Bonus online Fa l l e d i t i o N
BUILDING A FOOTBALL
DYNASTY
2 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 3
4 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 5
6 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
FALL SPECIAL 2016 ISSUE
HOW COLLEGE FOOTBALL DYNASTIES ARE MADE
FORWARD
COLUMNS
18 RANKINGS OF THE BEST
08 Behind the Pages
27 HOW TO ACHIEVE IT
34 WHAT TYPE DO YOU NEED
22 VALUE, WHO IS MORE IMPORTANT?
Dynasties, how are they built to last?
Recruiting the best players
NFL QB or NHL Goalie?
28 WHY
38 WHEN TO BUILD THE PLAYERS
24 LEGACY BUILDING
The main ingredient for success
Teambuilding the right way
Penguins 2016 Cup Win legacy
30 WHO DO YOU CHOOSE
42 HOW TO TRAIN THE PLAYERS
Choosing the right coach
Training innovations
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN WINZELER Wardrobe styling by Michael Nash | Grooming by Whitney Bansin/One Luv Agency JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
New Stanley Cup Contenders
10 Insider 12 By the Numbers 15 #trending 46 Walkoff
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 7
BEHIND THE PAGES
How Do College Football Teams Builds Dynasties? WHAT SETS CERTAIN FOOTBALL TEAMS APART YEAR AFTER YEAR? IN THIS SPECIAL ISSUE, WE LOOK INTO THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A TEAM THAT IS BUILT TO WIN YEAR AFTER YEAR, NO MATTER THE ADVERSITY THAT MAY UNFOLD EACH SEASON OR HOW MANY PLAYERS LEAVE EARLY FOR THE NFL. Be sure to weigh in and voice your opinions on how you think a college football team can continue to be competitive year after year no matter what. Copyright © 2016 ESPN. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without the permission of ESPN The Magazine is prohibited. ESPN does not accept and cannot be held responsible for any kind of unsolicited materials. From time to time, we allow selected companies to send mail to our subscribers for products and services that might be of interest. If you would rather not receive such mailings, please send your current mailing label or an exact copy of it to: ESPN, P.O. Box 37325m Boone IA 50037-0325. Printed in the USA. Mail: P.O. Box 37325, Boone, IA, 50037 - 0325 Call: 1.88.267.3684 Customer Service: ESNcustserv@cdsfulfillment.com To Change your address log onto accountsinfo.espn.com
8 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
PATRICK MCDERMOTT/GETTY IMAGES
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 9
INSIDER
AFC North Preview: Musing from the Crew at nfl.com By Gregg Rosenthal
NFL | AFC North 2016-2017 Season Predictions
Around The NFL Editor (guest article from the contributors at nfl.com)
Chris Wesseling
Marc Sessler
Dan Hanzus
Greg Rosenthal
1
Steelers (11-5)
Steelers (10-6)
Steelers (11-5)
Steelers (11-5)
2
Bengals (10-6)
Ravens (9-7)
Browns (9-7)
Ravens (10-6)
3
Ravens (10-6)
Bengals (9-7)
Ravens (9-7)
Bengals (9-7)
4
Browns (4-12
Browns (7-9)
Steelers (7-9)
Browns (5-11)
We preview the AFC North on our latest “Around The League Podcast”, complete with record predictions that you can see below. Some musings from the crew: We like the Pittsburgh Steelers most The Cincinnati Bengals are the AFC North’s trendy team. The majority of preseason publications are taking the Bengals to win the division, with the Baltimore Ravens the next most popular pick. But we see things differently. Three of the four ATL writers picked the Steelers to win the division. No one picked the Ravens to repeat as division champions, much less world champions. My reasoning for the Steelers pick is simple. They still have the best quarterback in the division‑ Ben Roethlisberger ‑ and they were very unlucky last season losing close games. They aren’t an organization that stays down for long. It all comes back to Dalton All five of us had the Bengals above .500, but Marc Sessler and I didn’t have them making the playoffs. It all comes back to Andy Dalton. There’s a perception that Dalton is a leagueaverage quarterback who needs to step up his play for the team to take the next step. There’s also an argument to be made he’s not even league average yet, supported by 10 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
a good defense and an effective play-caller who works around Dalton’s limitations. Dalton struggles throwing the ball deep and generally was a mess down the stretch late last season. The pieces around him are better and the defense has a chance to dominate, but Dalton remains a concern until proven otherwise. Transition year for Ravens Everyone picked the Ravens to make the playoffs, Dan Hanzus excluded, but we had the Ravens as a wild-card team. I pegged them for the same record as a year ago (10-6) despite all the turnover on the roster. The Ravens’ season will in part be decided by Joe Flacco retaining the gains he made during the playoffs last year. Browns defense can compete with anyone Cleveland’s pass rush has a chance to be special. There aren’t many rosters that can match Ahtyba Rubin, Phil Taylor, Paul Kruger, Desmond Bryant, Barkevious Mingo and Jabaal Sheard. Throw in creative new defensive coordinator Ray Horton, and this group could be among the best in the conference. Opinions vary more widely on whether Brandon Weeden can make a huge step with Norv Turner in his hip pocket. Hanzus is driving the Weeden bandwagon, believing the Browns are going all the way to the playoffs at 9-7. That sounds a little crazy, but crazier things happen in the NFL every season.
