Full Transcript for Gators LEGEND Has MESSAGE You NEED To HEAR Before UF Football vs Oklahoma Sooners! | Urban Meyer

changed the 75 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:39.780 offense that night. Spent all night, me, Dan Mull, and 76 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:40.979 Steve Adazio at our house. 77 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:45.229 We had a bye week. Sat seven, eight hours from 78 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:47.030 midnight or 1 a.m. till lunchtime. 79 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:49.819 I remember getting off Shelly, you know, we're having coffee 80 00:03:49.860 --> 00:03:52.319 sitting out there and I didn't even realize it was 81 00:03:52.780 --> 00:03:55.979 morning yet. Cause we just spent all night changing the offense. 82 00:03:56.319 --> 00:03:59.319 That's what moved Billy Lasko from linebacker to fullback and, 83 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:02.909 and added some, you know, just some downhill stuff. Cause 84 00:04:02.930 --> 00:04:07.009 the SC was, SEC was so good. But then the, the, 85 00:04:07.629 --> 00:04:11.150 the real kick in the heart was when we lost 86 00:04:11.189 --> 00:04:14.800 to Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. And, and, I think 87 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:17.199 it's well documented. We had to make some changes on 88 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:21.970 some players. And it was a tough two weeks. And 89 00:04:22.050 --> 00:04:24.769 Eric Wilber remembers that it was really, really hard because 90 00:04:24.790 --> 00:04:27.889 I made the point that in my mind I was like, okay, 91 00:04:28.870 --> 00:04:30.410 this is not what I want it to look like. 92 00:04:30.430 --> 00:04:34.319 This is not we're going to go down swinging or 93 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:36.620 there's no way that I was at that age where 94 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.120 I was a wild man. And so we were going 95 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:41.000 to swing as hard as we could. And if he 96 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:43.819 couldn't survive, then that's fine. we're going to start from scratch. 97 00:04:43.870 --> 00:04:46.329 And I told her AD that, and we practiced really 98 00:04:46.370 --> 00:04:49.389 hard for two weeks and deep down in my heart, 99 00:04:49.449 --> 00:04:51.110 I was kind of hoping it might even have some 100 00:04:51.189 --> 00:04:53.370 attrition where there was, there were people in our program 101 00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:56.889 that just, it was okay to be average and Florida. 102 00:04:56.910 --> 00:04:57.990 It's not okay to be average. 103 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:03.990 And that team came together and beat the sauce out of, uh, uh, 104 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:06.980 Florida state that a highly ranked Florida state 34 to seven. 105 00:05:07.019 --> 00:05:07.540 And that was it. 106 00:05:07.819 --> 00:05:11.639 That changed the whole trajectory. Recruiting went off the chain. Um, 107 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:14.740 12 months later, we win it all. So there was, 108 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:18.560 there was never a time, Allie, that on, in the, 08, yes. 109 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:18.939 06, no. 110 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:23.189 06, you know, our offense was very average. Defense was 111 00:05:23.509 --> 00:05:26.589 absolutely elite with Ray McDonald and that whole defensive line 112 00:05:26.649 --> 00:05:31.370 and Seiler. And, but offensively, we were in survival mode 113 00:05:31.410 --> 00:05:33.589 and we blocked a field goal against South Carolina, have 114 00:05:33.629 --> 00:05:35.730 some really close games and then find a way to, 115 00:05:36.370 --> 00:05:38.550 offense got going near the end there. But there was 116 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:42.370 never a time that in 06 that I said, man, 117 00:05:42.389 --> 00:05:46.170 we can win it all, up until about the third 118 00:05:46.209 --> 00:05:47.670 quarter of the Ohio State game. 119 00:05:48.949 --> 00:05:51.560 A massive week in college football is coming, and I 120 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:54.040 am so excited to see our Gators play in the 121 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.279 swamp this weekend. And I've got friends that are hunting 122 00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.639 for the best deal on tickets. So shout out to 123 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:04.449 today's sponsor, SeatGeek. It is the number one rated ticketing 124 00:06:04.629 --> 00:06:08.089 app with over 35 million downloads and more than 70,000 125 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:09.990 events on there. 126 00:06:10.310 --> 00:06:13.860 Concerts, festivals, obviously sports, college football. 127 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:16.319 And the NFL are rolling right now, and the NBA 128 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:19.639 and the NHL are back too. I have season tickets, 129 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:21.639 but when the Gators are on the road or I 130 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:25.180 want tickets to another event, I always use SeatGeek. And 131 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.360 the best part, Every ticket gets a 1 through 10 132 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:31.500 deal rating. Green dot means it's a good deal. Red 133 00:06:31.610 --> 00:06:34.490 means I would probably skip it. Plus, every ticket has 134 00:06:34.529 --> 00:06:37.009 their buyer guarantee. And of course, I have a code 135 00:06:37.029 --> 00:06:40.970 for you guys. You can use HMA10 for 10% off 136 00:06:40.990 --> 00:06:44.189 your next set of tickets at SeatGeek. That is 10% 137 00:06:44.189 --> 00:06:47.490 off any tickets. As long as you use the promo code, 138 00:06:47.529 --> 00:06:52.480 it's HMA10, HMA10. Make sure you click the link in 139 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.939 the description to download the app and have the code 140 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.560 automatically added to your account so you can use it 141 00:06:57.579 --> 00:06:57.959 later on. 142 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:02.660 Thanks, SeatGeek. You mentioned that block kick against South Carolina. 143 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.220 Jarvis Moss, who was actually Eric's roommate at the time, 144 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:06.399 surprised like crazy. 145 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:06.699 Really? 146 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:07.720 I didn't know that. 147 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:08.639 Yes, he was. 148 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:09.860 Talk about the odd couple.

