Wherever motivation is needed, Ray Lewis will be there.
The two-time Super Bowl champion and seven-time All-Pro linebacker delivered one of his trademark fiery pep talks to the USC Trojans on Tuesday ahead of their game at rival Notre Dame.
"I figured out something a long time ago," Lewis said, with CoachingSearch.com providing transcription. "Each one of you men have got to figure this out early. Effort is between you and you. Effort. This ain't about X's and O's, because as long as you play this game, you're going to have mess-ups, you're going to have great plays, you're going to have good days, you're going to have bad days. That's just the irony of this sport.
"But when you talk about effort, I wondered, when I got to the University of Miami, because there were so many great athletes ... what makes me different? How do I stand out? What makes the coaches notice me? I started figuring out, playing with the (Warren) Sapps and all these different people, something's gotta click in that every time a coach turns on the film, why is he calling my name? Why does he notice me? I ain't the fastest. I ain't the biggest. I ain't the strongest. Never have been. Never have been. But Lord be my witness, I never met a man in my life that would outwork me."
A similar tactic worked for USC last week, as USC alum and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Marcus Allen spoke to the team before its 38-31 win over Arizona.
Now why would Lewis, a passionate Miami alum, choose to speak to USC? It might be all about The U, as interim head coach Ed Orgeron's first full-time job was as defensive line coach for the Hurricanes from 1989-92.
Tuesday was also the 25th anniversary of Miami's 31-30 loss to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, a game better known as "Catholics vs. Convicts." What better way to stick it to ND than by contributing to what would be a sixth-straight home loss to USC?
Or maybe Lewis' motivational Bat-signal just alerts him whenever moving oration and the squirrel dance are needed.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