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 11
BY THE NUMBERS
The Penguins’ Win Meant Redemption For The Numbers, Too By Neil Paine Senior Sportswriter (guest article from the contributors at fivethirtyeight.com)
Stanley Cup winners have great Corsi ranks SEASON
CUP WINNER
CORSI RANK
2016
Penguins
2
2015
Blackhawks
1
2014
Kings
1
2013
Blackhawks
1
2012
Kings
6
2011
Bruins
6
2010
Blackhawks
1
2009
Penguins
13
2008
Red Wings
1
2007
Ducks
8
2006
Hurricanes
15
Corsi is event-, score- and venue-adjusted. SOURCE: PUCKON.NET, HOCKEY-REFERENCE.COM
12 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
When the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, it lifted Sidney Crosby’s standing among the game’s all-time greats and completed the redemption-story arc for once-maligned winger Phil Kessel. But it also provided some measure of atonement for hockey’s advanced statistics, which had been suffering through one of their worst seasons since hitting the scene in the mid- to late 2000s. For instance, “Corsi” — the proportion of total shot attempts (including misses and blocks) that a team amasses in its games — is a stathead favorite because it tracks well with possession time, making it a good long-term predictor of a team’s success. But Corsi also did a relatively poor job of telling us where a team would finish in the standings this season: The fact that Pittsburgh did it in such possession-heavy style — the Penguins outshot the Sharks 353 to 267 in the final — was just an added bit of vindication for the numbers. Hockey’s advanced analytics movement still has a long way to go in its evolution, but even in a down year for the metrics, the cup winner ended up being a team with proven statistical bona fides.
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 13
14 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
#TRENDING Comment on Social Media (swipe ESPN phone #trending and start the discussion for what is trending in sports news)
u
Connecting with ESPN
K Email: themag@espn.com Social: f facebook/ESPN T twitter.com/ESPN i instagram.com/ESPN A IPad: Vist Apple’s Newsstand to download regular issue digital visions
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 15
BECAUSE IT’S THE CUP.™
16 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
FORWARD
WHO WILL WIN THE NEXT STANLEY CUP? TEAMS RESET TO BEGIN THE QUEST FOR THE CUP AGAIN
NHL 2016-2017 SEASON PREVIEW
RAINER HOSCH/PITTSBURGH PENGUIN PHOTOGRAPHY
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 17
: FORWARD NHL 2016-2017 SEASON PREVIEW
The Top 10 Teams to Make a Run for the Stanley Cup Winning one Stanley Cup is extremely hard. It’s probably the toughest trophy to capture in sports because of the grind and because of all the variables that come into play. Nobody is saying the Penguins will have it easy or that they are the runaway favorites to win again, but they do appear to have all the ingredients necessary to go for it. The Penguins have most of the same players returning and, barring injuries, their roles should be set under coach Mike Sullivan. Unlike in previous years, Pittsburgh won’t be trying to work a handful of new players into the lineup at the start of the season. On opening night, it could have 18 of the 20 players who dressed for the Cup-clinching 3-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 12. (The two players missing are defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who signed with the New Jersey Devils, and center Matt Cullen, who is an unrestricted free agent.) The Penguins could have some more young players ready to make the jump to the NHL at some point, like forwards Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl did last season.
18 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
EDWARD LINSMIER/GETTY IMAGES
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 19
: FORWARD Only time with tell if the moves the top 10 ranked teams did to reset for the new season to capture the Stanley Cup prove advantageous as the season unfolds. Tampa Bay Lightning Steve Yzerman has kept his team intact and becoming the early favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Signing captain Steven Stamkos and star defenseman Victor Hedman to long-term deals was imperative, and Yzerman succeeded. Florida Panthers GM Tom Rowe has been busy, quickly making his team Stanley Cup contenders. On the blue line, the Panthers added big-name free agents Keith Yandle and Jason Demers. They gave young defenseman Aaron Ekblad a long-term deal. Rowe also extended forwards Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck. Unlike former Stanley Cup champions winners who needed to strip the roster due to salary-cap issues, the Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford has his club in good shape. The San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson acquired muchneeded speed in Mikkel Boedker. But the Sharks are otherwise unchanged. The Washington Capitals remain largely unchanged and stand a very good chance of being very good. The return of Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell, who was a key member of the team’s Stanley Cup win in 2010, will bolster the Blackhawks on and off the ice. The Montreal Candadiens P.K. Subban is a dynamic player but trading him to the Predators for Shea Weber will bring stability and leadership to Montreal’s back end. Acquiring Andrew Shaw was a solid move. The Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill made a strong move when he signed veteran defenseman Dan Hamhuis. P.K. Subban new home with the Nashville Predators will serve as a fresh start for the dynamic defenseman and help the team out greatly. The Anaheim Ducks acquired goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the Maple Leafs and he will serve as the backup after the Ducks dealt No. 1 Frederik Andersen to the Leafs.
20 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
Top 10 NHL Team Power Rankings 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 2 Florida Panthers 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 4 San Jose Sharks 5 Washington Capitals 6 Chicago Blackhawks 7 Montreal Canadiens 8 Dallas Stars 9 Nashville Predators 10 Anaheim Ducks
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 21
To join the discussion on which player is more important, swipe on ESPN app “discuss” on your smart phone or other mobile device
Who’s More Important, the NHL Goalie or the NFL QB? By Scott Friedman (guest article from the contributors at bleacherreprot.com)
When Patriots QB Tom Brady, had the season ending injury of, all sorts of inter-sports debates came up regarding the importance of one position in one sport vs. another sport. In other words, is the quarterback the most important position in all of the major four sports? If not, then who is?
