On Saturday afternoon, a report from Ohio State insider Jeff Snook revealed that Texas coach Tom Herman was former ESPN reporter Brett McMurphy’s anonymous source in a story that led to a major investigation at Ohio State.

Herman, who served on coach Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State before leaving for Houston in 2015, apparently had some bad blood with former OSU WR coach Zach Smith, who was allegedly involved in a domestic violence incident in 2015.

Snook wasn’t done with the initial report, though. And a followup report stated that Herman was mad about Ohio State landing the commitment of 5-star WR Garrett Wilson, who was also considering Texas:

“They wanted Zach Smith fired,” one source said. “They had some dirt on him and wanted him off of Ohio State’s staff.”

The Hermans have even helped pay for Courtney Smith’s legal fees, two of my sources told me.

Tom Herman’s motive?

Herman was furious after five-star receiver Garrett Wilson committed to Ohio State in April over Texas, sources say. Wilson played at Austin (Texas) Lake Travis High, just miles from the Longhorns’ campus. Zach Smith was the Buckeyes’ primary recruiter in getting Wilson’s commitment.

This is a bold allegation, and one that will be tough to verify for sure. However, it’s certainly not a good look for Herman.

The whole situation at Ohio State is a mess, and things just keep getting stranger and stranger seemingly every hour.

For good measure, here was Herman’s response when asked about the Ohio State situation last week: