Urban Meyer knows the page number by heart. He knows a lot of things by heart.
In this book, though, lies something that precedes any football practice, game, coach, player or fan.
This is about life.
"On page 15 of ‘Lone Survivor,’ the book, right on the top. I've read that son of a gun hundreds of times," Meyer said Friday at the 84th Annual Ohio State Football Coaches Clinic. "Whenever I want to re-motivate myself and re-organize myself for spring practice, for offseason, I'll do it again this summer, I turn to that page 15 and here's what an elite soldier says: 'The clarity of purpose is inspirational.' That's all it says."
That's all it needs to say for Meyer.
Ohio State's head coach proclaimed the idealism of clarity of purpose strongly Friday, in front of a field full of high school coaches from the state of Ohio, speaking on behalf of his team and program and to exalt a Navy Seal.
You might remember when Marcus Luttrell paid a visit to Ohio State more than a year ago to share his story with Meyer's team, one he wrote about and then helped produce into a critically acclaimed 2013 film starring Mark Wahlberg.
Meyer read Luttrell's book, was fascinated by his story and met him before asking the Navy Seal to speak to the Buckeyes in March 2013. It was that message the head coach of the defending college football national champions wished to convey to the coaches assembled in front of him Friday. If you don't preach to your kids a clarity of purpose behind what you're doing, you've already lost.
"You got these elite soldiers, elite warriors, elite football players and they're de-motivators because you're not clear," Meyer said. "So I challenge you as a leader, if you're the head coach or if you're a position coach, are you very clear within your unit?"
Meyer's investment into high school coaching in the state makes sense, considering the fruitful recruiting grounds it possesses. As the CEO of the largest, most recognizable school in the state, Meyer's plight was to drive home the same ideals he does to his staff and to his players. Play with a purpose and win with a purpose.
"I hired the best strength coach in America, the best strength staff, I should have the best coaching staff in America and we proved it this year, we do," Meyer said. "I have these elite, elite players and they're Ohio State athletes. So are they Navy Seals? In our world, they are. So we're talking these elite, elite players."
Meyer's preached the idea of having nine units strong when it comes to his team and his program, a sentiment he knew was not present when Ohio State played Michigan State in the 2013 Big Ten Championship Game.
"I knew we had lost the game before we played. I had a thought in my mind that a great playcall, a fake punt, I knew the efficiencies on our team, they weren't really the players or coaches, but we had a problem. We had a problem," Meyer said of the 34-24 loss to the Spartans. "We were on a journey, we won a bunch of games, we were better than most of the teams we played and we won games with a false sense of security."
It's not the first time Meyer's shared that sentiment publicly, doing so last month at a Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon in Canton. He's 38-3 since coming taking over at the school he loves so dearly in his home state, but it took until the 25th game before he tasted defeat as the head coach of the Buckeyes.
That game was the loss to Michigan State, one that cause him to realize he needed to revamp Ohio State even further with the clarity of purpose Luttrell spoke of when the two men met.
He and his coaching staff did that, and were able to rise above a Week Two loss to Virginia Tech a season ago to win the inaugural College Football Playoff.
"At Ohio State, if we go into that game with nine units strong, the chances of us winning is damn near 100 percent," Meyer said. "What if we go into that game six strong? Three units not playing very well. What happens when you get to a team like Michigan State, an excellent team? You fail."
It all starts with his favorite page in his favorite book written by Luttrell, a man he respects and credits with as big of a chip as any into why Ohio State ran the table following the loss to the Hokies last season.
It's not changing anytime soon, either.
"I refuse to believe that at Ohio State I can't get nine coaches to work their ass off and take care of their unit," Meyer said. "Because once again, the clarity of purpose is this: Sept. 7 next year, the contact is going to be made. Ohio State will play Virginia Tech. If we go into a game against a quality opponent like that without nine units strong, don't be confused. No reason to throw a helmet, no reason to wonder why the gap scheme's not working. We're going to fail in that game because we're not nine strong."