149 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.300 Do you know he slept on an air mattress the 150 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:14.639 entire year? I kept saying, can we go get you 151 00:07:14.689 --> 00:07:15.990 a mattress? Can we do something? 152 00:07:16.290 --> 00:07:19.370 He slept on an air mattress on the floor in 153 00:07:19.410 --> 00:07:19.730 a room. 154 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:22.540 That had a dresser that was like an extra dresser 155 00:07:22.600 --> 00:07:24.319 that I had had at my house that we put 156 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:26.899 in there for the entire season. I had to show 157 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.300 him how to work the washing machine at their house. 158 00:07:29.319 --> 00:07:30.980 They live like three streets over from where I did. 159 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.360 But he slept on a twin-size air mattress on the 160 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:36.139 floor the entire year. 161 00:07:36.600 --> 00:07:38.699 But he told a fascinating story recently. 162 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:41.860 He talked about that Strong was actually trying to take 163 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:44.399 him out for the final field goal. And he basically said, 164 00:07:44.420 --> 00:07:46.459 I'm not going out. And that you looked at him 165 00:07:46.490 --> 00:07:49.459 and sent him back out there Do you remember anything 166 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:51.879 about that exchange? And what do you think made you 167 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:53.300 trust him in that moment? 168 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:57.819 I remember it was like yesterday, yeah. Jarvis Moss, when 169 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:02.560 he got healthy, his energy was, you know, a 12 170 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.560 out of 10. And he would, I saw the comments 171 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:07.319 he made that he just, he was spent. I think 172 00:08:07.339 --> 00:08:10.120 he played every snap. It was obviously a hot day 173 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:12.939 in the swamp. And I always actually became the trainer 174 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:16.199 because he's, you know, just the sheer physics of being 175 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:20.670 6'6 with his vertical jump. and Charlie says, get out here, 176 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:22.379 you know, and I was, whoa, whoa, whoa, you know, 177 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:25.110 and I, so I grabbed the trainer's Gatorade, and I 178 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:28.709 was sitting there pouring Gatorade on Jarvis, and I had 179 00:08:28.769 --> 00:08:31.430 another timeout, so I used the last time, or I 180 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:34.429 think we actually had another one, I used that timeout, 181 00:08:34.490 --> 00:08:37.649 kept him over with me, and then, you know, I 182 00:08:37.690 --> 00:08:40.090 could say, you good, you good, and he wasn't good yet, 183 00:08:40.250 --> 00:08:42.450 and then, you know, we're buying time, buying time, he said, 184 00:08:42.490 --> 00:08:46.889 I'm good, and I just put him in, and he did, 185 00:08:47.970 --> 00:08:51.169 the way he played that year, the energy level, how 186 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:53.440 much it meant to him, he had to be on 187 00:08:53.460 --> 00:08:56.799 that field, you know, the sheer physics of his size, 188 00:08:56.860 --> 00:08:58.700 but that's only, you know, we've had plenty of big 189 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:02.639 dudes that don't have the same attitude that Jarvis Moss had. 190 00:09:02.710 --> 00:09:05.870 So no, he had to be on there. And, uh, 191 00:09:05.929 --> 00:09:07.570 Charlie did the right thing. Cause if, if I didn't 192 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:10.549 use that other time out, he was exhausted. He wouldn't 193 00:09:10.570 --> 00:09:11.830 have been able to do what he did, but we 194 00:09:11.850 --> 00:09:15.159 had time, we bought time and, uh, That was the 195 00:09:15.179 --> 00:09:17.759 only time I was a trainer. I was a trainer 196 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:19.360 for about 45 seconds there. 197 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:23.960 Do you think you understood immediately how important that single 198 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:26.220 play was going to be to the history of Florida football, 199 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:30.179 or is that just an in-hindsight thing? You realize what 200 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:33.250 a trajectory change that moment had. 201 00:09:33.750 --> 00:09:36.389 Well, you had Coach Spurrier on the other sideline. His 202 00:09:36.429 --> 00:09:38.710 first time to swap as an opposing coach, so I 203 00:09:38.750 --> 00:09:42.480 knew that. Uh, I remember the year before when we 204 00:09:42.539 --> 00:09:45.419 lost to, uh, South Carolina, I went to my radio 205 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:48.299 show and I got booed. You know, there was a 206 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:52.610 contingent of Gator fans that wanted, and I understand Steve's burgers, Florida, 207 00:09:52.929 --> 00:09:53.769 you know, as a player. 208 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:54.289 And his coach. 