Matt Campbell addresses Ohio State conjecture

AMES - Turmoil in the Buckeye State has seeped its way to Ames.

Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer is currently on paid leave from the university as he's being investigated in relation to a domestic abuse incident that involved one of his former assistants. Because of that, rumors of who the next Buckeye head coach would be if Meyer is not retained are flying around - even though the job isn't currently available.

Campbell addressed the rumors on Friday after Iowa State's first day of fall camp.

'From my end, I'm never going to talk about what's going on at other schools or other universities,” Campbell said. 'My sole purpose at my job is to focus on: No. 1, on our football players; No. 2, our coaching staff; No. 3, our fan base and No. 4, our future of our football program.

'I've always said this, ‘You're either somebody in the profession that's trying to either be somebody or trying to do something.' I think over the last two and a half years, I've proven that my whole sole mission is to be here and to do something.”

Campbell, a Massillon, Ohio, native has led Iowa State to an 11-14 overall record, including an 8-5 season last year that culminated in a Liberty Bowl victory.

Campbell wants his players to feel free to talk about this, and other, situations with him so they're comfortable.

'We have a really open-door policy with our kids,” Campbell said. 'I constantly talk about noise and things outside of our program. Those are things we can't control. I think it'd be naïve not to address the situations that come up in every walk of life with our football team. That's something I've always done and will continue to do.”

Campbell said the No. 1 question a recruit's parent asks him is whether or not he'll be there for the long haul. It's been that way for the last eight years, he said, since he's been at Toledo.

'I'm pretty open and honest with them,” Campbell said. 'It is what it is, it's uncontrollable. But once you know who I am, and you develop a relationship - they have a really good feel for who I am.”

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