22 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
: FORWARD When Patriots QB Tom Brady, had the season ending injury of, all sorts of intersports debates came up regarding the importance of one position in one sport vs. another sport. In other words, is the quarterback the most important position in all of the major four sports? If not, then who is? Clearly, basketball is such a team game, that even the amazing Michael Jordan couldn’t personally win championships for Chicago. Even Jordan will tell you he had a great coach in Phil Jackson, and the likes of Scottie Pippen and company as much needed support. So how about the NFL quaterback? I agree, it’s a tremendously important postition, perhaps even the most important position in all of football. And yet, with one of the best current quarterbacks in the NFL, the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the underdog New York Giants. Why? Not because of Giants quarterback Eli Manning and the luckiest catch on the planet by David Tyree. It was because of the Giants’ defense. A great defense can neutralize a quarterback. Plain and simple. So then we come to NHL hockey. I don’t think anyone can argue that a top goalie is the most important position in the sport of hockey. However, I want to take it further and say the goalie is the single most important position in all of the major sports.
ALN DIAZ/AP IMAGES
The goalie is the last line of defense. Greats like Wayne Gretzky could score all day long, and I think he did, yet if there wasn’t a Grant Fuhr stopping pucks behind Gretzky, they wouldn’t have won. The great Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup Champion team of 1973-74 had the likes of Bobby Clarke, Reggie Leach, Rick MacLeish and Bill Barber scoring hundreds of goals. Yet it was an absolute stone wall stud in net named Bernie Parent (“Only The Lord saves more than Bernie Parent”) who kept the high scoring Boston Bruins with the likes of Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Wayne Cashman (the top four points leaders in the NHL that season) at bay to win the Cup. A great QB can help you win games, and can lead your team. Yet, if he gets injured, you have to hope you have a decent enough 2nd stringer, along with a really good running back and wide receiver corps to get you through. And, if you do have a decent back up QB, then you will do pretty well, if your team is good in those other positions. If a goalie goes down, you’re done, unless your back up is just as good, or better. Goalies face 20, 30 sometimes up to 50 shots a game. If they let more than 3 of those shots by, they’ll likely lose the game more often than not. A quarterback throws 25-40 times a game on average. If they complete 60% of those passes, it’s considered a good game. The quarterback has other positions that he needs to count on to be effective, including a good running back for when he doesn’t pass the ball. I don’t want to take anything away from any of the positions of any of the sports. I simply feel it’s obvious that a great NHL goalie is more important than a great NFL quarterback.
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 23
: FORWARD The Impact of Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory could be felt for years to come The impact of that 2016 title — the franchise’s fourth since 1991 — likely will be felt throughout Western Pennsylvania for years to come.
By Dave Molinari (guest article from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette) Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG
Each of the Penguins’ previous three Cups sparked a surge of interest and participation in youth hockey around the region, and there’s no reason to think this time will be any different. “The younger fans have latched on during these runs, and then they want to start to play hockey,” said James Santilli, vice president of marketing for the Penguins. Evidence, he said, can be found in the wake of the Penguins’ Cup victory seven years ago. “The five-year growth after the [2009] Cup, we had a 120 percent increase in USA Hockey registration for kids 10 and under,” Santilli said. “That led the country, by far.” There are, he said, more than two dozen youth hockey associations in Western Pennsylvania, spread all over the region. That wasn’t always the case. Hockey was a niche sport around here before the Penguins drafted Mario Lemieux in 1984, and interest spiked after he led them to Cups in 1991 and 1992. “We did a lot of research in 2007 and 2008 and what we learned — it shouldn’t have been surprising — was that hockey wasn’t a native sport to the area,” he said. “When you grew up here, you grew up playing Little League [baseball]. Everyone played Little League. And everyone knows the game of football, whether you played football or not, just because of the Steelers.
24 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
“You grew up watching on Sundays, with your parents or grandparents. That wasn’t the case, when it came to hockey. Having the Penguins win a third Cup in 2009 proved to be the perfect bridge between the generation of young players drawn to hockey by Lemieux and Co. and the one attracted by the clubs Sidney Crosby has captained. “The perfect storm was the amount of time between Cups,” Santilli said. “The 2009 Cup, a lot of those people who were young or teenagers during those ’91 and ’92 Cups, now they have families of their own and they were introducing their kids to the Penguins. “It’s perfect timing. The people who grew up with Mario, their children are growing up with Sidney Crosby, [Evgeni] Malkin, [Kris] Letang, [Marc-Andre] Fleury and this new generation [of Penguins players].” The Penguins introduced a “Learn to Play” program for boys and girls 8-and-under in 2009, outfitting participants with all the necessary equipment at no charge. “We drastically reduced the [financial] barrier to entry into the sport,” Santilli said. Since then, roughly 7,200 kids have gone through the program, and many have stuck with hockey. “After that one year, about 50 percent stay on to play organized hockey,” Santilli said. “And after they do stay on, it’s close to 95 percent. So we’ve introduced probably close to 4,000 new hockey players into the market.”
