I'd not realized how close Weber was to packing up and transferring, including nearly getting into a fist fight with J.T.
http://www.campusrush.com/ohio-state-football-michigan-college-football-playoff-2107231551.html
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Weber tore his meniscus last August, an injury that sidelined him during fall camp and ultimately led to his redshirt. As Elliott blew up to become the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft, Weber wanted out. "I told coach I wanted to transfer," he says. "I was super close. I had talks with coach Meyer, coach Alford."
Meyer talked Weber back on board, and he and Marotti agreed they needed to get him to the off-season. That's where the development really began to unfold. Marotti paired Weber in a workout group with quarterback J.T. Barrett and a crew of ornery veterans. "I told him," Marotti says, "'We're only going to be as good as Fat Mike is going to be.'"
The turning point came in February. Weber leaned over exhausted in the weight room after enduring a punishment workout. Barrett saw Weber bent over "on the verge of giving up" and confronted him. Weber stepped into him, and the two nearly got in a fistfight. "I attacked him in the moment," Barrett says. And the quarterback delivered a clear message: "This is so much bigger than you. You want to be our running back?"
At that moment, Weber began to realize his way wasn't working. Soon, Marotti's grand plan was. Weber saw the traits of real leadership, like offensive lineman Pat Elflein showing up in a sling after surgery to encourage Weber, even if he couldn't work out himself. As Fat Mike trimmed down, he started to grow up. Weber lost 15 pounds and dropped to 8% body fat. He became Ohio State's featured back in the spring, and this fall he joined Robert Smith (1990) and Maurice Clarett (2002) as the only freshman Buckeyes to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. "He's come a long way, man," Marotti says.
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