Ohio State's athletic department self-reported 42 violations in 2013, but the worst any of them were was an eight-second phone call involving Tim Tebow and some chewing tobacco.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, OSU head football coach Urban Meyer was on vacation last March when he was eating lunch with Tim Tebow and other friends and family members. A linebacker recruit called Meyer and the Buckeyes coach handed Tebow the phone.

Tebow, the quarterback with whom Meyer won two national championships at Florida, simply said "hi" and the linebacker wished him good luck in the NFL season. In Meyer's report on the violation, he said it was inadvertent and no one colluded to have the recruit, who ended up committing to LSU, call at the time he did. (OSU's full report)

In a Sports Illustrated feature, a reporter named Pete Thamel detailed how Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman spit tobacco into a dip cup while calling plays during a game. (OSU's full report)

According to documents obtained in a public records request, OSU self-reported these infractions and others that included pocket dials. The Buckeyes coaching staff has software to detect when a call to a recruit is in violation of NCAA rules and raised red flags in April 2013, according to the report. OSU's report noted that only one of eight inadvertent calls was more than a minute long. (OSU's full report)

OSU also self-reported an incident similar to the NCAA violation committed by Oklahoma when three student-athletes ate more pasta than the rules permitted. According to OSU's report, two guests of recruits were given meals before the game against Michigan.

Now that Tebow is an ESPN analyst and not at all employed by a university, he cannot be used to recruit players. The rules are set up to create a fair playing field for all coaching staffs to recruit prospects. Even the smallest infractions have the potential to blow up.

For example, imagine the firestorm Meyer and OSU would have endured if that linebacker recruit ended up a committing to Ohio State and not LSU.