MITCHELL LAYTON/PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE
Show your team loyalties while sending a text or checking your email with these jersey-patterned smartphone cases. http://www.blueshirtdesigns.space
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 25
26 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
SPECIAL EDITION FOOTBA LL ANALYTICS
WHAT BUILDS COLLEGE FOOTBALL DYNASTIES?
EVERY COLLEGE WANTS TO BUILD A PROGRAM THAT CONTINUES TO WIN MULTIPLE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR YEARS TO COME, BUT HOW IS THIS DONE? Like pieces of a puzzle, the parts need to be carefully assembled to make a great team, coaches and players alike. Several factors lead to great footbal teams repeating as winners, year after year. What are these elements that make teams into college football dynasties?`
TOM DIPACE/AP IMAGES
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 27
“AN UNYIELDING ENTHUSIASM. . . FOR THE
LOVE OF THE
GAME THE LOVE . . . MUST BE GENUINE. IT IS NOT DEVOTION TO A FAD THAT MAKES MEN PLAY FOOTBALL. IT IS BECAUSE THEY ENJOY THE STRUGGLE.” – FIELDING YOST
28 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 29
30 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
CHOOSING THE RIGHT
COACH The job offer is made. You accept. What’s the first thing you do? Most coaches begin stockpiling hours of footage about their new players. They want to figure out what kind of talent they have, who plays where, who works well together and what to expect before stepping on the field. But, if you’re one of the most successful college football coaches of the last decade, you do none of that. When Urban Meyer, took over his alma mater, the Ohio State football program after a tumultuous 6-7 season last year, he believed that cleaning the slate was the best way to start fresh with players. It wasn’t just Meyer’s preparation, however, that makes him a great head coach selection...It is his innate ability to adapt his system based on his personnel.
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 31
BUILDING CONFIDENCE, MASTERING MOTIVATION Meyer enters his tenure at Ohio State with an impressive pedigree a 0.819 winning percentage (104-23) during his 10-year coaching career and two national championships (2006 and 2008 with Florida). That alone should instill confidence in the current crop of Buckeyes that Meyer can get the job done in Columbus. Beyond just credentials, however, Meyer is known as a coach w ho finds a way to build confidence in his players.
URBAN MEYER COACHING STATS RANKS 1ST IN WINNING PERCENTAGES
59-8 (88 PERCENT)
IN CONFERENCE/ DIVISION FINISHES
4
2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
IN BOWL RECORD
4-1
32 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
“I’m honest with players. I don’t let them have false confidence, Meyer says. I give them honest evaluations. I also place players in situations where they can succeed Meyer cites a generic example of a safety who hasn’t grown into his position on the defense yet but shows great glimpses of speed and awareness, two qualities he wants in a kickoff returner. So, this safety moves into a critical role on the special teams and earns confidence in front of his peers. There is nothing insignificant on our teams, especially special teams. I like to pinpoint the strengths of players in front of the entire team, so they know why this individual is helping us achieve our team goals. I try to give as much praise as I can in front of the group. Coombs says he’s impressed with Meyer’s methods for building confidence in the short time the two have worked together with the Buckeyes. He motivates players to be their best in a variety of ways, including immediate and consistent feedback, and long-term feedback,Coombs remarks. When we practice, we compete against each other and we motivate each player on every play to compete to win. Our off-season program is built around motivating players daily in the weight room and the classroom. Players constantly are evaluated on their performance in those areas.
Those that perform really well are recognized in front of their coaches and their peers for their efforts. As players mature and build confidence, Meyer then needs to keep them running at a high level through his methods of motivation. This 2012 season needs an extra level of motivation as Meyer and his Buckeyes are staring down a regular season with no hopes of a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions stemming from Tressel’s tenure. Meyer says this poses a challenge but keeping players focused on a daily basis is something they do regardless of the situation, so this year’s challenge is no different. “We have weekly discussions with players that go much deeper than Xs and Os. We talk about playing hard, practicing hard and doing everything in their power to be their best and help achieve our goals,” Meyer says. Moving past the spoken word, Meyer admits there are times in a football season, especially early for a major powerhouse, when motivation needs to come from actions on the practice field. During his time at Florida, the Gators had some early season opponents who weren’t near the level of competition as their rivals in the SEC. It’s in these instances that Meyer says he runs his most difficult practices of the year. “I coach them hard in practice, really hard,”Meyer says about keeping players motivated when outside forces suggest they should have an easy game against a lesser foe. “I want them to worry about simply surviving and getting to the next day.”
STATS TO LIVE BY: TURNOVERS While Meyer develops strong young men off the field, on the field he’s molding winners. In football’s simplest form, victories come from winning the turnover ratio, according to Meyer. He cites turnover ratio as the No. 1 statistic when analyzing a game, then punting at No. 2, total defense as No. 3).
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS TO MOTIVATE Kerry Coombs, a 30-year coaching veteran who is serving his first year on the Ohio State staff (cornerbacks coach) says head coach Urban Meyer is a master motivator who already has built strong relationships with the Buckeye players, which go a long way in getting them to give their all on the field. It doesn’t require a budget to love your players, to encourage them even more when they are doing well and to lift them up when they are struggling. Hugs and high fives are free (and so are kicks in the butt), but they all require a relationship to be effective. If you truly want to motivate your players to be the best they can be, paint a vision of what that looks like for them, both collectively and individually, and give them the resources to make it happen. That’s what Coach Meyer does.
