Ray Lewis is the lastest to give USC football a pep talk

(USA Today Sports Images)

USC interim coach Ed Orgeron is doing everything he can to right USC’s ship, including bringing in former NFL players to impart their wisdom to the Trojans.

Last week, Marcus Allen gave USC a rousing pep talk and the Trojans went out and beat Arizona. Tuesday, Ray Lewis stopped by to rile up the troops for this weekend's game against Notre Dame. Even though Lewis went to Miami, he spoke with the same energy and passion as he has in speeches he’s given to the Hurricanes in the past.

Sadly, USC made the YouTube video private, but Coaching Search transcribed some of the quotes:

“I figured out something a long time ago. 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.

“It’s the same thing in life. Making the right decisions, that’s a one-on-one battle. Whatever the majority of the crowd is doing, find your way doing the opposite and see nine times out of 10 how right you turn out to be.”

When it was all over, the team gave Lewis a standing ovation.

Using a motivational speaker worked once for the Trojans, might as well go back to the well again. Notre Dame is a much tougher opponent than Arizona, so the Trojans are going to need all the inspiration they can get.

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