Tresselized

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Football
The "T" Factor
By John Porentas

Here's something that probably didn't occur to you. Writing about the biggest game of the year, maybe even the biggest game of a lifetime, is a lot harder than you think.

The guy on the other side of the screen you are now staring at has been wrestling with that problem. He thought about writing about how big the rivalry is, but decided that you already know about that. He personally has been involved in telling you that for the last ten years. If you don't have that message by now, then you probably are a cabbage.

Then he considered writing about how much bigger this particular game in the rivalry is because of it's BCS implications and unique one vs. two matchup. It's a pretty good bet you know that already too.

How the game will be won in the trenches? Nah, already done. Troy Smith? Great story, but you'd have to be living in a cave not to know about Troy and his Heisman chase. Ted Ginn? Henne? Hart? Nope. All been done to death. The Michigan defense? The Ohio State defense? Senior day? You know all that stuff. What's left to say that will make you feel more informed when you come to the end of the column?

It's rather embarrassing. It's the biggest game of a lifetime, and people want something fresh, and it's all been done over and over and over. It's almost hopeless.

So here sits the guy on the other side of screen, wondering what he can tell you that you didn't already know or how to tell you something in a way you haven't already seen or heard, in a way that when you finish reading, you'll say, 'Gee, I haven't seen that before.' He decided that there is almost nothing left that you didn't already know, haven't already seen. For heaven's sake, some idiot even wrote a column about a player vomiting on a regular basis. What could possibly be left?

Here it is.

He's going to tell you why you, as an OSU fan, are comfortable about this game, and why you, as a Michigan fan, are sweating more than you want to admit.

Jim Tressel.

Head Coach Jim Tressel
Photo by Jim Davidson

The Ohio State football program has been under Jim Tressel for six seasons now. It is truly his. The players now on the team were all recruited by him and the upper classmen have all been "Tresselized", and that, for the most part, is what we want to tell you about, because it is, for the most part, why you Buckeyes are calm and comfortable today, and you Wolverines are just a bit more edgy than you care to admit.

Jim Tressel (or Cheaty McSweatervest for you detractors) is not charismatic in the way you think of a Bo Schembeckler or Woody Hayes. He is not clever like Lou Holtz. He is not flashy, not urbane, not, actually, exciting at all. He is though, first and foremost, the consummate leader, in specific, the consummate leader for a college football team.

Tressel's leadership is really characterized by three qualities. He is a rare mix of an individual who has a clear understanding and firm grasp of the big picture and is yet obsessively immersed in every detail of his undertaking. Those two qualities almost never coexist in people. That's why we have CEOs (big picture people) and accountants (detail people). Tressel, however, is both for his football team. He provides clear-cut big picture goals, but can call the parents and siblings of every player on his team by first name. He knows everyone's major, where every picture is hung in the WHAC, who every football alumnus is, the name of every team manager and trainer.

Those two traits in one person are rare, but what Tressel also has is the ability to convince people that his vision, his big picture, is the right one. At the same time he has them firmly believing that his methods, his techniques, the specific details he takes so much care to put in place, monitor and enforce, are the ones that will make the big picture become a reality.

In convincing his team of those ideas he has insured that those teams have become a mirror of the man himself, and that mirror image is what has Ohio State fans calm and Wolverine fans edgy. Tressel's players recognize that after enough time in his program they have become "Tresselized", mirrors of Tressel himself in the way they prepare for games to the way they react to situations. They even start to sound like him.

Anthony Gonzalez
Photo by Jim Davidson

"I know you look at organizations, football teams, whatever the case may be, and ordinarily the organization whatever it is takes on the personality of its leader," said OSU wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.

"Since Coach Tressel is our top leader, yeah, I think that does trickle down a lot. It's kind of funny. If you listen to the interviews that we give I think a lot of the stuff is taken directly from stuff he's said," Gonzalez said.

"Indeed," said the writer who has heard Tressel's mantra over the past six seasons.

What is he about?

What Tressel lacks in charisma he make up for in consistency. He is what he is, you always know what you are going to get. You can always count on him performing a certain way no matter what the situation. He never varies. It's what player after player has said about Tressel and one of his strongest characteristics.

His consistency is maddening for the local media. All of them can predict exactly what he will say in every situation. It makes writing about him hard. It is also what makes him successful.