209 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:58.250 And, and I was not, you know, I was enemy 210 00:09:58.309 --> 00:10:00.620 number one in that city for awhile. you know and 211 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:03.960 we lost a few games and you know Shelly didn't 212 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:05.860 feel it as much as I did I couldn't stand 213 00:10:05.899 --> 00:10:09.250 it you know I just um I I just didn't 214 00:10:09.269 --> 00:10:12.529 feel welcome you know we were we we get like 215 00:10:12.570 --> 00:10:15.950 I said lost Alabama lost LSU and I couldn't really 216 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:18.700 go anywhere imagine walking in your radio show and getting 217 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:22.169 booed And we're seven to two, I think, or something. 218 00:10:23.370 --> 00:10:26.870 And so I just, I remember, you know, we're. 219 00:10:26.750 --> 00:10:29.730 All human that if we lose this game, back to 220 00:10:29.769 --> 00:10:32.389 back to South Carolina, Coach Spurrier. So I wasn't thinking 221 00:10:32.429 --> 00:10:35.330 national title. I was thinking about the ramification on my family, 222 00:10:35.389 --> 00:10:37.169 on me,

on our program. 223 00:10:38.090 --> 00:10:39.330 That Florida's tough. 224 00:10:39.370 --> 00:10:42.350 I mean, all the top programs are tough, but that 225 00:10:42.389 --> 00:10:46.750 was miserable. Imagine walking in and then getting, you know, 226 00:10:47.629 --> 00:10:49.330 I don't want to get in all that, but you know, 227 00:10:49.549 --> 00:10:52.169 emails and letters and Nancy would try to hide them 228 00:10:52.230 --> 00:10:54.690 from me, you know, about get the hell out of 229 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:58.370 town and, you know, you don't belong here. And so 230 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:00.580 it was rugged. So I didn't look at the national 231 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:05.879 title implications. I looked at the livelihood of my family, myself, 232 00:11:05.980 --> 00:11:09.259 and the reality is that this program, if we lose 233 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.190 this one now, this is going to be tough to 234 00:11:12.230 --> 00:11:12.769 rally back. 235 00:11:13.230 --> 00:11:18.240 Yeah. I remember Chris Hetland's car getting toilet papered after 236 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:21.919 a missed kick at some point. Somebody created a Facebook 237 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:24.879 group that said, you cost us a national title, Eric Wilber. 238 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:27.539 You cocky son of a gun, we'll say. 239 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:28.720 Shows a different word. 240 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:33.399 So the fan base is brutal. Everybody remembers Florida beating 241 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:38.000 Ohio State 41-14. And you've talked about the motivation that 242 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:40.580 you've used, the quotes that you maybe attributed to people 243 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:41.220 that didn't. 244 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:41.840 Actually say them. 245 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.980 But I'd love to hear what happened, you know, in 246 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.100 the locker room before kickoff or at halftime. Like, do 247 00:11:48.159 --> 00:11:51.279 you remember what you said to the team and, you know, 248 00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:53.799 how they bought in and what you saw in their eyes? 249 00:11:54.950 --> 00:11:57.409 Yeah, I've always believed that, you know, the locker room 250 00:11:57.470 --> 00:12:01.409 pregame speeches to a degree are overrated. You know, I 251 00:12:01.429 --> 00:12:04.629 think it's all the And I talked to actually a 252 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.070 couple coaches this week, and my statement always, in those 253 00:12:08.090 --> 00:12:12.009 type of games, talent-equated games, the most prepared team wins. 254 00:12:12.070 --> 00:12:13.929 It's not going to be the pregame speech or the 255 00:12:13.970 --> 00:12:17.889 lucky T-shirt or the routine that you do. It's all 256 00:12:17.929 --> 00:12:21.750 about are you at your body weight? Are you fully hydrated? 257 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:23.889 Are you getting your rest? Are you screwing around during 258 00:12:23.909 --> 00:12:27.000 the week? Because when that foot hits the

ball and 259 00:12:27.019 --> 00:12:29.000 the guy across from you has every bit of talent 260 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:32.960 that you have, the most prepared of the two people 261 00:12:34.179 --> 00:12:35.860 the guy that's most prepared is going to win. And 262 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:37.960 I'm not just talking about studying the playbook. That's where 263 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:39.620 people are like, well, that means more film. 264 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:41.919 Yeah, that's it. That's probably one third of it. You're right. 265 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:43.740 But making sure your. 266 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:47.110 Body and your mind is completely refreshed, ready to rock 267 00:12:47.139 --> 00:12:47.590 and roll. 268 00:12:48.330 --> 00:12:50.690 And I was a maniac about that. 269 00:12:51.190 --> 00:12:56.830 So, you know, Ohio State, obviously going into the game, 270 00:12:56.850 --> 00:13:01.820 I did, I used everything possible. And as you know, 271 00:13:02.309 --> 00:13:05.190 Just watching our country right now, hatred is an incredible, 272 00:13:05.269 --> 00:13:09.769 powerful motivator. And I would always say this, that I 273 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:12.769 would try to somehow get that team pissed off somehow. 