Jack Endries
Cal tight end Jack Endries talks about the start of his football career.
Transcript
00:00 Um, so I started, I started playing eighth grade for a low league called
00:04 BGFL, but I wasn't anything I was, you know, I was way too skinny.
00:07 I was like, Eighth grade, you know, I'm pretty young.
00:10 I'm like underdeveloped.
00:12 Uh, I played, I was like a safety, but I was, I was second string.
00:16 I didn't play much.
00:16 It wasn't my passion for sure.
00:17 I played baseball, basketball, love those a lot more.
00:20 Freshman year.
00:22 Um, I missed the first week of practice.
00:27 I was on a vacation.
00:28 So I, I was the third string tight end the whole season.
00:31 So I only got reps in like the fifth quarter, but I was outside linebacker.
00:35 And that's, that was what I liked the most being outside linebacker.
00:38 And then the year after that, I got moved to tight end.
00:40 And then, I mean, as soon as I played my first scrimmage on J I was on JV too.
00:45 So JV year, um, on the scrimmage, I got two touchdowns.
00:49 I knew I loved it.
00:49 I had a great connection with my quarterback.
00:51 So that's really how it started.
00:53 And then, uh, since that sophomore year, I've had some really good
00:55 connections, really good coaches.
00:57 I've been working out at Cal strength and they actually put me on with Zach
01:02 Ertz, who went to my high school and he actually reviewed some of my
01:04 film and gave me some tips.
01:06 Um, and that encouraged me a lot too.
01:09 I got more involved in seven on seven.
01:10 And at this time I totally knew I wanted to be a tight end, um,
01:14 sophomore, junior year, junior year.
01:15 I was mainly a tight end.
01:17 Didn't really play outside linebacker and then senior year was just tight
01:20 on outside linebacker, but I knew I wanted to be a tight end from there.
01:23 What did Zach tell you?
01:24 He reviewed my JV film.
01:27 So, uh, it wasn't great, but he, he taught me, um, like stemming and, uh,
01:32 like a two, like two step breaks and, um, restacking on corners and nickels.
01:39 Whoever's trying to guard me linebackers using speed, using my hands to get them
01:42 off me and free myself up pretty much.
01:45 Thanks.
01:46 Okay.
01:48 Other questions for Jack?
01:49 Let us know in the chat.
01:50 Okay.
01:53 We'll go to Thomas Dunn from right for California.
01:56 Uh, good afternoon, Jack.
01:58 You've, you obviously just credited as Zacherts with helping your development.
02:01 Who else in your life has helped you develop to get you to the, where you are
02:04 today?
02:04 Okay.
02:05 A couple of coaches.
02:06 Um, I want to think of the ones I've mainly been working with, um, since high
02:11 school.
02:12 So I worked with big development and my game was, uh, Victor James, uh, proving
02:18 grounds.
02:19 He, he was during COVID, which is where I had most of my development.
02:23 Cause there wasn't no school, there wasn't any school.
02:25 So I would mostly just go work out.
02:26 I'd go run with him and then go lift every day.
02:29 I'd work with him, a couple of my buddies and he totally developed me into.
02:33 I tied down, like I was, I mean, a JV player.
02:36 And then the next year I was like a D one player.
02:38 It's, I think it's a huge job to be honest with you, but, um, he developed
02:43 all my receiving, um, and, and my speed.
02:46 He definitely helped me with my speed and power too.
02:48 And then, um, obviously at Cal strength, I worked with Joseph Marr, who was a
02:54 strength strength coach.
02:56 Um, he helped, I got a lot bigger.
02:59 I think I gained 50 pounds from JV year to junior year over the COVID too.
03:05 Um, and then recently I've been working with Eric Swoop who used to be in the NFL.
03:10 And now I just, uh, sometimes during Sundays when we're off, I go back to
03:14 Danville where I'm from and I go work with him and he helps me with my releases
03:18 and, and blocking and receiving.
03:20 And then I'll watch a little bit of film with him and he'll tell me what's going on.
03:22 Thank you.
03:24 Yep.
03:24 Okay.
03:26 Other questions for Jack, go to Matt Moreno from rivals.
03:30 Uh, you know, obviously getting that chance to get out there, especially that
03:34 Washington game got used quite a bit.
03:35 Uh, you know, what have you learned just being on the field and getting that
03:37 opportunity to go up against, you know, some, some top caliber players so far?
03:40 Uh, what I learned is I have to trust in myself and I got to believe that I
03:44 could be whoever's in front of me.
03:46 Uh, and that's something I really got to, um, really got to know during the game.
03:52 Like don't freak out, like you got this guy in front of you, you
03:54 could beat him any, any given day.
03:56 And it's not just about him.
03:58 Now I got to look around me and like, is the corner like really focusing
04:01 on the wide receiver next to me?
04:02 Like, no, it's man notes zone immediately.
04:04 Um, have a plan.
04:06 Um, some of the things I've learned, like just have a plan when I'm going to go out
04:10 there, run a route, or even if when I'm in the line blocking, like, is there going
04:15 to be pressure from the outside to alert the tackle next to me?
