Cal line coach goes against the North Texas team he coached last year
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00:00 with Cal offensive line coach and
00:02 run game coordinator Mike blush.
00:05 For August 30th,
00:06 go ahead and let me know if you
00:08 have a question in the chat and
00:11 will will call upon you will start
00:13 with Brett Vito from the Denton
00:15 Chronicle record.
00:16 Hey coach, how you doing good?
00:20 How you doing Brett?
00:21 Just want to hop on here and ask you,
00:25 you know about facing your former team
00:27 and does that give you any kind of
00:29 experience knowing Mason knowing Rod
00:31 and some of these guys that you
00:33 practiced against for all those years
00:35 now that you're on the other side line?
00:38 Yeah, I mean definitely know a lot of
00:40 the personnel on their football team.
00:42 I know. Recruited a bunch of those kids
00:44 and so excited to see them.
00:46 I'm a fan of those of those guys and
00:49 appreciate how hard they worked and
00:51 played for us while we were there,
00:53 but they've got a new coaching staff now.
00:55 They've got new schemes.
00:56 They've got, you know,
00:58 new positions and I know they've
00:59 been working and growing as players
01:01 since I left and it'll just be
01:03 interesting to see those guys again.
01:05 And we'll go to Jake Curtis.
01:07 We will limit it to a single
01:09 question on the first go around
01:11 and then will entertain follow
01:12 ups the second time around.
01:14 So Jake Curtis from Cal Sports report.
01:16 Up my way, cook cow down for Texas
01:20 opening game of the season and what
01:22 what your reaction to just facing
01:24 them again? Can you repeat the
01:26 question? You're kind of choppy,
01:28 choppy.
01:28 Did you know when you took the Cal job
01:31 that North Texas was the opener for Cal?
01:34 And what's your general reaction to plan?
01:36 Then? Yeah, I mean,
01:37 obviously when I did accept the job,
01:39 I first thing I did was look at the
01:42 schedule and I just was shocked that
01:45 that was the way it all lined up.
01:47 Our profession you just focused
01:49 on the here and the now,
01:51 and so even last year when I was at
01:53 North Texas really hadn't looked
01:55 ahead to the 2023 schedule and so
01:57 definitely kind of surreal and but you
01:59 know I haven't really thought about
02:01 it being more than what it is.
02:03 You know I had a great time at North Texas.
02:06 I've got friends and family
02:07 that will be at the game.
02:09 My kids and my wife will be there,
02:11 so it's going to be a fun weekend for me.
02:14 There are other questions here.
02:18 I'm going to Matt Moreno from Cal rivals.
02:20 Kind of on that note,
02:22 how many questions have you got
02:24 about just the weather and what
02:25 to expect from some of these players
02:26 coming into the fall?
02:27 Yeah, we've talked about it and you know I.
02:30 You know we have quite a few
02:31 guys on our roster from Texas.
02:33 There's nothing we can do to
02:35 simulate the weather in Texas,
02:36 so I do feel like we've done a really
02:38 good job of getting high quality work
02:40 and high quality reps throughout fall camp.
02:43 That is something that we couldn't
02:45 always do spend as much time outside.
02:47 When I was at North Texas,
02:49 so you know,
02:50 I think you can look at it from both
02:52 ends of the spectrum that our guys
02:54 haven't been beat down by it for
02:56 a long time and it's tough,
02:57 but yeah, there's no way for
02:59 us to simulate that out here.
03:01 OK, there are other first round questions.
03:03 We do ask that you make sure
03:04 to keep stay on mute as well.
03:08 OK, we'll go ahead and go for our.
03:10 We do have another first round or
03:11 actually question two from Jake Curtis.
03:13 Go ahead, Jake.
03:13 Yeah, I could you give us just a
03:19 one sentence on a day when Redsdale.
03:23 Man, those guys are tough and
03:24 they're very electric would be
03:26 what I would say.
03:27 You know, did a lot of great things
03:29 for us while we were there.
03:30 And are you surprised at all that
03:34 stoner also starting quarterback?
03:35 No, not at all.
03:36 I was the quarterback coach there
03:38 last year, recruited stone in,
03:40 had stone packaged in multiple games last year.
03:42 I'm proud of him and I think he's
03:44 going to do a great job this season.
03:47 How much do you think you actually
03:51 help by knowing the personnel?
03:53 You give information to cows coaches now.
03:56 I mean, you your your resume is your film,
04:00 right? And that's what we talk to
04:02 our players about all the time.
