As Eleven Warriors has reported, Texas head Coach Tom Herman just shouted out a loud denial of any DIRECT connection to sports reporter Brett McMurphy per seeding what has become the Urban Meyer scandal (i.e., sportswriter Jeff Snook has alleged that Herman hooked McMurphy up with Courtney Smith to generate a report that would get Zach fired).

Herman has likewise denied providing any DIRECT form of legal assistance to Courtney Smith, but it seems to me that Herman might have successfully buried the lead by focusing on his relationship with McMurphy, because...

TOM HERMAN MADE A PAYMENT TO COURTNEY SMITH!!!

He just admitted it.

That alone should be enough to send a continuous flock of reporters to his doorstep where they should camp out for weeks until he tells them everything that he knows and when he knew it. 

After all, we now have Herman's admission of a payment to Courtney Smith combined with a report that his motive was to eliminate Ohio State and Zach Smith as recruiting competition in Texas. 

This absolutely should draw the attention of the NCAA, Ohio State administrators, and University of Texas administrators alike.

Sure, I get that Herman says the payment was for "financial need," and that very well may be true, but then, nobody is going to sign a paycheck by announcing that their dirty money is really for underhanded purposes. 

Moreover, with the relatively high salary that Zach Smith made, not only are we obligated to ask why Courtney Smith needed Herman's money, but assuming she did, it begs a question as to why she wouldn't first ask the Meyers for financial aid, since they're much wealthier, and especially since Courtney has already admitted that Shelley Meyer has always been open and supportive of her throughout the years?

Far more vexingly, somebody HAS TO ASK:

Why did Courtney Smith actively contact the HIGHEST PAID PUBLIC EMPLOYEE in the state of Texas, not to mention the HIGHEST PAID OFFICIAL at the University of Texas, namely, TOM HERMAN, and ask him for money, even though she simultaneously and publicly indicted (perhaps rightfully so.... I dunno, and I guess we'll find out) the administration at Ohio State precisely because nobody in Columbus contacted her? 

Something doesn't add up. 

In short, why would Courtney Smith go above and beyond Meyer's head by calling an official at the University of Texas but not at Ohio State, where she has now publicly expressed great disappointment over the fact that nobody in the Ohio State administration contacted her? 

In addition, if sportswriter Jeff Snook's story about a vendetta is also true, which has been confirmed by Courtney Smith's own mom, as well as Zach Smith's mom, who now count as two personal eyewitnesses (i.e., claiming that for year she has repeatedly swore to "take down" the football program), then it certainly makes sense that she wouldn't ask the Meyers for money.

However,  it would make sense for Courtney Smith to seek some quid pro quo money from Tom Herman (and vice versa) whose payment(s) would offset her income gap once Zach was fired, while Herman could severely damage the reputation of his biggest recruiting opponent since he's been at Texas (that is, this side of Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher), namely, Ohio State and Zach Smith. 

As most people here know, Zach Smith successfully recruited the one of the top-rated players in the nation, Garrett Wilson, a 5-Start Wide Receiver out of Texas.

But there's a lot more where that came from (for reference, see J.K. Dobbins and Jeffrey Okudah), and since Herman has been catching Hell from Texas fans for his recruiting failures relative to his fat paycheck and bad record, he's got a pretty big motive for making such an alleged payment. 

Meanwhile, if the latest charges are true and Herman did attempt to get Zach Smith fired, while it's only a guess, I doubt that he ever imagined that this would impact Meyer himself (if he did, man, that would be some payback for his old boss, who helped him to land his current plum job), and it never would have become a national headline if Urban hadn't misspoke (or "mislead" and "lie"--take your choice) at Big Ten Media Day,

But now, if the current reports are true, this situation just might blow up in Herman's face more than anybody else's if there are further investigations.

And so there should be.

The University of Texas and the NCAA should both immediately open separate inquiries, since this information already presents a cloud of suspicion regarding Herman's recruiting practices and possible serious NCAA violations.

Yes, these are only allegations, but then, Urban Meyer is only facing allegations, too, and everyone seems to agree this is legitimate.

Meanwhile, although Brett McMurphy has denied his connection to Tom Herman, which I certainly hope is true (Snook reports otherwise, and one hopes the reporters can back their allegations with smoking guns), he should take this opportunity to personally grill to the Texas coach, since the foul stench of this scandal is no longer blowing in only one direction, is it?

If McMurphy doesn't step up to preserve his integrity (I won't hold my breath), someone in the media or elsewhere should ask Tom Herman exactly how much money he paid Courtney Smith, and how often?

More importantly, Herman should be forced to provide evidence of any and all payment(s) that he's ever made. 

Is the above too much to ask?

Or is is the case that only CURRENT Ohio State football coaches should be investigated for unproven allegations?