Displaying items by tag: Ohio State University

Former Ohio State Basketball head coach Thad Matta joined the Sam and  Brad Show  to talk about being inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame. 

The Urban Meyer suspension was handed down yesterday and the coach of the Buckeyes will serve a three game suspension for his role in the Zach Smith situation.

Ohio State beat writer Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch joined the Sam and Brad Show to discuss the suspension and what's next for Ohio State football.

College football analyst and reporter Brett McMurphy joined the Sam and Brad Show to talk about his latest report alleging OSU head football coach Urban Meyer indeed knew about domestic violence allegations levied against Zach Smith, a former receivers coach in 2015.

He (Meyer) said during Big Ten Media Days he was unaware of any allegations or issues involving Smith and his ex-wife Courtney.

 Brett's report can be read here.

 We will keep you updated on this ongoing story once more information becomes available. 

Former Ohio State defensive end and 2002 Highland High School graduate Mike Kudla, 34, has passed away according to a the Highland Local School District.

Kudla ranks 14th on the all-time sack leaders list for Ohio State and was a member of the 2002 National Champion team. Kudla was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006.

While his NFL career was cut short by injuries, Kudla remained active in sports medicine, working with the NFL on CTE-protocols.

No cause of death has been released.

The following is the notification posted to the Highland High School Facebook page: 

Dear Highland Parents and Friends,

We were informed this morning that Mike Kudla passed away unexpectedly yesterday, Sunday, July 15. He was 34.

Mike was a proud 2002 graduate of Highland High School. An honor student and four-year letter winner, he left Highland with over 500 career tackles and was named to several All-America teams. He was a graduate of The Ohio State University and a member of the 2002 National Championship Team under Coach Jim Tressel, a two-time Big Ten Champion, First Team All-Big Ten, and 2005 Team Defensive MVP. Mike capped off his Ohio State career with a three-sack performance in a win over Notre Dame and ranks 14th in Ohio State history for career sacks.

After his career in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike embraced his entrepreneurial spirit and began a career in insurance and risk management. After several years, the opportunity arose to join The Ohio State University and, in 2012, Mike was named Managing Director of Development for the Fisher College of Business. Most recently, he was the owner of Core Plex, where he developed and built medical facilities all over the country. He was also working with the NFL on protocols for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which is a neurodegenerative disease found in people who have experienced multiple head injuries.

Despite his success on and off the football field, Mike remained humble and was extremely generous with his time and resources. He was always willing to share his experience and mentor youth. He was loved and respected by many and will be missed terribly.

The Kudla's have been long-time members of the Highland community. His mother, Mary Fran, worked at Highland Schools for 20 years, retiring in July 2017, and remains the director of the Highland Community Education program.

Mary Fran and her husband, Paul, reside in Montville Township and have four other children, Brian ('98), Katie ('00), Eric ('05, also employed at Highland Schools) and Emily ('09).

Most of us cannot begin to imagine the depth of grief that their family is going through right now. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Funeral arrangements are pending. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available.

Thank you,
Dawn Marzano
Director of Communications
Highland Local School District

Former Ohio State linebacker and NFL player Chris Spielman discussed his class-action lawsuit against his alma mater on the Sam and Brad Show Monday afternoon. 

Massillon Washington offensive lineman Thayer Munford spoke with Sam and Brad to talk about his commitment to play for coach Urban Meyer and the Ohio State University in the fall of 2017.

One of the hot names heading into the 2016 NFL Draft is former OSU defensive lineman Joey Bosa, who is expected to be a top-5 pick in April.

His high school coach offered a little insight into Joey as a player and as a person, saying that the former Buckeye star will do whatever it takes to contribute to his team.

Rocco Casullo, the fomer coach of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL joined the Average Sports Show to talk with Brad about Bosa and what skills he will be bringing to the next level.

"He grew into the program quickly," Rocco said. "He was a big kid, hard worker, someone who took pride in weights, and someone who you thought would have a tremendous future at the high school level."

 Casullo coached both Joey and his younger brother Nick at St. Thomas Aquinas before moving on to Mater Academy in Florida.