Former Utah State football coach Urban Meyer was inspired by the military and ran his preseason workouts during his two years in Salt Lake City as basic training.
He took a Marine Corps class—the Crucible—a 54-hour strength and endurance test that all recruits must complete to officially become a Marine.
It pushes recruits to their limits, hence the name “crucible,” the term given to the vessel in which precious metals are exposed to extremely high temperatures to remove impurities.
The result: a perfect gold bar.
When Meyer arrived in Salt Lake City from Bowling Green, he immediately set the tone in a conditioning drill in early 2003, chaining the practice facility's doors shut and boarding up the windows, players practicing until they wanted to quit, then pushing through and training some more.
That was the edge, Mayer said.
“That's when things start happening to your body,” Mayer said. “You're in better shape. Put yourself in the mind of an 18-year-old. Well, my body is breaking down. I can't lift this weight anymore. I can't go any harder. Guess where you are? You're on the edge. Find a way to push off “In the process. That's how you become great.”
Meyer applied his military training to Utah culture, and he and his team succeeded. In 2003, his first year at Utah State, the Utes won their first outright conference championship since 1957, going 10-2 overall.
They followed that up with the school's first undefeated season in the modern era, capping their 12-0 campaign in 2004 with a win over Pittsburgh in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl to become the first team from a non-automatic playoff conference to play in a Bowl Championship Series game.
“I'm going to make this so hot and so hard that what we're left with is this precious stone called the 2004 and 2003 Utah Utes,” Mayer said.
Returning to Salt Lake City last week to lecture at Utah's clinic for high school football coaches, the former Utah coach spent a few days around the program of old defensive coordinator Kyle Whittingham and was impressed by the toughness on display.
“You want to see the toughness, go out and watch Utah State football practice. They're different from everyone else. It's a tough (expletive) program. You know why? They've got a tough (expletive) head coach. Man, I get chills when I think about what I've seen him the last couple of days. “It's a tough game for a guy,” Mayer said.
There is one word that stands out the most when college football coaches, players and analysts talk about Utah State's program – toughness.
“This is one of the programs that I personally like just because I like Kyle Whittingham. I like his style. I'm an old-school kind of dude. He's an old-school coach, so I'm “I respect the physicality they bring to the field.”
In 2021, an anonymous Pac-12 coach told Athon Sports about Utah and Whittingham, “His team is a brand. It's toughness and defense. They're the most physical team in the conference every year now, and they're one of the meanest teams in the game. It's All Wet (Kyle Whittingham); It's his mentality, it's his attitude. “Mental toughness” is a cliche but White has these guys ready. They are even, never high or low.
Former Arizona State center Kohl Cabral told KSLSports.com in 2019 that “they're getting more physical day and night,” and that “you're hoping it's a bye the week before or after” to play the Utes.
How did Whittingham build a culture of toughness at Utah State?
It started with the lessons Kyle received from his father, Fred, the senior linebacker and coach who was a force.
John Robinson, the former USC and Los Angeles Rams head coach, pointed the elder Whittingham — nicknamed “Mad Dog” — to San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo and told him: “He’s the toughest human being I’ve ever faced.” Deseret News writer Doug Robinson narrated in 2009.
“The coach who has been the most influential in my life without a doubt is my father. He passed away five years ago. … He is without a doubt the best coach I have ever had. I wish he was here. But I think he knows what's going on,” Whittingham said after receiving the Bear Award. Bryant for national coach of the year after Utah's 13-0 2008-09 season, which they piled into a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl: “I dedicate this to him.”
It's really no surprise that Whittingham — who has been working out every day since July 2008, except for one rest day a week on Sundays — has shaped the program in his own image.
One big factor is longevity and consistency. Whittingham has been on the staff at Utah State since 1994 and as president since 2005. The qualities of mental and physical toughness are highly valued by Utah State on the recruiting trail, and once committed, incoming high school students and transfers know the expectations the program sets for them.
“I mean it starts from the top down. “Coach Witt does a good job of setting the culture,” Stanford transfer safety Alakai Gilman said. “I came in as a new guy three weeks ago, whatever it is, obviously you can tell when you walk in The building, that's the standard. Either you are with us or you are against us.”
Jaylon Glover agrees.
“We've got a whole bunch of strong coaches here. You're a product of your environment, and when you have a whole bunch of strong, smart individuals around you, it's going to affect all of us,” Glover said.
This mentality permeates throughout the building, as everyone in the locker room is bought into meeting standards every day, starting with winter conditioning and spring training.
“It was palpable. I felt it when I walked into the locker room. I felt it with everyone, the coaching staff. The bar is high, and they want everyone to reach out and reach that level, which I really appreciate. I appreciate being surrounded by “With these kind of people.”
Whittingham doesn't lock doors and cover windows like his predecessor did, but the exercises are still tough. Football is a demanding game, and to be at peak fitness come August, there will be some days where you are pushed to your limits.
“It was winter practice, the first day I got there, they said this was the hardest practice. … I was throwing up the first day. That was a good welcome-to-college moment,” freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson said.
While there is an NCAA-mandated acclimation period during which players cannot be in pads, after that, Utah State places a high value on physicality in practice.
“We're full, we're shoulder pads every week. It's rare for us to be in shells, just wearing helmets,” Tao Johnson said.
“Every week we train physically, every day we work on fitness, technique, technique, all the little things. And every day we work on it. I think that's what makes us great.”
The hope is, with all the work that goes into the offseason, once the season starts, everyone is in great shape, mentally strong, can play at a high level for four quarters, and play with a high level of physicality.
Getting to this point is a daily task.
“It's an everyday thing. You do it every day. Your demands and expectations and how you handle body language in the weight room,” Whittingham said.
“I mean it's a cumulative effect and everyone is on board and bought into the fact that this is what we want to be, to be the strongest team mentally and physically in the country. That's our goal now, whether we achieve it or not, but that's what we're striving to achieve.”