This makes sense as a Meyer-led team never has finished the season on the wrong side of overall turnover margin. His teams typically dominate this category. Take a look at his head-coaching seasons with the turnover ratio highlighted.2001, Bowling Green, 35-18 (+17)2002, Bowling Green, 27-18 (+9)2003, Utah, 29-20 (+9)2004, Utah, 29-14 (+15)2005, Florida, 31-13 (+18)2006, Florida, 29-24 (+5), national championship2007, Florida, 20-15 (+5)2008, Florida, 35-13 (+23), national championship2009, Florida, 23-16 (+7)2010, Florida, 29-27 (+2)It all comes down to carrying the ball the proper way, which Meyer describesas, claw the nose of the ball over the top, press the ball against your rib cage, keep your wrist above your elbow and lock the elbow. While Meyer may believe in on-the-field second chances for players, carrying the ball the wrong way doesn’t qualify. “Every coach on my team teaches ball security. If you don’t carry the ball the right way, you are coming out of the game,” Meyer says.
“URBAN MEYER IS A GREAT PERSON, AND HE ADMIRES THE GAME AND RESPECTS THE GAME OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND THE KIDS INVOLVED IN THE GAME,” ANDERSEN SAID. “TO ME, THAT IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN SAY ABOUT URBAN MEYER. THE CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE GREAT, AND ALL THOSE THINGS ARE WONDERFUL. BUT I PROMISE YOU, THAT’S NOT FIRST AND FOREMOST FOR HIM. IT’S THE ABILITY HE HAS TO BE INVOLVED AND CHANGE YOUNG MEN’S LIVES. — GARY ANDERSEN, WORKED UNDER MEYER AT UTAH IN 2004
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 33
RECRUITING
CHOOSE THE BEST PLAYERS:
TALENT MEYER SAID …. “I THINK IT’S COMICAL WHEN I HEAR, ‘IT DOESN’T FIT OUR SYSTEM.’ WELL, CHANGE YOUR SYSTEM. ... WE’LL ALWAYS TAKE THE BETTER PLAYER AND FIND A WAY TO MAKE HIM FIT.” Urban Meyer was speaking to high school coaches at a youth instructructional camp near his hometown of Ashtabula this summer when he encountered an interesting question. “When recruiting,” a high school coach asked, “do you ever take into account scheme or do you always take the most talented player available?” Meyer had a passionate response for the question, one that is also rampant for NFL teams as they prepare for the draft every year. Do you always want the best player 34 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
available, or is there something to be said about a player who fits well into a scheme? Talent trumps all, in Meyer’s eyes. He can’t get enough of it. “It cracks me up -- and I don’t want to tear other people apart right now -- when someone says ‘they don’t fit our offense, but they’re a really good player,’ “ Meyer said in response to the high school coach’s questions. “That will never be said (at Ohio State). Because we’ll change the offense. Because offenses are easy, good players are hard to find. “If you get a great player, you change everything you’re doing. ... So we look for the best possible player and a good kid. We want a competitive guy.” Meyer said those words July 1. A few months later, Meyer has assembled the majority of his 2016 recruiting class, one he’s about four months away from signing. So it was important to pose the question again. Is this always how he’s operated when putting together his rosters?
“I think scheme is overrated,” Meyer said Monday. “I think it’s comical when I hear, ‘it doesn’t fit our system.’ Well, change your system. ... We’ll always take the better player and find a way to make him fit.” wIt’s not like Meyer ignores the evaluation process. Ohio State has systems on offense and defense, and they comb through the most elite prospects in the country to find the ones who are the most talented and can play within those schemes. The point is this: Meyer would never sacrifice talent if a player doesn’t fit what scheme is already in place. He’ll adjust Ohio State’s scheme, which he has proven he’s capable of doing. “We got here and there was no H-backs,” Meyer said. “We had a big tailback and a couple of tight ends and a fullback and you went 12-0. And we didn’t complain about it and didn’t say ‘We don’t have this and don’t have this.’ “So you adapt your schemes, and I think that’s, in my opinion, the good coordinators and those type of guys do a very good job with that. And you’ll find out what you got and do it. And don’t, ‘Well, he doesn’t fit.’ Make him fit.”
