Before Heading Back to Football, Urban Meyer Has His Say

Urban Meyer said Monday he could have handled the Zach Smith situation better but insisted he did not lie about his former assistant coach.Ohio State’s football coach, Urban Meyer, returned from a three-game suspension with a splash on Monday, insisting that he did not lie about when he learned of a domestic assault allegation against a former assistant coach and that he has always had zero tolerance for violence against women.

In his first news conference since the university suspended him for his handling of Zach Smith, the former assistant, Meyer also said that he had never deleted text messages or changed the settings on his phone to prevent records from coming to light — contrary to the…