If there's anything Ray Lewis is better at than playing linebacker, it's giving motivational speeches. As was documented in an excellent NFL Films special in September, the Baltimore Ravens linebacker and future Hall of Famer is incredibly inspiring.
This weekend he spoke to the Clemson Tigers before their game against N.C. State. You can see in the video why Lewis is such a hot commodity on the motivational speaking circuit. Put simply, he's never short on emotion.
Lewis, who is sidelined with a triceps tear, gets especially intense when discussing the idea of motivation:
"What drives ya'll everyday? What actually pushes ya'll everyday? I'll make it simple what pushes me -- I can't let a teammate down. I can't cheat in the weight room. I can't cheat! If somebody comes and hits me in my mouth, it's personal. Because I got to let my boy know I'd die for this. Just for the opportunity to step out there and put on my cleats one more time. Nothing else matters!"
After watching that speech, it may not be surprising to learn that Clemson scored a season-high 62 points in its win over the Wolfpack.
As Chris Chase of USA Today notes, and as you can definitely tell by Lewis's performance in this video, this isn't the linebacker's first motivational speech. He's also spoken to Stanford's basketball team, Miami's football team, Loyola's lacrosse team and Elon's football team.
(H/T to Game On!)