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 35
RECRUITS BY URBAN MEYER
90 PERCENT
42
Coaches and Elite Athletes:
40 30 20
of football scholarships have gone to multi-sport high school athletes
10
5 multi-sport in high school
football only in high school
RECRUIT THE MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE To be an elite level player at a college or professional sport, you need a degree of exceptional athleticism. And the best medically, scientifically and psychologically recommended way to develop such all around athleticism is ample free play and multiple sport participation as an athlete. There’s value in playing competitive sports year-round, gaining experience working at a high level and under pressure. Football specialists don’t get that in high school — they play football for three months a year and then spend the rest of the year lifting weights and practicing, while other athletes compete at a much higher level of intensity. Another knock against specialization is that repetitive motions cause the wear and tear on young bodies that lead to greater injury susceptibility. Of course, Meyer might also have a preference for two-sport athletes since he was one himself, playing college football at Cincinnati while spending two years in the minor league baseball ranks. A review of coach Urban Meyer’s recruiting patterns reveals that the vast majority — almost 90 percent — of football scholarships have gone to multi-sport high school athletes. 36 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY:
Although Meyer himself hasn’t explained this methodology, there are some obvious advantages. For one, multi-sport recruits can be trusted to possess more inherent athleticism than a player who, for example, has poured everything into football. Additional sports also give coaching staffs more opportunities to evaluate traits that cross over to another sport — not just agility and speed, but also how they function as a teammate. There’s also value in playing competitive sports year-round, gaining experience working at a high level and under pressure. Football specialists don’t get that in high school — they play football for three months a year and then spend the rest of the year lifting weights and practicing, while other athletes compete at a much higher level of intensity. Another knock against specialization is that repetitive motions cause the wear and tear on young bodies that lead to greater injury susceptibility. Of course, Meyer might also have a preference for two-sport athletes since he was one himself, playing college football at Cincinnati while spending two years in the minor league baseball ranks.
Pete Carroll, former USC and now Seattle Seahawks Football coach: “The first questions I’ll ask about a kid are, ‘What other sports does he play? What does he do? What are his positions? Is he a big hitter in baseball? Is he a pitcher? Does he play hoops?’ All of those things are important to me. I hate that kids don’t play three sports in high school. I think that they should play year-round and get every bit of it that they can through that experience. I really, really don’t favor kids having to specialize in one sport. Even [at USC], I want to be the biggest proponent for two-sport athletes on the college level. I want guys that are so special athletically, and so competitive, that they can compete in more than one sport.” Dom Starsia, University of Virginia men’s lacrosse: “My trick question to young campers is always, ‘How do you learn the concepts of team offense in lacrosse or team defense in lacrosse in the off-season, when you’re not playing with your team?’ The answer is by playing basketball, by playing hockey and by playing soccer and those other team games, because many of those principles are exactly the same. Probably 95 percent [of our players] are multi-sport athletes. It’s always a bit strange to me if somebody is not playing other sports in high school.” Ashton Eaton, world record holder and gold medalist in the decathlon: had never participated in 6 of the 10 required decathlon events until he got to the University of Oregon. Steve Nash, NBA basketball player: He got his first basketball at age 13 and credits his soccer background for making him a great basketball player. The list goes on and on.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A
QUARTERBACK THE INTANGIBLES 1 Competitive spirit 2 Toughness 3 Ability to lead 4 Intelligence 5 Ability to extend plays 6 Arm strength 7 Delivery ”TURNING A QUARTERBACK INTO A LEADER WHEN HE’S NEVER BEEN ONE BEFORE IS TOUGH. DEVELOPING THE ATHLETIC ABILITY REQUIRED TO RUN MEYER’S OFFENSE FROM THAT POSITION CAN BE DAUNTING IF THE PLAYER DOESN’T ALREADY POSSESS THESE INTANGIBLE TRAITS. BUT CHANGING A QUARTERBACK’S DELIVERY AND IMPROVING HIS ARM STRENGTH? THAT CAN BE DONE OVER TIME. – URBAN MEYER
MATT BROWN/USA TODAY SPORTS
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 37
BUILD TEAM THE
E VE RY SINGLE DAY
38 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
This fact begs the question, “What are you doing to emphasize character development and team building with YOUR team?” SportsLeader, took the opportunity to sit down with Ohio State Head Football Coach, Urban Meyer the other day and talk about some of the fundamentals he believes in as far as character development and team building. Coach Meyer has been a friend and supporter of SportsLeader since he took over the reins at Ohio State in 2012. Coach Meyer believes so much in character development, mentoring, leadership training and team building that he has made the commitment to spend extensive, intentional time emphasizing it with players and coaches throughout his tenure as coach at OSU.
DEALING WITH ADVERSITY It’s not IF adversity will strike, it’s WHEN adversity will strike.....and what are you going to do about it, when it does? Because of this fact, the Ohio State Buckeye Football Team tries to create a “3rd and 1” situation EVERY DAY involving stress and adversity. The coaching staff preaches that to be able to deal with adversity successfully means thinking “Above the Line”: being intentional, prepared and reacting with purpose. Too often, people don’t consider that adversity will come and thus, they are NOT ready when it does. Thus, they react to adversity with “Below the Line” thinking, relying on impulsive thinking that most often isn’t the best response AND often makes the problem worse.
teaching lessons of sacrifice, courage, trust, etc...However, in addition to whatever character lessons you teach to your team, there has to be an element of accountability among teammates to make sure those lessons stick; Who will hold me accountable to the excellence that is preached? With that being the case, the small unit is a great way to create that norm of excellence; similar types of people with similar types of skills together EVERY DAY working and willing
...CHARACTER, LOVE, ACCOUNTABILITY, TRUST, LOYALTY, ...WE DO THEM WE ...CROSS THEM OFF OUR LIST. BUT THE GENIUS OF LEADERSHIP AND TEAM BUILDING IS DOING THESE THINGS DAILY!
How can one condition oneself to be intentional instead of impulsive? Repetition, repetition, repetition!
to maintain that norm of excellence, with the position coach taking the lead. But to create squads within the team and then give them the mission of making each other great, EVERY DAY, that is something that can happen and according to Coach Meyer, HAS to happen for the team to succeed on a greater scale. The 2014 Ohio State Football Team had ALL 9 of their small units working to maximum capacity through a commitment to LOVE and BROTHERHOOD...... and the winning took care of itself!
