Urban Meyer has reportedly found the man who will fill the vacancy on his coaching staff after Ohio State plays Oregon for the national championship Monday night, and it is someone with ties to three states important to building a strong college football program, particularly in the Midwest.
ESPN's Joe Schad reported Sunday morning Ohio State is set to hire Tim Beck, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, to replaced Tom Herman, who will become the head coach at Houston after coaching the Buckeyes on Monday night. A source also told the Associated Press that Beck would be hired by OSU.
Beck spent the past seven years at Nebraska, where he coached running backs for fellow Youngstown Cardinal Mooney graduate Bo Pelini until being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2011. Beck also coached the Cornhusker quarterbacks from 2011-14.
Under Pelini, he developed an attack based on similar principles as Meyer's preferred brand of spread-option football. Pelini was fired in November and has since been named head coach at Youngstown State.
In Beck's time as offensive coordinator, dual-threat quarterback Taylor Martinez set Nebraska records for career passing yardage and total offense. Coaches selected him the All-Big Ten first-team quarterback in 2012 while Ohio State's Braxton Miller was the choice of the media. Nebraska also had a pair of first-team All-Big Ten running backs in Rex Burkhead and Ameer Abdullah over the past four seasons.
In 2012, the Cornhuskers were No. 8 national in Football Outsiders S&P+ but slipped to 46th in 2013 after Martinez went down with an injury. They were 34th this past season in S&P+, which is a football measurement similar to OPS in baseball as it measures play-by-play success and explosiveness.
Beck's 20-plus years as a football coach also include stints as a high school coach in Florida and Texas, and the ability to recruit in those talent-rich states as well as understand the culture of football in Ohio likely combine to make Beck that much more appealing to Meyer.
Beck also previously worked with current Ohio State co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner when the two were at Kansas in 2007.
A school spokesperson told FOX Sports Ohio he had no knowledge of any football personnel moves at this time.
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