04:18 Do I got to pick up?
04:20 Um, it's a lot of just not freaking out and knowing what I have to do and playing
04:23 my job and playing my leverages and also making sure the quarterback knows what
04:28 I'm doing, you know,
04:29 Okay.
04:31 We'll go to back to Jeff Verano.
04:33 Go ahead, Jeff.
04:34 Yeah.
04:35 You, I think you mentioned playing in PGA FL.
04:38 Were you living in Pleasanton at the time or did you commute over there?
04:41 I commuted.
04:42 One of my kids played, played in the PGFL.
04:45 Yeah, I commuted.
04:46 I was, uh, um, I was in Blackhawk and Danville.
04:51 Uh, so I just make that drive every day and it was nice actually, cause I played
04:55 baseball right next to that, like the practice, uh, field where we played.
04:58 So I immediately after football practice, go straight to baseball practice.
05:03 Cause yeah, I just, football wasn't my main, um, target at the time.
05:08 And were you playing contact or flag at the time?
05:11 It was contact.
05:12 It was contact, but I was so light.
05:13 I think like I had a couple of tackles at safety, but that was about it.
05:17 It was, I mean, at that time it's, it's whoever's big and developed
05:20 runs the league pretty much.
05:22 And how tall and how much did you weigh?
05:25 You think in the eighth grade?
05:26 I don't know.
05:27 I was probably like, that's tough.
05:29 Um, I don't know, like five, eight, probably like 120 pounds, probably.
05:34 And at what point did you, did it occur to you that you might
05:38 be able to play college football?
05:40 Uh, JV year when, uh, I had a couple of good games at tight end.
05:43 It's JV of course.
05:44 But my coach, um, my coach Nate Ruchina's dad actually told me like a couple of
05:50 the scout and the scouts were coming to the games for Nate Ruchina and like UC
05:54 Davis, San Jose state are the ones that come to mind.
05:56 And then, uh, Nate's dad was like, yeah, these coaches are
05:59 actually really interested in you.
06:00 They've been seeing how you've been playing.
06:02 And then from there, I got a couple of invites to like, uh, I forgot what
06:06 they're called, like the junior days or maybe sophomore days.
06:08 I don't know where they invite you to the campus.
06:10 And I was going to go on those until COVID happened, but that's
06:13 when I knew there was a shot for sure.
06:15 Uh, it was funny, actually a couple of my friends believed in me more than
06:18 I believed in myself at the time.
06:19 But then, uh, when I just got bigger and stronger, I just, I knew I could go to anyone.
06:24 And so when you got the word from Nate's dad, that there was a couple of coaches
06:29 maybe taking a look at you, what was your reaction?
06:31 I was surprised.
06:33 I never, I never thought that I was going to go play football anywhere.
06:36 To be honest with you, it was just a hobby at the time.
06:39 Obviously I'm young.
06:40 I'm a second year playing football pretty much.
06:42 Um, I was really excited at the time.
06:46 I just thought it was really exciting to be looked at as a prospect.
06:52 But up till then, it was just something to do while you're waiting for baseball.
06:56 Yeah.
06:57 I mean, at the sophomore year.
06:59 So JV, once I started like playing better at football, it was, I started to like it
07:03 more than I liked baseball for sure.
07:04 Like once you're, uh, I don't know.
07:07 I think offense is a lot more fun for me personally, but that's, that sparked my
07:11 interest in the game a lot more.
07:12 And it was definitely, I think that was probably my focus at the time.
07:15 Cause I stopped playing basketball too.
07:16 So it was just football and baseball.
07:18 It's probably, they were probably going 50, 50 until I started playing better in
07:22 football, then it was like 70, 30.
07:23 Like I liked football a lot more probably.
07:25 Great.
07:26 Thank you.
07:27 Yep.
07:27 Can we go to Maria Polidoba from Rivals?
07:31 Hi, can you talk a little bit about what it's, what it's like playing for like a
07:36 Jake's Babasol offense, he's been talking for the past couple of weeks about wanting
07:39 to use you and the other tight ends a lot more in his offense.
07:41 So what's that been like for you?
07:42 It's really, it's fast paced and a mixture of, you know, receiving and blocking.
07:47 I like that.
07:48 Um, I like the fast pace a lot.
07:50 We just got to, I love the way he plays.
07:52 He calls the plays too.
07:53 I think it's perfect.
07:54 I just think as an offense, we got to step up, play more, play more as a unit.
07:58 Um, I think some of us are off at sometimes like one player.
08:03 It's just, you got to do your job.
08:05 Um, but I love it.
08:07 Uh, and he's definitely gotten me involved in the passing game.
08:10 I just got to, we got to make plays.
08:13 Uh, we got to keep the ball going and yeah, I just, I like the way he calls it.
08:19 And I like, I like the run players.
08:20 I like the passing place too.
08:21 I think it's, I think it's perfect.
08:22 Anybody else with a question for Jack?