POWER OF THE UNIT
LOYALTY
How do you get your players to do the right thing EVERY DAY? Most coaches we encounter at SportsLeader believe in
For any team to be successful, loyalty to the leader(s) is a MUST! By all means this is a two-way street. The leader must be
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
willing to be a person of CHARACTER-doing the right thing always, COMPETENCY, and being willing and able to CONNECT with his/her people. This loyalty to the TEAM is an everyday task, no matter one’s mood, or the circumstance. But,without a doubt, this relationship of loyalty is a two-way street. Team members must BE LOYAL to the TEAM as well. Second guessing the leader, talking behind his/her back and/or doing his/ her own thing because of one’s selfishness is NOT being a team player....and it will ultimately destroy the team. With this being the case, Coach Meyer urges all leaders to foster TRUST with their team to build up this loyalty. This trust is an essential ingredient in any team and it must be fostered DAILY. And if a team member won’t get on board with what the team agrees, if he/she won’t give their trust to the team and be loyal to the team, it is probably best for all involved for them to go. Too many times we hear the terms; character, love, accountability, trust, loyalty, etc... and think once we do them we can cross them off our list. But the genius of leadership and team building is doing these things DAILY! As leaders we must tackle virtue EVERY DAY, creating systems of mentoring, systems of ceremony, systems of character development so that everyone on the TEAM does them habitually day after day after day. Leaders, our teams are up against the corruption of selfishness every day. Our society oozes me, me, me. Thank God, there are leaders out there, like Coach Meyer, that realize the battle before them. Let us do the same and then do something powerful to combat it. Together we CAN!
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 39
TEAMWORK
40 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
JESSE RIESSER/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY
IT’S PROBABLY EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS AS I’VE GROWN AS A COACH AND AS A LEADER…. ANY TIME YOU’RE IN A TEAM SPORT — AND I’M A LITTLE BIASED OBVIOUSLY — BUT FOOTBALL IS THE ULTIMATE TEAM SPORT. IT’S HARD TO GAIN A YARD WITHOUT RELYING ON EACH OTHER. BUT THAT YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH A GREATER PURPOSE, A GREATER CAUSE. SOMETHING OTHER THAN YOURSELF. AND THAT’S A MESSAGE THAT THEY’LL HEAR CONTINUOUSLY DURING THEIR CAREER AT OHIO STATE. – URBAN MEYER
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 41
TRAINING | THE SECOND PLAYBOOK EVENT RESPONSE OUTCOME The Ohio State football program had created a second playbook. You won’t find draw plays or screen passes in the new playbook. In this one, X’s and O’s have been replaced by such terms as “E+R=O.” Since becoming a head coach in 2001, Urban Meyer has believed in certain tenets: Go from Point A to Point B as fast as you can for “4 to 6,” the number of seconds in a typical play. Play for your teammates more than for yourself. Embrace responding to pressure. But it took a chance encounter with a 61-year-old former track star and pastor to turn Meyer’s philosophy into a systematic approach that the Ohio State football coach believes will benefit his players long after they stop playing football. Meyer was hosting a fundraiser at his home last year when, slightly bored, he
42 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
wandered off and happened to strike up a conversation with one of the guests, Tim Kight. They hadn’t met. But when Meyer asked Kight what he did for a living and heard that he was a leadership-development consultant, Meyer’s curiosity was piqued. “There was a visceral response,” said Kight, CEO of Focus 3, which he runs with his son, Brian. “He was just fascinated. It was like we were long-lost brothers. We’ve been close friends ever since that moment.” By last summer, Buckeyes players were wearing rubber wristbands with Kight’s E+R=O formula. The E represents event, the R is for response and O refers to outcome. The formula reflects the belief that for every event or situation a person faces, there can be a proper “above the line” response or a negative “below the line”
one, resulting in a positive or negative outcome. Teaching how to respond appropriately has been his mission. “He struck a chord,” Meyer said. “It was completely in line with what our belief system was already. To say that he’s changed our culture — not at all. He’s given us a systematic way of teaching something that we’ve believed for 13 years.” As much as Meyer would love to have close relationships with everyone in the program, the sheer number of players on a football team makes that impossible. So the emphasis is on developing accountability within each position group. The Buckeyes call it the “power of the unit.” “I think it’s overwhelming just to process the importance of the small group, and the value each member of the small group has to the other,” cornerbacks coach and special-teams coordinator Kerry Coombs wsaid. “What do you want people to say about us? How do we want to be thought of? “Then there are so many other things about character and competency and clarity of purpose. All of those conversation points are very deep and thought-provoking about who you are as a man, where you’re headed as a man. It’s less about coaching. In fact, I’d say it’s almost nothing about coaching. It’s about leading.”
Position coaches instructed their players this spring on Kight’s lessons, and players had exams as they do in their regular classes. Kight spoke with pride that, in a recent test, none of the players missed more than one of the 20 questions. This month and in July, the emphasis will be on developing trust.
“A football game is a never-ending series of E’s,” he said. “The goal here is to make your R stronger than any E you face. Yes, in a game — but also in the classroom, at High Street in a bar, in a conversation with a girl, at home in a conversation with parents. You can use it all the time for whatever life throws at you.”
