COLUMBUS, Ohio – Members of the Ohio State football program revealed Tuesday that a reported Twitter ban issued by Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer was a false alarm.
Reports surfaced earlier Tuesday saying the newly-minted coach issued a Twitter freeze on his players.
Buckeyes tight ends Reid Fragel and Jake Stoneburner issued what appeared to be their farewell messages on the social media platform, but Fragel later laughed off the reports as "hearsay."
"Just now finding out the whole twitter thing wasn't exactly true. #hearsay," Fragel wrote. "Haha sorry for the confusion, sometimes people decide to put words in others mouths... That's all I have to say about that."
The junior tight end wrote earlier in the day, "New staff new rules. No more twitter, not a big deal and probably for the better. Love our fans, love this place. Go Bucks #2012."
Stoneburner followed suit, writing, "Twitter=Done. Me=back for senior year, leading this team, and shocking the world!! #gobucks #12-0."
Several other schools, including top football programs like Nebraska, South Carolina, and Boise State, have banned players from using Twitter.
But the so-called Buckeyes ban turned out to be untrue, according to other players on the team.
"Lol this twitter stuff is funny," cornerback Bradley Roby wrote. "He (Meyer) never told us we can't have twitter."
Meyer was recruiting for Ohio State over the past month after being hired in early December, but previous head coach Luke Fickell stayed on through Monday's 24-17 loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl.
Meyer, 47, returns after spending a year away from the sidelines working for ESPN. He boasts a career record of 104-23 in stints at Bowling Green, Utah, and Florida, where he won two national championships.
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