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Ohio State self-reported accidental text sent to recruit by assistant's son

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Chris Carter (72) holds up his helmet prior to the game against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship at AT&T Stadium. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive lineman Chris Carter (72) holds up his helmet prior to the game against the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship at AT&T Stadium. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Among the 47 minor incidents that Ohio State athletics self-reported to the NCAA in 2014 includes the time a football assistant coach’s four-year-old son accidentally sent a text to a recruit.

According to The Lantern, Buckeyes wide receivers coach Zach Smith’s young son “picked up his father’s cell phone when a recruit called on May 27, and accidentally sent an automatic text message in return.” As a result, Ohio State “sent a letter of education to the coaches” about the NCAA’s texting rules.

Understandably, the NCAA did not rule the incident to be a violation.

Of the three public records requests submitted by The Lantern, eight of the 47 total self-reported incidents stemmed from the football program.

Among the football violations included “impermissible on-campus contact,” which was reported to the NCAA on Sept. 25. From The Lantern:

That incident involved coach Urban Meyer having “inadvertent contact with a junior college non-qualifier.” That junior college athlete was on campus without the knowledge of the OSU staff, according to the records request. OSU declared the athlete ineligible until he was reinstated by the NCAA. The records did not specify any actions by the NCAA.

Additionally, earlier in the year, the football program reported another violation for impermissible text messages and phone calls. It was reported to the NCAA on Jan. 7.

The violation was the result of six accidental one-minute phone calls and five text messages over a span of 10 months. The university prevented the football coaching staff from making phone calls for one week as a punishment.

The NCAA reviewed the incident and did not hand down any sanctions.

For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!