Forgive first-year Ohio State coach Jim Tressel for being a little naive at the Big Ten football meetings last winter. He's new at this. Didn't know any better. So when Penn State coach Joe Paterno told Tressel that new coaches are required to outline their philosophies and policies, Tressel started doing just that.
He opened his playbook and was about to unveil his offensive, defensive and special teams schemes, when Paterno broke out in laughter.
"Coach Paterno has that way where you don't know if he's real or not. So I was about to spew out all of our secrets and then he grinned," Tressel said. "So I knew he was teasing me."
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After a very thorough search, Ohio State Athletic director Andy Geiger announced that Jim Tressel would be the new head coach of the Ohio State football team. Across Ohio, and in many other parts of the country, there was a collective pause, and maybe a "Hmmm..." But by the end of the day, at least in Ohio, everything was put to rest.
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Consider it a benign form of initiation in what is sure to be a lesson-filled rookie season for the new Head Buckeye. After 15 years at Youngstown State, where he won four Division I-AA national championships, Tressel has upgraded in prestige and pressure, making the three-hour drive to Columbus for the most talked about job in the state of Ohio.
There, he's promised a newfound sense of discipline, a commitment to the student half of student-athlete and best of all, victories over Big Ten rival Michigan.
All three were challenges to the previous regime. In essence the reason that John Cooper, despite compiling 111 victories, three Big Ten titles and six Top 10 finishes over 13 seasons, was asked to leave.
Enter Tressel, who in just seven months on the job, already has sold his players on the importance of a new attitude, improved work ethic and team-first attitude.
"You're not going to goof around. You're not going to be late for practice. There is none of that stuff," said senior nose tackle Mike Collins. "He doesn't want to hear your, 'I couldn't get the bus' excuse. A lot of people have tried that one already and not only are they held out of practice, they aren't even allowed to be there. It's no nonsense."
Collins, himself, was made an example of during spring practice, when Tressel caught the captain lollygagging between drill stations. The coach immediately blew his whistle, chewed out Collins and instructed the entire team to begin the drill again.
Nobody complained.
"In the past, guys would have been like, 'Are you kidding me? Start a drill over?' But Coach Tressel has taught us, if you have to do a drill 100 times to beat Michigan, or win the Big Ten, or win the national championship, then you do it 100 times," Collins said.
|  | | Ohio State coach Jim Tressel isn't afraid to let his players look ahead to the team's showdown with Michigan on Nov. 24, the last game of the Buckeyes' regular season. |
The change in discipline is something that many believed the Buckeyes needed. Though Cooper's teams achieved great success, with more than 90 players selected in the NFL Draft, their off-field problems, including player arrests, academic ineligibilities and poor GPAs cast an shadow over the Buckeye program.
"The team GPA was never really successful," Collins said. "A lot of people weren't graduating."
Since the moment he took the Ohio State job, Tressel said heard the rumblings about Buckeye athletes being spoiled, me-first prima donnas who do things at their own pace.
"I heard it so often that it got me thinking, 'Oh my gosh, maybe I am getting myself into something different,' " Tressel said. "But I wasn't. These kids are just like anybody else. As long as they understand why you're doing what you're doing, they'll go after it as hard at Ohio State as anywhere I've seen."
To avoid players skipping classes, Tressel frequently sends his assistant coaches to check up on their attendance. And to improve the team's on-field attitude, he's demanded that only one player ever speak in a huddle. On offense, it's the quarterback. On defense, a selected linebacker.
In the past, there was well documented bickering and finger pointing when things went wrong.
"So two guys talk and everybody else shuts up," fullback Jamar Martin said. "And if anybody else speaks up, Coach expects to know and he'll deal with it."
So far, the majority of Buckeye players appear to be buying into Tressel's old-school approach. Part of that is respect for his national championships, part of it is the comfortable, family-like atmosphere Tressel has instilled and part of it is being sick and tired of losing to the Wolverines.
Under Cooper, the Buckeyes were 2-10-1 against Michigan. The "M" word was forbidden until game week.
Not anymore.
After being introduced at halftime of a basketball game, Tressel told the fans they would be proud of his team, especially "310 days from now against Michigan." Talk of the Wolverines hasn't stopped there. During spring workouts, Tressel and the team watched video of last year's 38-26 loss. And throughout spring drills, summer workouts and now two-a-days, Tressel constantly reminds his players of the number of months, weeks, days and minutes until kickoff in Ann Arbor on Nov. 24.
"He constantly makes the point that this year, things are going to be different," Collins said. "Especially with that team."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.
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