For Urban Meyer and Mickey Marotti, first impressions are important.
“We’re going to open up the weight room tomorrow,” Meyer said at a press conference January 12. “After I saw some of our physiques, or whatever you say that is, we need to get in that weight room rather quickly.”
For Ohio State’s incumbent football players, four months of pain, led by Marotti, began January 13.
According to Meyer, Mickey Marotti was his “most important hire” when he assembled his staff at Ohio State. Marotti, officially the assistant athletic director for football sports performance for the Buckeyes, is the man in charge of the team’s new strength and conditioning program. He holds a Master of Strength of Conditioning, one of 100 in his profession that have earned that honor.
The two men have a history. They worked together as graduate assistants at Ohio State and again on Notre Dame’s staff. When Meyer took the head-coaching job at the University of Florida, Marotti was one of his first hires. Now they’re reunited in Columbus.
Right now, it’s safe to say he’s not the most popular man in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, at least among the players. Marotti is known for his brutal and unpredictable workouts. Many reports indicate that Marotti’s program for the Buckeyes has been shocking to the players. He knows he has work to do to turn the 6-7 Buckeyes into title contenders. Urban Meyer wants strength and speed that can compete with the SEC’s best. That strength and speed needs to be earned.
