Would you like to meet Jim Tressel?

Better yet, would you like to get The Ohio State University head football coach's autograph?

Well, you can do both if you just hop in the car and go to Borders at 4545 Kenny Road in Columbus this afternoon. The session is scheduled to get underway at noon.

A brand new book on Tressel is out by author David Lee Morgan, Jr., entitled "More Than a Coach: What It Means to Play for Coach, Mentor, and Friend Jim Tressel."

Morgan, of course, will be at Borders for the signing, too.

Natalie King, the publicity manager of Triumph Books, has asked me to do a review of the book. So, here goes.

First of all, even if you're not a Buckeyes football fan, it's a must-read. Tressel, the coolest-looking collegiate head football coach on the sideline in America (just love those vest sweaters), has influenced and inspired numerous people, on and off the field.

Several individuals, including former players and coaches, have been interviewed for the book. Some, like A.J. Hawk, Anthony Gonzalez, Chris "Beanie" Wells, and Troy Smith, have gone on to compete in the National Football League. But many are now teachers, coaches, athletic directors, and professional people, who have achieved success way beyond the gridiron.

If you didn't know anything at all about a Tressel beforehand, know that he considers it a privilege to coach at Ohio State. That, in a nutshell, says a lot about the man himself.

Mind you, long before Tressel became the head coach at OSU, he was a very, very successful head football coach at Youngstown State University.

If you've read Tressel's bio on the Buckeyes football website, he was once the quarterbacks coach under Earle Bruce at Ohio State.

Interestingly, when the YSU job opened up, Tressel was recommended by Bruce, but the 33-year-old Buckeye assistant was not the-then Penquins athletic director Joe Malmisur's first choice. Jim Gruden, the offensive coach at Notre Dame, was.

If I may interject, I think I know why - and this is not in the book. Back in the 1960s, Malmisur was once the Heidelberg College (now University) head football coach in Tiffin, and Gruden was his protege.

Anyways, to make a long story short, Malmisur was overruled, and Tressel was hired after "a tremendous interview." The rest of course is history and a winning one at that at Youngstown - and then later at Ohio State.

OSU actually never sought Tressel out. He called the Buckeyes first and obviously made a favorable impression.

Two years after being named head coach in Columbus, Tressel guided an undefeated Buckeyes team to a national championship with a 31-24 double-overtime triumph over the Miami Hurricanes in the 2002 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Ohio State has since struggled in national championship games, but...at least the Buckeyes got to the final. Most schools in the land don't.

If you're going to play football for Tressel, you'd better have a positive attitude, because the OSU coach believes this is more important than talent.

You also had better check your ego at the locker room door, because it's all about team in Tressel's mind. And, to be a team is to be a family, the coach emphasizes.

Winning is great, of course, but "caring" is what it's all about on the gridiron, according to Tressel.

Caring more than winning?

If you want to know why, you need to read the book.

You won't be disappointed.

Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor, and can be reached at 376-5441, or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com