Head coach Urban Meyer is drenched in Gatorade, as the Buckeyes celebrate a 42-20 win over the Oregon Ducks in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game.
(Image courtesy of www.mycentraljersey.com)
Ohio State capped off an unlikely championship run with a 42-20 victory over the Oregon Ducks Monday night. Unlikely, because their Heisman Trophy candidate, Braxton Miller, was injured 12 days before the start of the season. Miller’s backup J.T. Barrett was injured in the last regular season game. This left 3rd string QB Cardale Jones as the starter for any perspective run. He performed spectacularly, winning and controlling all three games in the Championship Run.
The question many want to know is, how did Urban Meyer do this?
1 - Technology
Urban Meyer has equipped his players with I-pads, I-phones, etc. Most of the bigger schools do nowadays. However, it is how he used this technology that is groundbreaking. At Ohio State now coaches send players schemes and game plans via videos and interactive graphics; these must be learned prior to practice. Practice is now devoted to walk-throughs and other interactive exercises. Players can be quizzed at any moment during the practice, and not just starters but any player.
So this system results in the third string QB knowing the game plan as well as the starter. It also give the coaches more time working on technique than the old X’s and O’s on the chalk board. We image this advantage will be very short lived, as the major programs will move to this model.
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2 - Leadership Coaching
“E plus R equals O. Event plus response equals outcome.” - Cardale Jones
Coach Urban Meyer hired a leadership coach two years ago: Tim Kight. Kight has worked with the Buckeyes for two years on leadership and will continue to do so.
Essentially, Kight teaches players how to be leaders, to put things in perspective, to organize their priorities. He specifically is credited with turning Cardale Jones around from an unmotivated and lazy 3rd string QB to the QB who led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a National Championship.
Corporations hire leadership coaches all the time; it is pure brilliance that Urban brought this into a college football team. Don’t think 19 and 20 years old need leadership coaching and guidance? Well, then you don’t follow college football.
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3 - Spying
When Urban Meyer left Florida, he called up Chip Kelly, then head coach of the Oregon Ducks, and asked if he could attend practices and so forth. Chip Kelly said yes. Urban spent a lot of time at Oregon that year observing and learning. While Coach Mark Helfrich changed a few things at Oregon when he took over for Chip Kelly, he really didn’t change much of anything. Urban Meyer had a front seat at an opponent’s practices. Now we don’t think this was premediated; Urban had no idea he was going to be the head Coach of Ohio State. Nonetheless, what a great advantage! This most certainly helped in preparing for the Ducks in the National Championship.
Urban is a great recruiter, excellent head coach, has excellent assistants, etc., but we believe it was the three extra steps he took that won them the National Championship. What do you think? Do you agree? Please comment via the button below.