How Pat Coogan Became Indiana Football's Pre-Game Speech King

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Before the coldest Old Oaken Bucket game on record, and the coldest game, period, at Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium, Indiana senior center Pat Coogan lit a fire within his offensive teammates.

"What a great opportunity that we can go 12-0," Coogan said, according to quarterback Fernando Mendoza. "Look at us, a bunch of misfits — guys from FCS, G5, JMU coming up, bunch of transfers, a bunch of rejects that got replaced with their old schools coming to Indiana, and now we have a chance to be 12-0."

The Hoosiers were 11-0 and chasing their first perfect regular season in program history. The Boilermakers were 2-9 and trying to get their first Big Ten win of the season. Indiana entered as four-touchdown favorites, and in 24-degree temperatures, would've been forgiven if it came out sluggish or uninspired.

But Coogan's message resonated. It was "really motivating," Mendoza said, in part because it fit so many of those who heard it.

Senior running back Roman Hemby said his previous school, Maryland, essentially told him, "Hey, you're not in our future plans." Fellow senior ball-carrier Kaelon Black noted the Hoosiers have a wealth of transfers and new players who've jelled to reach great heights but have a desire to go even further.

Indiana ran for 355 yards that night in West Lafayette. Behind Coogan's speech — and blocks — Hemby rushed for a season-high 152 yards, headlined by a season-long 82-yard rushing touchdown, and Black scored twice on the ground.

"It fueled me," Hemby said of the pre-game message. "It made me go out there and play to the best of my potential. So, it's a great speech."

And it's not the first time Coogan's delivered such a motivational message. Far from it, actually. He went viral during Notre Dame's College Football Playoff run last year for pre-game speeches in which he often told his teammates to play "four quarters of f--- you football," and he's been the primary source of pre-game inspiration for Indiana this season.

Coogan, only 10-and-a-half months after transferring from Notre Dame to Indiana, has earned the unofficial title of being the Hoosiers' "speech guy," Black said.

"Each week, he's coming with a fire speech," Black said. "And I can't wait to hear it each and every time, whether it's before the game and even at halftime. We just make it so we stay focused, and he's the right guy to do it."

Coogan started giving pre-game speeches last season at Notre Dame, but he said they came under different circumstances and at a different part of the pre-game process. He'd often address only the offensive linemen before entering the field for warmups.

This year, Coogan waits until the final moments of Indiana's sacred time in the locker room.

The Hoosiers normally conclude pre-game warmups around 25 minutes before kickoff, and they spend 20 minutes together in their homely oasis. Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan reiterates the game plan, how the offense will start its first series, what plays he'll call on third-and-short or third-and-long and finishes with a few parting words.

Then, it's Coogan's time. He's the last voice his offensive teammates hear before strapping on their helmets, before going to battle, before, as Indiana coach Curt Cignetti often says, breaking the will of the enemy standing across from them.

Coogan's speeches are never planned. When he first ascended to the speech-giving role, he merely broke down the unit with a sentence or two. It was nothing lavish, nothing grand. Eventually, his words evolved into the prose behind the first perfect regular season in Indiana football history.

"It's really just bits and pieces of what I hear from the coaching staff throughout the week, and what I really feel in my heart is best for the offense to hear," Coogan said. "What will really strike a chord with me personally? It starts with me, and then what I believe will strike a chord with everybody else and what everyone else needs to hear.

"I try my best not to plan it out. I don't want it to be fake or faked or anything like that. It's not how it goes for sure."

Coogan was a natural fit to be a vocal leader and give speeches at Notre Dame. He came from a family of Fighting Irish fans who initiated him into the culture before he was old enough to walk. He spent four years in South Bend, Ind., and built respect and sweat equity within the program.

When Coogan arrived at Indiana, he only had his voice and the habits he'd formed at Notre Dame.

Coogan committed in early February and joined the team for spring practice. There were already established leaders, and he cautiously approached finding his voice. He didn't want to step on any toes or take control of a team that, at that point, wasn't really his.

Through spring camp and summer workouts, Coogan jelled with his teammates. Fall camp, when intensity ramped up and rubber began to meet the road, was a key turning point.

As a center, Coogan's required to use his voice. He's the chief communicator on the offensive line, and teammates naturally look to his position for commands. The Palos Heights, Ill., native feels he took a "huge step" becoming a leader during fall practices, and he's ascended to being one of the Hoosiers' most prominent, respected voices.

Coogan served as one of Indiana's game captains for all 13 games thus far, joining senior linebacker Aiden Fisher as the only two Hoosiers to receive captain status each week.

And for as loud, relatable and inspirational his speeches have proven to be, Coogan earned the right to talk through work, not words. His pedigree as a starter at Notre Dame, the national runners-up last season, garnered a base level of respect. His attitude and approach to building relationships with his teammates made respect levels skyrocket.

"Pat Coogan is the testament of hard work, dedication and football knowledge," Hemby said. "He goes to work. He's about his business. And he just knows how to be a leader. He's one of those guys that when he speaks, everybody listens. He comes to work every day. He makes sure he keeps the group together.

"And he's the center. So, he signals a lot of the things that helps the offense to run. He's one of the most important pieces to our offense. So, when he goes out there and he says things like that to us, we listen because we respect him. And we see the hard work that he puts into it."

Black added Coogan talks to everyone. There's not a day that goes by, Black said, where Coogan doesn't check on people.

"Pat's a great leader," Black said. "Just a great guy."

Cignetti credited Coogan for finding an angle to fire up Indiana's offense before beating Purdue, but the Hoosiers' second-year coach said he doesn't view his team as a bunch of misfits. Cignetti said Indiana has talent, high character, intelligence, work ethic and a lot of people — be it players or coaches — who'd be wanted by many other programs.

But the angle worked. Coogan sensed his message would connect with his teammates, and it did. Some, like Hemby, were castoffs from other high-major programs. Others, like Black, transferred from James Madison University with Cignetti. Mendoza was overlooked as a recruit and needed three years at the University of California, Berkeley, to put his name on the map.

Coogan understands it all. He's been benched, been left without a spot to play, been forced to look elsewhere to find a place where his skills were valued. The road led him to Bloomington — where his presence, and voice, has carried Indiana to the Big Ten championship and No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

"Pat Coogan has been a key addition to the team," Cignetti said. "He's one of our great leaders."