274 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:15.940 Because an angry football team, there's nothing like it. 275 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:17.299 Yeah. 276 00:13:17.379 --> 00:13:20.159 Well, that group of guys was a pretty easy one 277 00:13:20.179 --> 00:13:20.860 to piss off. 278 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:21.899 What's that? 279 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:23.940 I said that group of guys was a pretty easy 280 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:28.950 one to piss off. They were tough. They were tough. 281 00:13:29.889 --> 00:13:32.799 You know, is there anything that you remember. 282 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:35.480 These guys telling you in the locker room at halftime 283 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.720 or at the end of the game? Like, you know, 284 00:13:38.100 --> 00:13:41.000 I'm always so fascinated by the celebration that happens, kind 285 00:13:41.019 --> 00:13:44.070 of the release that happens afterwards. And so many of 286 00:13:44.110 --> 00:13:47.750 these guys came from such terrible backgrounds, wanted so much 287 00:13:47.809 --> 00:13:51.029 to better their lives for moving forward. And that championship 288 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:53.830 was a huge step for so many of them in that, 289 00:13:54.629 --> 00:13:57.679 you know, in that path to creating something big. 290 00:13:58.870 --> 00:14:01.269 Yeah, one of the great stories, you know, we don't 291 00:14:01.309 --> 00:14:06.159 win that without Brandon Seiler. We came in and we're 292 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.080 drastically different than what anything in that program has ever 293 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:12.200 been used to, including Mickey Morati, our strength program, you know, 294 00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:16.200 the legendary Matt Drills. And, you know, the whole idea 295 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:19.720 was to eliminate the gap between the most committed and 296 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:23.669 least committed. And sometimes, you know, you get stronger by attrition, 297 00:14:23.730 --> 00:14:26.049 and I was not opposed to that. And we had 298 00:14:26.070 --> 00:14:27.990 a little bit, but not much. Everybody, you know, kind 299 00:14:28.029 --> 00:14:31.120 of stuck around, but In that locker room, and Allie, 300 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:33.360 you know this after being Mayor Derrick in your own 301 00:14:33.419 --> 00:14:36.460 world for so many years, is that we can push 302 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:38.919 so far, but unless you have some alphas in that 303 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:41.980 team room, in the locker room. You know, I look 304 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:43.720 back at the Patriots, and I learned that from them. 305 00:14:43.740 --> 00:14:47.009 You had Tom Brady, Mike Raybould, Teddy Bruschi, and Rodney Harrison. 306 00:14:47.610 --> 00:14:50.509 Without those guys, the Patriots don't win back-to-back Super Bowls. 307 00:14:51.230 --> 00:14:54.429 You know, Billy Donovan's team, the basketball team, without Horford 308 00:14:54.570 --> 00:14:56.490 and Joe Kim, you don't win those. You know, you 309 00:14:56.509 --> 00:14:59.610 can coach all you want. but Brandon Sally was the 310 00:14:59.649 --> 00:15:04.000 guy that is the alpha male that he, he bought 311 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.779 what I sold, what we sold. And if he did not, Ali, 312 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:09.519 I'm telling you, there's no chance. I don't think he 313 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:13.379 gets enough credit because he's a tough ass dude. And 314 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:16.120 we went full military on that team. I mean, it 315 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:20.710 was Navy SEAL training and we took a team of, 316 00:15:20.730 --> 00:15:23.070 you know, I don't want to call them bad news 317 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:26.700 bears cause that's not fair, but it was, uh, It 318 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:29.720 was a dysfunctional group at times. I mean, some of 319 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:35.399 the stuff they were doing and all, and it was 320 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:37.759 a beating, and it was something that we put on 321 00:15:37.779 --> 00:15:40.879 them in the offseason, and they responded. So the one 322 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:42.970 quick story, I know I'm talking a lot. The one 323 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:46.179 quick story is the kid, Teddy Ginn, returns a kickoff 324 00:15:46.210 --> 00:15:50.870 for a touchdown. I'm in charge of kickoff. I lose 325 00:15:50.909 --> 00:15:54.210 my shit, excuse my language. I lose it on the sideline. 326 00:15:55.009 --> 00:15:57.470 I throw my headsets, and I'm yelling, and I'm trying 327 00:15:57.490 --> 00:15:59.460 to figure out who did what, what happened, what happened. 328 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.159 Brandon Saller comes up to me and grabs my arm. 329 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:06.039 I mean, there's a big man grabbing my arm, and

