The biggest story of the college football offseason has come with an ugly side.

The reporter who broke the story that led to Ohio State launching an investigation into Urban Meyer and his dealings with former assistant Zach Smith has said he’s received an onslaught of threats.

During an interview with Fox Sports IHeartRadio, Brett McMurphy outlined the threats, including those to his 14-year-old daughter. McMurphy said he’s received countless hate messages and vulgar remarks.

“I’ve seen references to, ‘I’ll make sure he’s hanging from a tree.’ I’ve had people on Facebook message me and basically talk about things they would do to my daughter, who is 14 years old,” McMurphy said during an interview with Fox Sports IHeartRadio. “I don’t know what the definition of a threat is, but I’d say I have over 1,500 messages on Facebook and I would say 90 percent of them contain the F-word or ‘go have sex with yourself’ in a variety of manners.’

“All I know is that if Michigan’s play-calling under Harbaugh was as creative as some of the ways Ohio State fans have told me to have sex with myself, Harbaugh would have three national titles.”

McMurphy has been the lead reporter that’s broken much of the news related to Meyer’s knowledge of domestic abuse allegations against Smith. He’s detailed the reports with text messages from the alleged victim. Smith was fired in July after a domestic violence order was filed against him by his ex-wife, Courtney Smith. Accusations against Smith date to 2009.

“If you’re OK with Zach Smith as a coach, why did you fire him,” McMurphy said. “The only apparent reason is because all this stuff went public.”

The Ohio State Board of Trustees has opened a meeting on Wednesday, and multiple reports suggest an announcement about Meyer’s future could come later today.