, came to LSU in 2017 and sat out last year as a redshirt while rehabbing knee injuries that occurred during high school. "I have to do what's best for me as far as my future and as far as showcasing my abilities," Narcisse said in a radio interview. "I just felt it was the best thing for me to get a fresh start." With the departures of Narcisse and McMillan, the only two remaining scholarship quarterbacks on the roster are Burrow and sophomore Myles Brennan. Burrow committed to LSU as a graduate transfer in May after losing a spring battle for Ohio State's quarterback job with Dwayne Haskins. Burrow waited his turn as a backup behind four-year starter J.T. Barrett, who used up his eligibility last fall. Burrow will have two years of eligibility remaining. He missed most of last season because of a broken bone in his right hand and redshirted in 2015. LSU is in need of a replacement for departed Danny Etling, who was a seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots. In 10 games at Ohio State, Burrow completed 29 of 39 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. His best game was against Nebraska in 2016 when he completed 6 of 6 passes.