330 00:16:06.059 --> 00:16:08.559 he says, we're going to be fine. They're not going 331 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:12.320 to score again. Pick up your effing headsets and coach 332 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:14.539 the team. I've never had a player do that to me. 333 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:17.639 And I try to release myself from him, and obviously 334 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:20.350 he's twice the size of me. He's got my arm 335 00:16:20.409 --> 00:16:23.679 in a death grip. And he's staring at me, and 336 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:26.230 he's not, there's no, I mean, he says, pick up 337 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:28.230 your effing headsets and coach the team. 338 00:16:28.269 --> 00:16:28.750 We're fine. 339 00:16:30.070 --> 00:16:33.909 And I stared at him, and I did what he 340 00:16:33.950 --> 00:16:37.070 told me to do. I picked up my headsets, I 341 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:41.159 bit my lip, and the rest is great history. But 342 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:43.480 I'm telling you, Brandon Seller and some of those players, 343 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:45.600 I learned more from them than they learned from me. 344 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.559 That was kind of a student becoming the teacher moment. 345 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:51.379 You know, you. 346 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.159 I think, had such a unique style of dealing with 347 00:16:56.179 --> 00:16:59.000 these players, of coaching them, of developing them. Is it 348 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.200 something that you think would work today? I mean, I 349 00:17:02.220 --> 00:17:07.190 think the hallmarks of toughness and physicality and accountability, all of. 350 00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:09.569 Those things are evergreen. 351 00:17:10.029 --> 00:17:15.190 But the rest of it, the mat drills, the military style, 352 00:17:15.380 --> 00:17:18.039 is that something that would work in today's college football? 353 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:21.029 Or are players too soft for that to be as 354 00:17:21.089 --> 00:17:22.450 effective as it was back then? 355 00:17:23.190 --> 00:17:24.609 You know, I've been asked that question a lot, and 356 00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:26.430 I try to research it a little bit. I think, 357 00:17:26.750 --> 00:17:29.210 you know, it's a unicorn right now. I hear that 358 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:32.309 Kirby Smart in Georgia is a really rugged program, very 359 00:17:32.329 --> 00:17:34.849 demanding in the offseason. They practice like their hair's on 360 00:17:34.890 --> 00:17:38.329 fire like we used to. But the majority, no. 361 00:17:38.369 --> 00:17:43.849 No, no, no chance. They pack their bags and go. 362 00:17:45.190 --> 00:17:47.650 Because I've been to a bunch of practices. over the 363 00:17:47.670 --> 00:17:49.190 years and I walk away going, what was that? I 364 00:17:49.230 --> 00:17:51.259 don't know what that is. You know, that's certainly not 365 00:17:51.299 --> 00:17:53.039 a football practice. That's something else. 366 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:54.180 Yeah. 367 00:17:55.059 -->

00:18:00.259 You know, so that's a great question. I think if 368 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:02.039 you have a locker room of people that want to 369 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.950 win and are tough people, sure. But if you don't, 370 00:18:06.349 --> 00:18:08.069 I think it's tragic. And I think that's what you're 371 00:18:08.089 --> 00:18:10.910 seeing across the country when you see the Florida States, 372 00:18:10.930 --> 00:18:15.059 some of these incredible programs are just awful. Yeah. And how, 373 00:18:15.299 --> 00:18:17.519 you can't say it's bad coaching and bad players. You can't, 374 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:19.740 you got to get that out of your mind saying, okay, well, 375 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:22.880 they have really bad coaches. Stop that. Of course, they're 376 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:25.420 not bad coaches. And then the next thing, oh, they're 377 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:30.019 really terrible players. No, no, they're actually great players. But 378 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:34.220 there's something wrong. And I've always been a culture leadership person. 379 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.910 I know exactly what's wrong. You got some bad leaders 380 00:18:36.950 --> 00:18:39.970 and a bad culture, pal. That's, you can't, and I 381 00:18:40.150 --> 00:18:43.089 almost laugh when I hear fans and, Even some coaches 382 00:18:43.190 --> 00:18:47.250 start saying, well, we called the wrong play. 383 00:18:47.269 --> 00:18:49.829 No, no, no, no. It's not that. 384 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:57.059 I do think for Kirby, he has never had a 385 00:18:57.119 --> 00:19:00.200 step down from the transition from the non-NIL to NIL. 386 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:02.849 So there's always been someone on that team that's known 387 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:05.329 what the standard was. I think it's harder at a 388 00:19:05.349 --> 00:19:07.470 place like Florida where there was such a fall off 389 00:19:07.549 --> 00:19:10.609 because you had years where nobody was winning and nobody 390 00:19:10.650 --> 00:19:14.269 was leading. And so you're starting from scratch, whereas Kirby 391 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:17.589 is continuing the trend. There's always somebody still on the 392 00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:20.720 roster that knew the standard and passed it down. And 393 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:23.140 I think that's kind of what we've been missing. And 394 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:25.700 now we have Coach Summerall, and you had a unique 395 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:30.400 role in helping Florida identify him as the next head coach. 