Defining Compete, Ohio State's Culture & Nico Leaving Knoxville
My thoughts from 35,000 feet while flying back West from the Ohio State Spring Game
At 22 years old, I sat in a meeting room at USC as Pete Carroll addressed the team. He told us that USC was the most competitive environment in all of sports - but not in the way we might think. It wasn’t about winning a 1-on-1 battle. In fact, it wasn’t about winning or losing at all.
Freshly transplanted from small-town Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, I sat there thinking, What is this guy talking about? I’d been raised to believe that winning wasn’t just the main thing—it was the only thing. That everyone was competition.
“I’m not talking about competing the way you’re used to,” Carroll said. “I’m talking about the Latin root of the word: to strive together.”
What he had built - and what few have replicated since - was a culture where the guy lined up across from you wasn’t your enemy, he was your catalyst. That elite competition, when rooted in respect and purpose, could elevate everyone in the building. And when the season began, if we simply focused on the snap in front of us, the winning would take care of itself.
Hence the mantra Pete coined: If you want to Win Forever, Always Compete.
After calling Ohio State’s Spring Game on the Big Ten Network this past weekend, I felt a similar energy around the Buckeyes. In my eyes, Ryan Day has created a culture that mirrors what Coach Carroll built at USC.