Photo by Zach Baker Bowling Green State University football coach and former Ohio State Buckeyes legend Eddie George speaks at the Findlay Rotary Club meeting Wednesday.

FINDLAY — Eddie George was a little late getting to the Findlay Country Club Thursday.

The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner, who starred as a running back at Ohio State and then in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, was the scheduled speaker Wednesday at the Findlay Rotary Club meeting.

He’s starting his first season as the Bowling Green State University football coach, and Wednesday marked the first day the Falcons were practicing in pads.

“That’s why I’m late,” George told the audience. “Just to let you know, the locker room wasn’t clean. It wasn’t held to a standard, and the (players) had to pay at the beginning of practice.”

What was the price?

“We started doing up downs (exercises) and started counting,” George said. “Some guys started to fold. How can you fold at the beginning of practice? You’re not tired yet.”

To George, it was about doing what is expected, and building a program.

“It was very physical; got a little testy,” George said of Wednesday’s team workout. “But they have to learn self-discipline. Before we even think about learning how to run A Gap Power, or doing our run fits, we have to have responsibility. Learn the importance of being responsible, 1, to the program, 2, to each other.”

During his talk Wednesday in Findlay, George spoke and took questions about his expectations for the Falcons program and the emergence of NIL and what it means for mid-majors like BGSU. He even talked, briefly, about his Broadway acting career, which included a turn as Billy Flynn in the musical “Chicago.”

But he also talked about taking over a program and making things work.

He spent four seasons as the head coach at Tennessee State, an FCS school. He went 24-22 there, going 9-4 last season, when the Tigers shared the Big South-OVC Football Association title.

Now, George has taken over at BG, which went 7-6 a season ago under Scot Loeffler. After the season, Loeffler resigned to become the quarterback coach for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles.

“I’m so appreciative. I have so much gratitude in my heart for the opportunity to be (BGSU) head coach,” George said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but one that I welcome and am very excited about.”

BGSU figures to have some challenges this season. Its best player from 2024, tight end Harold Fannin, was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.

The Falcons are very much a different team this fall, with 51 new players.

“We’ve got to get all on the same page. Know what the vision is,” George said. “I don’t believe in ‘buy in.’ ‘Buy in’ is a renter’s mentality.

“I want everyone that’s in my program to feel this ownership. You have a small part or a big part, whatever your part is, big or small, you own it.”

George said he’s all about building.

“I’m a big believer in development and discipline and discernment,” he said. “There’s a place in college football for those things. You’re not just coaching just to call plays. I’m not a play-caller. I’m an architect. I build. I build men. I build programs. I build philosophy. That’s what I do; that’s how I’ve been trained.”

George acknowledged that things are different in college sports, compared to when he played.

“What we’re finding out is, kids are no longer going to Ohio State to be great, be in the lineage of myself and Archie (Griffin) and Woody Hayes,” he said, “or go to that team up north (Michigan), or Notre Dame, they’re looking for the biggest dollar amount.

“I think we’re doing kids a disservice with that. What are we teaching them?”

George was asked where the NIL and the transfer portal leave mid-majors like the Mid-American Conference, where BGSU and Toledo play.

“I firmly believe there will be a place for the MAC. I don’t think it’s gonna go anywhere,” he said. “I think it’s still strong. What you’re going to find is a lot of the great players, in high school, don’t have homes. We’re getting these players and developing these players.”

Now, George said it might be difficult to keep those players once they develop, due to the transfer portal.

But to George, things shouldn’t always be easy.

“We’ve just got to showcase that, ‘Hey, adversity is your best friend,'” he said. “I fumbled the ball twice against Illinois my freshman year. That’s the day I won the Heisman.”

George said he was humbled, dug deep and came out stronger.

He said he expects his players to be strong on the field, and in the classroom. His program has set a goal of a 3.25 team grade point average.

“I have my personal touch on that,” George said. “When I was at Tennessee State, I would drive and go to kids who were academically at risk, to see if they were in class. If they were not in the front row — with their hoodies down and their AirPods out — there was a problem.

“The same standards are here. Education is the key to everything.”

BGSU will begin its season by hosting Lafayette Aug. 28 at Doyt Perry Stadium. But George said he wants the Falcons looking at another team.

“The first opponent we have to master is us,” he said. “That’s where we are.”