396 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:34.240 When Strickland reached out to you, what did he ask 397 00:19:34.259 --> 00:19:37.180 you to evaluate? And then what convinced you that John 398 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:38.700 was the right man for Florida? 399 00:19:39.859 --> 00:19:40.779 Yeah, it's a great story. 400 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:44.170 And Scott Strickland has been over the top as far 401 00:19:44.230 --> 00:19:51.700 as very hospitable. I mean, he's incredible. I really appreciate him. 402 00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:54.000 I know Shelly does too and just the way he's 403 00:19:54.059 --> 00:19:56.960 treated us over the years. And so I got the 404 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:00.990 phone call and obviously I'm invested in Florida and behind 405 00:20:01.009 --> 00:20:05.630 the scenes more than probably most people know. And when 406 00:20:05.670 --> 00:20:07.910 I retired from Ohio State, I moved to the state 407 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:10.559 of Florida and then Scott really Scott was the guy 408 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:14.779 that welcomed me, really made an aggressive approach to welcome 409 00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:18.759 me back. And so I did, you know, as far 410 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:21.329 as donors and as far as just trying to be 411 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:25.769 a positive resource. And then when the coaching change happened, 412 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:30.329 you know, a board member and then Scott, we had 413 00:20:30.369 --> 00:20:33.890 some conversations and I did not make any decisions, but 414 00:20:33.950 --> 00:20:38.319 I wanted to do some intel and I've been out 415 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:39.880 of it for a minute, so some of these names 416 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:40.500 I didn't even know. 417 00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:41.180 Some I did know. 418 00:20:42.180 --> 00:20:44.920 And when they gave me a list of names, I 419 00:20:45.500 --> 00:20:47.460 just went to work for a week behind the scenes 420 00:20:47.529 --> 00:20:50.589 on my iPad watching film. I always wanted, because I 421 00:20:51.190 --> 00:20:54.230 think you can tell so much from someone about their 422 00:20:54.269 --> 00:20:55.849 interview when they get up in front of a team, 423 00:20:55.890 --> 00:20:57.950 in front of the, you know, are they just the 424 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:01.009 kind that talk and talk and talk and, you know, 425 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:03.990 and they're doing it for themselves, I guess. I just, 426 00:21:04.049 --> 00:21:06.470 I can't stand that. So a couple of guys, I 427 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:08.789 saw that and I was like, I kind of X'd 428 00:21:08.829 --> 00:21:11.990 him off. And then I saw other guys that all 429 00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:15.269 they do is bitch and complain about, and they bitch. 430 00:21:16.230 --> 00:21:18.849 You don't have time to do that. You better adapt. 431 00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:22.769 And then the Summerall guy at Tulane, I didn't know. 432 00:21:23.170 --> 00:21:25.630 I heard of him. I started watching him, but what 433 00:21:25.690 --> 00:21:30.549 really got me were his FaceTime. In front of the media, 434 00:21:30.589 --> 00:21:33.230 in front of his team, I pulled up some, it's 435 00:21:33.269 --> 00:21:35.849 amazing what you have access to nowadays. And I was like, wow, 436 00:21:35.890 --> 00:21:38.450 wait a minute. And so I finally, I just picked 437 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:40.380 up the phone one day. And cause I heard it 438 00:21:40.410 -->

00:21:41.940 was getting close. I heard it was getting close to 439 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:46.180 Auburn because his wife's an Auburn grad. And I just 440 00:21:46.200 --> 00:21:46.839 picked up the phone. 441 00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:49.539 He didn't answer. I left a message within minutes. He 442 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:50.099 calls me back. 443 00:21:50.119 --> 00:21:53.259 He said, Whoa, you know, and first time talking and, 444 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:57.559 and immediately went to off season. It went to a 445 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:00.140 strength coach. He was a green beret. It went to 446 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:03.529 Tuesday practices. It went to special teams. It went to toughness. 