Hear him talk about it, and you begin to think Urban Meyer's Buckeyes were the most miserable 24-2 program in college football over the past two seasons. As he describes it, Ohio State seemed to win games in spite of itself. That's Meyer - a relentless pursuit of unrelenting perfection.
Andy Staples of SI.com on Wednesday provided a wonderful look at how a chance meeting between Meyer and Columbus-based leadership consultant Tim Kight has completely reshaped the way Ohio State approaches the game of football. It's really worth your time to read the entire piece, but here are a few nuggets to whet your appetite.
- Meyer has his assistants show up at 6 a.m. on Monday for a series of six 90-minute lectures as Kight immerses the Buckeyes' coaches in his philosophy.
- Speaking of assistants, Meyer no longer calls them that. They're now unit leaders. Each position group compete against its counterpart on the other side of the ball - running backs vs. linebackers, and so forth - in an effort to get all nine groups playing to their potential. "If you have six of nine, you have a good season," Meyer said. "If you have nine of nine, well, Florida State had nine of nine.
- Meyer on the no-huddle offense: "I still don't like that part of it," Meyer said of the lack of between-play interaction among players. "But the stress that it puts on a defense, that's why we do it. You'd be crazy not to do it."
- Kight on the importance of culture: "It's essential. It's everything. We believe culture eats strategy for lunch. Strategy says 'This is the behavior I want.' Culture determines whether or not you get it."