It is well documented that Woody Hayes approached coaching Ohio State football and preparing for opponents like he was a general overseeing a military campaign. Hayes got his military mindset honestly.
The man whose scowl is enshrined forever in the form of a statue outside the practice and training facility on the campus of Ohio State University coached and taught what he knew, and what he had experienced. Before he was a legendary coach, he was a young high school football coach when World War II happened.
Hayes was in his mid-20s when he left Ohio and joined the United State Navy in July of 1941.