In my days at OSU, the "Iron Sharpens Iron" principle was prevalent. Vrabel and I were better because we went against Korey Stringer and Orlando Pace everyday in practice drills. Shawn Springs was better because he went against Terry Glenn in one-on-ones. That competition is embraced by the high level and passionate players who make a difference on your team and, quite frankly, separates the men from the boys.
That type of competition had been scarce recently, but no more.
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There is a competition and rivalry again between the offensive and defensive staffs and it is intense and relentless. Believe me when I say that mentality transfers down to the players. Fred Pagac was one of my favorite coaches and he exuded this. He would yell and nearly come to blows with offensive staff members during competitions. You could tell he would put pads on and get in there if he could (some of the current staff certainly can) and it made you want to succeed. When players and coaches train like gladiators, you are not just creating a team mentality but a losing will not be tolerated culture.
There is a level of intensity that is palpable at the Woody, and it is great to have that feeling again from everyone. Let's face it, last year was embarrassing. The new staff is dead-set on not allowing something like that to happen again and Urban and his coaches have made it clear to the football alumni that the pride and tradition of The Ohio State University football program will be restored, sooner rather than later.
