Kerry Coombs getting feet wet in Columbus
Former Colerain, UC coach oversees Buckeyes pro day

EDIT: Didn't really know where to place this story so, to be safe since he is an tO$U coach, I'll put it here:

COLUMBUS — Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin got a mild surprise during Ohio State’s Pro Day. He saw an old friend on the sidelines wearing scarlet and gray.

With his hiring as Ohio State’s cornerbacks coach made official on Wednesday, Coombs made his first public appearance as a member of the Buckeyes staff. Tomlin didn’t even know about the move until Friday. The two have been longtime friends, going back to when Tomlin was an assistant at UC and Coombs was the head coach at Colerain.

After five years at UC, Coombs’ move to Columbus took many by surprise, even Coombs himself.

“I never had a vision of doing this but when that opportunity is presented to you, it’s really hard to pass up,” he said. “I’m a lucky man. I owe so much to Colerain High School and the University of Cincinnati and people in town that have done so much. I called all my players and said thank you because I have this opportunity for what they’ve done.”

Coombs and Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer have known each other a long time, dating to Meyer’s days at Bowling Green when he would be recruiting Coombs’ players at Colerain. What struck Coombs at the time was that Meyer was the only head coach who would visit schools without an assistant.

A couple of years later, when Meyer was the head coach at Utah and came back to speak at a coaches clinic at UC, Coombs gave Meyer a tape of his son, Brayden, who was a junior at Colerain at the time, to evaluate.

“I didn’t know how big of a deal it was then. Three days later I get a full written report from the staff at Utah that outlines what the strengths and weaknesses were and how to go forward,” Coombs said.

With spring ball scheduled to start on March 28, Coombs has been quickly getting up to speed on Ohio State’s defense, which marks the fifth different scheme he has coached in six years.

Coombs said getting up to speed on the defense has been easy. It has been being away from home that has been the hardest part.

Brayden Coombs, who is now a coaching assistant for the Bengals, arrived in Columbus on Thursday night after being at Ohio University’s Pro Day in Athens earlier in the day. Father and son got a chance to catch up over dinner before viewing the Pro Day on Friday.

“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Brayden Coombs said. “He worked from the bottom up. In his mind, he’s still a high school football coach that loves the game and his success has taken him to greater heights.”

With Meyer, a UC alum, and Coombs now on Ohio State’s staff, there is a definite Cincinnati flavor on the Buckeyes staff which could give them a jolt in recruiting the area. Ohio State has had moderate success in getting players from here but haven’t had much luck in getting many blue chip recruits. Coombs is looking to change that.

“The great players in Cincinnati are going to get a full dose of Ohio State recruiting and have every opportunity to display their talents in Columbus,” he said.

Another person hoping that more Cincinnati area players make their way north is DeVier Posey, who was one of 13 former Buckeyes working out for 30 NFL teams. Besides Brayden Coombs, running backs coach Jim Anderson, offensive line assistant Kyle Caskey and Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin represented the Bengals.

Posey, who unofficially ran in the 4.37-4.44 range in the 40 at the Combine, did not run the 40 on Friday but did do receiver drills. Out of 15 routes, he had 14 receptions with the one incompletion being an off target pass.

“I think it went good. I made sure I looked good on all my routes and helped myself,” he said. “The next six weeks is all about working out and not trying to be too antsy before the draft.”

The one Buckeye who could have helped himself the most was safety Nate Ebner, who unofficially ran a 4.51 40 and had a vertical leap of 39 inches. Known as the second best collegiate player in the country in rugby, Ebner was a walk-on.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120...ter-sports

"With Meyer, a UC alum, and Coombs now on Ohio State’s staff, there is a definite Cincinnati flavor on the Buckeyes staff which could give them a jolt in recruiting the area. Ohio State has had moderate success in getting players from here but haven’t had much luck in getting many blue chip recruits. Coombs is looking to change that.

“The great players in Cincinnati are going to get a full dose of Ohio State recruiting and have every opportunity to display their talents in Columbus,” he said."

Well, whatever. I know people assume Urban will get whoever he wants anyways, but Butch has been consistently stepping his game up.. if he keeps winning I think we'll start to see the blue chips give us a serious look.

As long as Coombs doesn't use negative recruiting against UC, its fair game.