447 00:22:03.589 --> 00:22:06.299 It went to, You know, his belief in the standard 448 00:22:06.339 --> 00:22:09.720 of effort, it's energy. You know, that's one thing that's 449 00:22:09.740 --> 00:22:11.309 bothered me about Florida a little bit. When I watch 450 00:22:11.349 --> 00:22:13.750 him play in the past, where's the energy? My God, 451 00:22:13.890 --> 00:22:17.769 I mean, I want to see chairs broken. I want 452 00:22:17.809 --> 00:22:24.849 to see, you know, so I was sold. And we 453 00:22:24.890 --> 00:22:27.670 had a couple more conversations, and then I finally called Scott, 454 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:30.319 and I said, this is my thought. You guys do it. 455 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:32.819 You know, obviously, this is on you guys. 456 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:36.640 And I know you've continued to cultivate that relationship. And 457 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.380 John said this week at his press conference that he 458 00:22:39.420 --> 00:22:41.440 actually had you come to his coaching clinic in the 459 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:43.970 spring and turn the meeting over to you and had 460 00:22:44.009 --> 00:22:47.650 you address his staff about the standards and the expectations 461 00:22:47.710 --> 00:22:48.190 at Florida. 462 00:22:48.710 --> 00:22:50.710 What did you tell those coaches? 463 00:22:50.769 --> 00:22:52.930 What do you want them to understand about this place 464 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:55.380 that they couldn't learn from watching film? 465 00:22:56.539 --> 00:23:00.490 Yeah. I get very passionate about coaching because I put 466 00:23:00.529 --> 00:23:03.250 together the all-star staff at Florida. And when they started 467 00:23:03.309 --> 00:23:07.339 to leave, it almost, it almost killed me. You know, players, you, you, 468 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:10.000 you expect fluidity. You know, at some point I knew 469 00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:12.779 Eric Wilber is not going to be our punter. And 470 00:23:12.819 --> 00:23:17.529 so you try to plan ahead. And that's obviously number one, 471 00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:19.910 but number, a close number two is that coaching staff. 472 00:23:19.930 --> 00:23:21.950 You know, I started losing Dan Mullen. I started losing 473 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:26.470 Charlie Strong. I started losing these incredible coaches. And, If 474 00:23:26.509 --> 00:23:29.829 you don't replace that coach with one of the same 475 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:35.410 talent or even greater, you're in a storm. And I 476 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:37.960 kind of went after the coaching staff, you know, this, 477 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:40.339 in this era of, you know, coaches didn't get paid 478 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:42.960 like that when I was in the game and you know, 479 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:44.980 everybody wants to, you know, they have their one foot 480 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:46.960 out the door always. And I saw that on my 481 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.940 staff when I, some mistakes I made. So John Summerall 482 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:54.119 was going to get the blame and the glory, which 483 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:57.849 comes with that position. But we won a national championship 484 00:23:57.869 --> 00:24:00.089 because of great players. And you go back and look 485 00:24:00.109 --> 00:24:03.819 at that coaching staff in 06 and 08, I mean, 486 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:08.400 not good, absolutely elite. Many went on to be head coaches. 487 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:12.779 Many are phenomenal teachers and coaches. And I've been around 488 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:15.390 the world a little bit. I've been around some really, 489 00:24:15.509 --> 00:24:18.390 really selfish coaches that can destroy a program. 490 00:24:19.849 --> 00:24:23.349 You have built championship programs, not just here, but at 491 00:24:23.390 --> 00:24:25.990 Ohio State. But you've also had to fix things when 492 00:24:26.009 --> 00:24:29.299 they weren't going right. You talked about moving Latsko to fullback, 493 00:24:29.390 --> 00:24:32.900 things that you've had to adapt. We've seen flashes of 494 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.440 what Florida can be this season, but we've also seen 495 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:42.259 some insanely frustrating performances, particularly offensively. From your perspective, what's 496 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:45.089 the biggest difference between a talented football team and a 497 00:24:45.250 --> 00:24:49.059 championship program, and what does John have to do to 498 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:49.940 get Florida there? 499 00:24:50.900 --> 00:24:53.980 You know, I watch his teams closely because I love 500 00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:59.400 my involvement, and I'm a fan now, and it's great. 501 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.369 When you see a team have the ups and flows 502 00:25:05.410 --> 00:25:07.450 like you see a Florida team right now, when you 503 00:25:07.490 --> 00:25:10.579 watch them in that second half against Texas– when you 504 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.359 watch the whole entirety of the game against Ole Miss, 505 00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:15.700 you know, and you're like, my goodness. I mean, and 506 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:18.599 then you see them, like, not show up, South Carolina, 507 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.960 and that's the sign of a lot of things. 508 00:25:22.029 -->

