President Trump offered praise for a college football coach under fire for his handling of a spousal abuse complaint against a subordinate staff member, saying he was "a great coach" and "a great guy."

About three-quarters of the way through a Friday night "Make America Great Again" campaign rally in Lebanon, Ohio, Trump told those in attendance at the Warren County Fairgrounds their cheers revealed how large the crowd in attendance was.

"It sounds like we're in the middle of an Ohio State football game. And speaking of Ohio State, they're not doing too badly are they?" said Trump, to audience cheers. "They have a great coach, a great coach — a great guy. A great guy."

The head football coach for Ohio State University, Urban Meyer, was suspended for the first three games of the season following an investigation by the university that determined he mishandled allegations against former assistant football coach Zach Smith, who was fired in July. The investigation found that Meyer had known about Smith's ex-wife's allegations of domestic assault in 2015 despite his statements to the contrary during the summer. Smith has denied the allegations.

Smith also reportedly took nude photos in the White House during a 2015 visit to honor the Buckeyes' 2014 national championship.