04:04 So at the end of the day,
04:06 coaches are still going to watch
04:08 the game film we have of their players.
04:10 We're doing that.
04:11 They're doing that watching
04:12 us from last year.
04:14 So you know we're smart enough to
04:16 look at tape and know who is who
04:18 and what their strengths are and
04:20 what their weaknesses are.
04:22 Are there any other questions for coach blush?
04:26 Can we go back to Matt Moreno from Cal
04:31 Rivals coaches talking to us yesterday
04:33 and he mentioned you know that there
04:34 could be as many as 8910 offensive
04:36 lineman used in this game feels like
04:38 a lot of positions are going to
04:39 have a pretty heavy rotation.
04:41 You know what's kind of the plan for
04:43 the offensive line going to this game?
04:44 And who are some of those guys you
04:46 expect to see out there on Saturday?
04:48 Yeah, I mean those those guys
04:49 are in the two deep.
04:50 I feel really good about those.
04:52 Those 10 guys we've really kind
04:54 of grown and come together.
04:56 We've trained the second group of
04:58 offensive lineman in multiple positions,
05:00 and you know the challenge for the
05:03 first group is you know if you're
05:05 playing lights out and you're running
05:07 around and playing with with high effort.
05:10 Then there's no need for me to put
05:11 somebody in, but that's definitely
05:13 something I'll gauge throughout the game.
05:15 And we have guys that I think are
05:17 very capable to go in there and you
05:19 know just spell somebody for a series
05:21 and then and then get the starters back in.
05:23 So that'll kind of be a game
05:26 time decision for me.
05:27 Matthew Sendrick has obviously been a
05:29 big part of kind of what you're trying
05:31 to do this year going to make his
05:32 return to the field.
05:33 What does he meant to you as a coach
05:35 and a leader in that room?
05:36 And what do you mean to this
05:37 group of offensive lineman?
05:38 Yeah, he's been awesome.
05:40 I think he's made my job a lot
05:42 easier since I got here.
05:43 I think I told you last time we talked
05:45 whenever when I got hired, you know,
05:48 he was the first guy I heard about.
05:49 And I kind of heard that he was on
05:51 the fence of whether to return from
05:53 a season ending injury last year.
05:55 And he was the first phone call I made.
05:57 And we had a great 20-30 minute
05:59 conversation and just kind of told him
06:01 my plan and told him a little bit
06:02 about me and and and really wanted
06:05 him to be back and buy in to going
06:08 out on a high note.
06:09 And I think, you know, he has done
06:10 everything I've asked of him.
06:12 He's been an unbelievable leader
06:13 for our offensive line, for our offense,
06:15 and I'm excited to watch him play this year.
06:19 And last one for me, just Barrett Miller,
06:21 since we last talked,
06:21 obviously it was early in camp.
06:23 He's still kind of working his way up.
06:24 What did he show you over the course of
06:26 training camp to solidify
06:28 that spot at left tackle?
06:29 And what are your expectations for him
06:30 now that he's part of that first group?
06:32 Yeah, Barrett's done a great job,
06:34 you know, coming in here and and just
06:36 really adjusting to to the move across
06:39 the bay very, very easily.
06:41 He's he's a very big guy.
06:45 He brings just power and strength
06:47 at that position.
06:48 But the thing I like about Barrett
06:50 is he's very technically sound.
06:52 He utilizes the techniques
06:53 and fundamentals that we're coaching.
06:55 And and at the end of the day,
06:56 that's what all those guys,
06:57 that's what I tell all of those guys.
06:58 I need five guys working as one.
07:00 It's not about being a guy
07:03 that's out there doing your own thing
07:04 and playing your own game.
07:05 We got to play good,
07:06 complimentary offensive line football.
07:08 OK, are there any final
07:13 questions for coach?
07:17 Can we go to Michael Wagaman
07:18 from Bear Insider?
07:19 Hey coach, you'd mentioned
07:22 your wife and kids are down there.
07:23 Are they still living in Texas?
07:25 No, they're living here in the Bay Area,
07:28 but they're gone.
07:29 We're we're all.
07:30 They're going to catch
07:30 the flight tomorrow morning
07:32 and they'll be down there
07:33 for the weekend with family
07:35 and friends for the game.
07:36 Nice yeah, thank you.
07:39 Any final questions?
07:41 OK, so now I think we're good.
07:45 Thank you everybody.
07:46 We'll have Craig Woodson next at--