00:25:23.630 Obviously, I was there in the spring. 509 00:25:23.910 --> 00:25:26.170 We are still not where we need to be talent-wise, 510 00:25:26.630 --> 00:25:29.009 and that's not a shot at all. Obviously, a team's 511 00:25:29.029 --> 00:25:31.089 good enough to go into Texas and win's good enough. 512 00:25:31.410 --> 00:25:33.819 That team's good enough to make the playoffs. Is that 513 00:25:33.900 --> 00:25:37.039 team good enough to lift the gold trophy? From what 514 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:40.650 I saw, not yet. Not yet, but energy and passion 515 00:25:40.710 --> 00:25:43.650 overcome maybe some deficiencies. And their team, when they play 516 00:25:43.670 --> 00:25:46.390 with that energy and passion like their coach has, they're 517 00:25:46.430 --> 00:25:50.049 good when they play flat. It's amazing to me why 518 00:25:50.089 --> 00:25:54.769 that's hard to understand. The one thing, if you could say, 519 00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:57.099 about the Florida Gator teams, for the most part, is 520 00:25:57.130 --> 00:26:00.420 there was passion and energy. And because that would be 521 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:04.799 an awful day for you if you just weren't that way. 522 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:08.269 And some people would leave because even coaches, there was 523 00:26:08.289 --> 00:26:11.809 too much for them, which is fine. But I would 524 00:26:11.869 --> 00:26:14.650 say that a team with passion and energy, this Gator 525 00:26:14.690 --> 00:26:15.710 team can beat anybody. 526 00:26:15.730 --> 00:26:17.750 And I can end with this, is that. 527 00:26:19.130 --> 00:26:24.119 This next few four games, it's imperative that they finish 528 00:26:24.500 --> 00:26:30.779 with momentum. That's what we did in 2005. Without momentum, 529 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:34.460 you're stuck in quicksand. We really have to get this won. 530 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:37.740 And then when a couple down the road, uh, and 531 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:40.160 they go into recruiting and put together, like we did 532 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:43.680 that old six recruiting classes, but momentum is going to 533 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:44.140 be critical. 534 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:48.799 Is there something that the staff can do to immediately 535 00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:51.480 flip the switch so that the energy is the same 536 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:53.029 delivered all the way through? 537 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:53.960 Cause you're right when this. 538 00:26:53.869 --> 00:26:56.509 Team is good, this team is good, but they do, 539 00:26:56.549 --> 00:26:59.029 they have had moments where they come out flat and 540 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.609 it feels a little bit like a roller coaster. Is 541 00:27:01.630 --> 00:27:05.250 there something that can be changed during the season? to 542 00:27:05.289 --> 00:27:07.349 keep the energy high all the way through? Or is 543 00:27:07.390 --> 00:27:09.309 that something that this team has to learn to do 544 00:27:09.390 --> 00:27:11.750 and leaders still have to be developed to get it there? 545 00:27:12.289 --> 00:27:14.410 Yeah, I don't want to get too deep, but it's 546 00:27:14.470 --> 00:27:18.450 the performance pathway. And it's leaders drive the culture, it 547 00:27:18.670 --> 00:27:21.750 drives the behavior, and it gives you the outcome. So 548 00:27:22.430 --> 00:27:24.369 I was constantly attacking the leaders. 549 00:27:24.470 --> 00:27:25.170 I mean, attacking. 550 00:27:25.910 --> 00:27:30.630 And I'm not attacking, but I'd meet constantly with the leaders. 551 00:27:30.710 --> 00:27:32.890 If we felt like we didn't have the leadership in 552 00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:36.410 a locker room, then it was on the staff. And 553 00:27:36.450 --> 00:27:38.670 I would always use the term nine strong. There's nine 554 00:27:38.750 --> 00:27:42.960 units on a team, on offense, there's receivers, quarterbacks, tight ends, offense, linemen, 555 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:48.500 and quarterbacks, defense, D-line, linebackers, quarters, and safeties. You cannot 556 00:27:48.599 --> 00:27:51.079 have a bad day if you're the corners coach. You 557 00:27:51.099 --> 00:27:55.569 just can't. I'm not talking about mistakes. Mistakes happen. I'm 558 00:27:55.609 --> 00:27:58.970 talking about the players still text me all the time, 559 00:27:59.029 --> 00:28:02.849 four to six A to B. And that's easy to measure. 560 00:28:02.930 --> 00:28:04.690 Four to six seconds is the length of the play. 561 00:28:05.529 --> 00:28:09.160 So it's on the leadership of the team. 562 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:12.880 Big thank you to Urban Meyer for being willing to 563 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:15.559 give us so much of his time. Can't wait to 564 00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:19.119 see him on Saturday. I hope you guys enjoyed the interview. 565 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:22.160 Big thank you as well to PrizePix. Don't forget, guys, 566 00:28:22.539 --> 00:28:24.839 download the app if you haven't done it already and 567 00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:26.400 play a $ 5 lineup. 568 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:27.920 Use our code. It's HMA. 569 00:28:28.269 --> 00:28:31.970 If you win, you'll get $ 150 in lineups instantly. We 570 00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:33.970 appreciate PrizePix for all their support. 571 00:28:34.029 --> 00:28:35.609 I appreciate you guys for tuning in. 572 00:28:35.849 --> 00:28:38.069 I've got more content coming your way this week, so 573 00:28:38.109 --> 00:28:39.789 make sure you're subscribed to the channel. 574 00:28:40.170 --> 00:28:41.569 And as always, go Gators.