One Strong: Urban Meyer's Rebuild Starts with Winter Workouts

By D.J. Byrnes on January 21, 2017 at 10:50 am
Mickey Marotti, the architect of Ohio State's training program
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After Ohio State's 2013 Big Ten championship loss to Michigan State, Urban Meyer's autopsy revealed only six or seven of Ohio State's units (program jargon for "positional groups," which curiously doesn't include special teams) were "game-ready" entering the season's decisive contest.

After suffering another loss to Clemson in the 2014 Orange Bowl, Meyer made getting "nine-units strong" a priority. Twelve months later, he hoisted the first College Football Playoff Trophy over Oregon's trampled corpse.

Fast forward to January 2017. Ohio State once again suffered a season-ending loss to Clemson. This one, however, laid bare the broken offensive philosophy that caused Ohio State's offensive inconsistencies the past two years.

Meyer shuffled his offensive brain trust, with Tim Beck and Ed Warinner out and Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day in. That's the easy stuff, though.

The hard work begins with winter workouts. And this time around, Meyer isn't focusing on getting nine strong. He's focusing on getting one strong, as in every player giving their utmost to the program in winter workouts.

Breaking down to build up is basic boot camp psychology, and Meyer couldn't have tapped a better de facto drill sergeant than Mickey Marotti.

Marotti will be the hands-on coach for a critical time in the team's development where the future Malik Hookers of the world start to make their move. That way, when spring camp opens on March 7th, their names are atop of the dossier Marotti hands to Meyer.

They'll still play football, but Meyer will know from the outset who put in the work to become one strong. Those will be players who earn praise early in camp, and probably the ones we can start penciling in for starting positions.

Those workouts started this week and end next month with the annual St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

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