Each year, Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer likes to proceed with a message or mantra for his football team. Sometimes it is symbolic, other times it borders on the esoteric.
This year, however, things are much simpler.
Meyer is asking his players if they are giving everything they have in their quest to play and win.
Instead of chasing something or grinding towards a collective goal, players get asked, “Are you a 5?”
What does it mean to be a ‘5’? It means winning even when you lose.
“It’s more of a self-evaluation,” explained nose tackle Robert Landers. “When you come out on the field every day, you’ve got a scale from 0 to 5. Zero is what it is, you’re a zero. You don’t have any value, you don’t contribute, you’re just disinterested. A one is a guy who kind of ‘ehhh’ kind of goes through the motions. Two is a guy who has potential but doesn’t really live up to it. You’ve got a guy who’s a three who goes sometimes. He doesn’t go every play, kind of picks and chooses when he wants to turn it on and turn it off.
“A four is a guy who competes, but he also doesn’t compete to his highest potential every play. He might go plays one through five, but not go on play six. If you’re a five, even if you lose, you win. You won’t accept losing. If you lose a rep, you’re mad, you’re disappointed and you’ve got that hunger and that drive and that mentality that ‘I’m going to keep going until I win. I’m going to find a way to get a W.'”
Winning and losing is the measuring stick. The players understand that because the coaches drill it into them before they even arrive on campus.
Being a ‘5’, however, is a new way of keeping score for the Buckeyes. And it’s not just on the field. It’s everywhere, and everywhen.
“It’s every day,” Landers said. “When we first incorporated the ‘Are You A 5’ method, I really didn’t understand it. As I’ve matured and really kind of sat down and thought about the method and what it means to be a 5, I can say that it’s a lot bigger than what people think and what I thought in the beginning.
“Everything you do, you want to be the best. Whether you’re on the football field, the classroom, or the work field, you’ve got to be a fierce competitor. You’ve got to be the best at what you do. We have the 5 scale, that’s exactly what that is. It’s not something that you can only incorporate in football, but you can incorporate it outside of the field.”
The goal is for each player to strain for their best, which will then allow the team to reach its best.
The Buckeyes have been pretty good under Urban Meyer, but they were great in 2014. In order to get there again, Ohio State needs more fives. And fours need not even apply.
“It’s a huge difference,” Landers said. “Because a four, you can go hard. You can go hard all the time, but if you’re not living up to your fullest potential every single play, then you’re not a five. You’re a four.
“You might have 100 reps, and if out of those 100, you chill for one play, you’ve got 99 out of 100, you’re a four. You’re not a five. A five goes hard and gives everything he has every single rep.”