He truly believes in his message, his ideals, his way of doing things. His consistency has enabled him to accomplish the most difficult task for any coach or leader, getting those who he is leading to internalize his vision and concepts. He does it not with eloquence or flash, but by example. He is consistent, down to the smallest detail, and expects those whom he leads to be the same.

Luke Fickell
Photo by Jim Davidson

"We're all who we are, we all have our own little things, but it comes from the top down," said OSU linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell.

"Here's an example. You walk in in the morning and Coach Tressel is picking up trash as he's walking through the parking lot off the ground. I'm thinking 'I better pick up some if he's picking up trash.' What kind of example is that. Just little things like that," Fickell said.

"It's about people, it's about doing the right thing, it's about being a good person. I think those are the things that come from him. It's the way you coach. A lot of the things you take are from the top down."

Senior Antonio Smith has had five years of Tresselization. He has come to recognize the process and its impact.

Antonio Smith
Photo by Jim Davidson

"When you come to college and you're 18-years old and still growing into a young adult, but when you leave here you leave with a lot values and great things that Coach Tressel instills in us," said Smith.

"Whenever Coach Tressel speaks we all listen. He definitely has great things to say, but he doesn't really get too fired up. What you see is what you get. How you see him now is pretty much how he stays each day throughout our practice and throughout the game. He doesn't get too fired up but as a team we're ready to play."

Consistency, preparation, humility, hard work, and above all, team. Those are the traits Tressel believes in and exhibits at all times. He never changes. No one prepares more for games, he always refers to "we", never "I". He's the same in practices, in games no matter what the situation, and after the game whether in victory or defeat.

Focusing it on Michigan Week

This week before arguably the biggest football in a lifetime Tressel will coach with the firm belief that the qualities he has been preaching all year will allow his team to be the best it can be. He will not hype the game to his players. He won't have to. He has already let them know how important it is, not because of the circumstance, but because it is their job, week after week, to be the best they can be. That, he believes, is all he needs his team to believe.

"As far as we’re concerned, we just do whatever we’re told," said Gonzalez.

"Is his demeanor different (this week)? I think his demeanor is rather consistent, I really do. He’s pretty even-keeled guy all the way across," said Gonzalez.

Tressel's approach is perfect for the rivalry. His methodical "get a little better ever week" approach with emphasis on "being the best you can be by the end of the season" is exactly what is needed by a football program whose rivalry game is, coincidently, always the last game of the season. His approach de facto makes the Michigan game the focus of the entire season.

"In the beginning of the season, we know we have to take one step at a time, one game at a time and we have to focus on our specific role that week," said Smith.

"Now it's the last game of the season, but this is our task at hand this week. We know we have to focus on Michigan and Michigan only. We can't focus on the national championship game, we can't focus on our records in previous years, we have to focus on Michigan. Coach Tressel just does a good job of preparing us throughout the year," said Smith.

"He always talks about November performance," defensive tackle and captain David Patterson.

"Coach Tressel is a perfectionist. Every time he's watching the film he's seeing something we can improve on. He's never satisfied. A 44-0 shutout doesn't satisfy him because we're still not playing the best that we can or we had things that didn't go right in that game. He just stresses the little things and realizes that we can always get better.

David Patterson
Photo by Jim Davidson

"We think about Michigan all year round. We talk about how it is the game and Coach Tressel talks about the things it takes to be successful in that game. During this season we’ve been taking it one game at a time. I know that’s a cliché, but we actually have," Patterson said.

Come Saturday Jim Tressel will be on the OSU sideline, most likely wearing his gray sweater vest. His headphones will be on and his focus will be riveted on one thing and one thing only, doing his part on the sideline to win the football game. That's what every coach does on game day. Tressel will have something else going for him. He will have a team that is fully Tresselized on the field, one that has bought into the value system he believes will allow them to be the best they can be in The Game of Games.

"When you're a freshman you learn what's important here," said Patterson.

"You learn that winning is important, that November is important and that humility is important," said Patterson.

"You start becoming a Buckeye."

The Buckeyes may win on Saturday. They also may lose. What you can be sure of is that their coach will have given them the best opportunity to be as good as they can be in the biggest game in memory. They will have a good game plan, they will be well-conditioned, they will be well-drilled, but most importantly, they will have been Tresselized from the first day of their Buckeye careers. If they win, the will do it with class and dignity. If they lose, they will do it the same way.

And that is what is calming you, Mr. Ohio State fan, and worrying you more than just a little, my Wolverine friend.

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