Be that guy

Welcome back to another Leech Letter,

Fourth and one. Tight game. Offense needs a spark.

The coordinator doesn't reach for a new play. He reaches for a guy.

He calls jumbo and brings in the extra lineman. Or he runs the wildcat. Or he grabs the D tackle off the sideline and puts him at fullback. Or he brings in that one WR for the jet sweep.

When that kid runs into the huddle, everybody knows what's about to happen. The offense knows. The defense knows. The fans in the bleachers know. It still works, because he gets the job done.

That kid didn't earn that trust on Friday night. He earned it in February when the weight room was cold and nobody was filming. He earned it on the last set when his legs were gone and he finished the rep anyway. He earned it every time a coach asked for something and he delivered without being told twice.

Trust works like a bank account. You can't withdraw on game day what you never deposited in the offseason.

The best compliment a player can get doesn't come from his own sideline. It comes from the other one. It's the defensive coordinator circling his number on the scouting report all week and telling his guys, "If 17 gets in the game, you better know where he is."

Your players are deciding right now, in October, who gets the ball on fourth and one next season. They just don't know it yet. So tell them. Show them the guy who gets called in the biggest moments is the guy who handled the smallest ones.

Then look at yourself. When something has to get done in your building, whose name does your AD call? Whose name does your head coach call? Be that coach on your staff.

Be the name that gets called when it matters.

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech