one of the greatest lessons i learned came from my college coach, dave pietramala — preperation and playing defense.

I walk in, first thing he does, first practice, you're on the defensive end. I'm like, what the fuck is that? You know, like you just recruited me, I'm here to play offense, I'm here to put the ball in the net. He's like, you're not gonna take a shot until you learn my defense. I was like, okay, I think I can understand this, because he's a defensive guy, sure. One practice in, two practice through, all of fall I didn't step on the offensive end, because he was really intentional about it. And his note was, if you can't figure out my defense, if you can't play defense under our system, how can I trust you to be on the field when inevitably you're gonna track back and defend? Once you figure out defense, then I'll let you play out. And that was his process. I learned from folks like Peyton Manning and Ray Lewis what made them unique. Peyton Manning knew, if he knew the linebacker position better than linebackers, he was gonna be a better quarterback, because he's a quarterback spy. And Ray Lewis knew, if I knew the quarterback position better than any quarterback, I'm gonna anticipate plays, pick off balls, attack the gap, make a big tackle. Those two studied the opposites of their position. Cut to semifinals, we were 15-0, playing against Virginia at Lincoln Financial Field, 50,000 people in the stands. It's a back-and-forth game. Kyle Harrison ties it at seven, sends us to overtime. Back-and-forth in OT, I'm out on offense, they get a stop, I track back to play defense on the biggest stage. And had I not spent all that time in the fall learning Hopkins defense, I wouldn't have figured out the slides and the rotations when they had a high-powered offense with the ball and the game on the line. We got a stop, Tom Gardy threw me a ball over my shoulder, picked it up, carried it down. Benson Irwin, another defensive player, was following me. I turned back, passed it to him. Benson scores the game-winning goal. Benson Irwin scores! He wins the game for Hopkins! Sending us into the championship where we beat Duke and finish the 16-0 season. Coach, Duke was not shy when they said they wanted to play you in this final, and they came out swinging. What was the turning point of the game for you guys? Well, first off, you ought to be careful what you wish for. So, the lesson there is if you can study your opponent and know your opponent better than they know themselves, you're gonna be a champion.