“We have a systematic way of teaching leadership, a systematic way of teaching culture and a systematic way of teaching behavior and tying them together in an integrated overall system,” Kight said.
“If you look across the line of scrimmage and you’ve done all the work that we ask you to do and all the coaches have asked you to do and you know your R is stronger than your opponent’s, he’s going to check out and you’re going to win.”
Senior defensive tackle, Michael Bennett said that, for example, if one of his linemates is late for a workout session, none of the others can participate. Strength coach Mickey Marotti oversees players’ workouts with the intent to push them to the limit. Players now understand, Bennett said, that those are tests not just to maximize, say, bench-press reps, but to see how players respond to difficult situations. “Instead of saying, ‘Screw it, I don’t want to go through this stuff,’ I personally have gotten to the point where it’s like, ‘OK, shut your mouth and work harder,’ ” Bennett said. “This whole thing is an ‘event,’ and they’re just trying to make us mentally stronger from it.”
“A FOOTBALL GAME IS A NEVER-ENDING SERIES OF E’S, ...THE GOAL HERE IS TO MAKE YOUR R STRONGER THAN ANY E YOU FACE.”
“ABOVE THE LINE” There is a line in every day. You’re either above it or below it. And it’s a choice you make, it’s a decision. Above the line is a choice to be intentional and on purpose. And below the line is impulsive and on autopilot. Whether that’s relationships, it’s work ethic, it’s practice, it’s how you handle your studies or during the course of a game, we all have decisions to make. And above the line, it’s a very clear line of demarcation. You’re either doing it in a positive way or you’re doing it in an impulsive, negative way. ANDREW REDINGTON/GETTY IMAGES
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 43
44 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 45
WALKOFF
How Urban Meyer Found His Balance By Kevin Van Valkenburg ESPN Senior Writer
“I really believe he is more at peace now,” said Tim Tebow, who played quarterback for Meyer at Florida and remains close to his former coach. “It’s not about staying in the office for three days in a row without getting sleep. When he left Florida, he knew it was for the right reasons, that he needed to look at his priorities and get right. Let’s be honest: He’s still crazy competitive, he still gets stressed out, but he’s doing it with a much better perspective. Every Wednesday night, he’s taking Nicki to dinner. He’s going to Nate’s baseball and football games. He’s taking Shelley out for dates. He’s able to communicate with his friends more often. Not only is that making him a better coach, it’s making him less stressed so he can deal with more things. I’m really proud of him.” Chasing perfection year after year nearly broke Meyer. He was so consumed by work, he barely spoke to his kids, and when his daughter confronted him about how he hadn’t been there for her in years, he admitted it was like “a knife to his heart.” When he took a leave of absence from Florida in 2009 after checking into the hospital with chest pains, then ultimately resigned after Florida went 7-5 in the 2010 season, it surprised a lot of people but not some of his closest friends in coaching. Meyer spent the better part of 2011 trying to figure out if he’d ever get back into coaching. His father’s health was deteriorating, and that forced him to mull his own mortality. He worked part-time as an analyst for ESPN, but mentally and spiritually, he was lost. He might have stayed that way for a long time if a close friend, Todd Blackledge, a former NFL quarterback and current broadcast analyst, hadn’t given him a book on leadership to read, in hopes he might see some of himself in the story. The book, “Lead ... For God’s Sake” by Todd Gongwer, had such a profound impact on Meyer, it might be the main reason he returned to coaching. “Todd gave it to me when I was on a trip on my way to Stanford, and I couldn’t put it down,” Meyer said. “I was up at 4 a.m.,
46 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN
walking through the campus with that book in my hand reading and re-reading it. When I saw the author’s email on the back, I grabbed my phone and just hit him up at four in the morning.” “He was hurting,” Gongwer said. “He knew he had lost sight of what was most important in his life. But I remember, even in that first conversation, he said to me, ‘This book has re-ignited a spark in me, and if and when I get back into coaching, I’m going to do it differently.’” “Lead ... For God’s Sake” is different than most leadership books, even those with religious undertones. It’s a parable about a high school basketball coach, Steve Rocker, who is one of the most successful men in his profession. But over time, he becomes consumed by winning — at the expense of his relationship with his wife and two kids -- and he’s unable to understand why he can’t get his players to obsessively pursue victory the way he does. Only through a series of trials and conversations with the high school’s janitor, Joe — a Christ-like figure throughout the narrative — does the coach realize he can’t be a leader if he doesn’t connect with God by pouring his heart into his family first. He can’t be a great coach if he’s constantly screaming and punishing his players for their mistakes because it represents how far he has drifted from why he got into coaching in the first place: to be a mentor and role model. The book builds to a climactic scene in the high school state championship game, but when it ends, the message of the book is clear: If you’re so focused on wins and losses that they are how you measure your self-worth, you’ve missed the point. “Todd is a brilliant person, and that book is a must-read,” Meyer said. “There are times when I will text him as though I’m speaking in the voice of one of the characters in the book,” Gongwer said. “I did it again just this week. His response is always the same: ‘Thank you for this. Stay on me. This is really important.’ He is a lot different today then he was five years go at Florida -- there is no doubt.”
Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN | 47
48 | Fall 2016 Special Online Issue | ESPN