Ohio State football has revealed that the school's Office of Institutional Equity is investigating a quality control coach. A letter sent to ESPN from the university's HR department revealed that Joe Lyberger was informed through a letter from the school that he was being placed on administrative on December 27, a few days before the Rose Bowl game. This dark cloud emerged nine days after the Buckeyes went on to win the National Championship game over Notre Dame.

The Office of Institutional Equity's objective is “to help the Ohio State community prevent and respond to all forms of protected class harassment, discrimination, and sexual misconduct. This centralized office houses the university’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Youth Activities and Programs, and Title IX functions.”

Lyberger has been with the Buckeyes since 2021 after serving as a defensive assistant at Bucknell for two seasons. Within Ohio State football, Lyberger has worked specifically with the linebackers as a defensive program assistant. Nevertheless, there seems to be a lot of confusion over the allegations made against the quality control coach. This uncertainty has even extended to his lawyers in this investigation.

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Lyberger's lawyer, Sam Shamansky, relayed this message to ESPN's Heather Dinnich. He opened by stating the seriousness of the investigation. The Ohio-based attorney then acknowledged that he and his client are in the dark about Lyberger's alleged wrongdoing. Neither the university nor Ohio State football have responded to these comments.

“My client and I take any allegation of wrongdoing very seriously. We respect the process whereby those who are accused have the opportunity to defend themselves, and we look forward to the opportunity.

But I'm not really sure (what the charges are). (The letter) is a bunch of vagaries. Can you imagine being in a criminal justice system and not knowing exactly what you're accused of doing? If you've got evidence, show it. If you have videotapes, let's see them. Why are we waiting around? My client has been asking for this information for a month.”

Overall, this is an ongoing investigation that will take time. There are no signs yet of Ryan Day, nor did anyone from Ohio State football knowing what Lyberger is being accused of. Therefore, the public is far from getting closure on this situation.