comprehensive cal's monster offensive line update (one stop shopping re: everything you gotta know about the program's most important unit):
the shockster is an invited on the field pregame guest, get us close a couple feet away from the offensive line prep work...steve greatwood looks way more energized than last time i saw him (he looked worn out after the chase garbers epic post game celebration on the field in palo alto) & he's leading the drills while mike saffell works individually with guys showing them hand placements & loudly encouraging them
matthew cindric's dad approaches me on the sidelines & tells me he apologizes for his distracted behavior when speaking with me during the game in boulder...i tell him no worries his son was playing with a significant injury that was underestimated by the staff and that it was a brave & heroic effort under physical duress & tell him we're all good...ask him how's cindo's rehab is going & if he's gonna return next season...he tells me matt's rehab is ahead of schedule & as for returning next season his answer changes everyday...maybe return, maybe check out other potential options, maybe go get a real job, the haas/spieker grad gotta lotta options in life (right now he's in the 1st year of the 2 year masters in education program) but he knows he gotta decide pretty soon his future plans
as mentioned multiple times before, coach wilcox gotta rightsize the o-line room from its current 14 schollys this season to 16 schollys next season (can we maybe live without all the linebackers that never get any snaps?)...this is my accounting for the 14 scholly offensive lineman today during pregame drills
1st team:
left tackle: brayden rhome
left guard: ben coleman
center: brian driscoll
right guard: sioape vatikani
right tackle: tj session
2nd team:
left tackle: jackson brown
left guard: everett johnson
center: dylan jemtegad
right guard: ender aguilar
right tackle: trent ramsey
matthew cindric & spencer lovell are walking around in work out gear close to the action
bastian swinney & ryan lange are nowhere in my site
so then the monster is in the tunnel during the minutes leading up to the team charging the field, the atmosphere is ******* electric...guys are screaming & dancing around...then jaydn ott comes running up the back of the tunnel doing a marshawn kinda bow legged jaunt, he's got a boombox playing x rated rap that would probably offend most uptight people, all the players move aside & he moves to the front of the pumped up pack with his music...this **** is getting live
major donor (an oligopolist who is also attracted to a curvy brunette yoga/ballet female) tells me once i get back to my usual 50 yard line seat that jaydn lives in one of the two houses he bought for the program & that he easily got the cleanest/most organized room of them all...this is truly an amazing young man for reasons that go far beyond anything he can do on a football field
sitting behind me is former cal bear/bishop o'dowd grad langston walker who started 82 games during an 8 year offensive tackle career in the national football league & his charming wife & young daughter (who is impressed with my adroit patty cake hand skills during timeouts)...we know a lotta of the same dragons & he shares his nfl insights with me
basically langston walker doesn't think the o-line blocking in vertical sets (hand not in the ground, usually favored by spread offenses & not run heavy programs) is a schematic problem but thinks next season the quarterbacks should take a majority of the snaps under center & that play calling should involve way more pitch outs to jaydn ott specifically to the wide side of the field which is something i've been advocating for all season...some of the happiest moments in my life involve watching javid & marshawn taking pitchouts to the ******* house
then the monster storms the field with thousands of other ebullient california golden bears fans, this is truly the magic of cal football & this can never ever be replicated by watching on tv
1st conversation is with brian driscoll, tell him despite his couple of penalties tonite that i loved his passion tonite in playing with his hair on fire and that he did a great job of moving his attitude from la jolla to national city which makes him laugh...brian tells me "it really hurt like **** to be on the sidelines last season against stanford so tonite really feels good"
2nd conversation is with ben coleman, tell him that his micd up video from earlier this season was totally funny, he got a beaming smile & introduces me to his girlfriend who apparently is a great latina chef with mexican dishes...his dad wanders over & i ask him if he's gonna return next season...he tells me "we're gonna look at everything but that's the plan right now"
3rd conversation is with trent ramsey & his family...tell him that i luv his high school signing day foto that makes him look like he only got 4 totally disjointed fingers & that he's never gonna be able to grip a football to ever long snap...that makes him laugh & ramsey shows me his 10 paws which i then count out loud, that's good news...ask trent how much he weighs right now & how much would he ideally like to weigh this spring when he competes for a starting tackle position...he tells me that right now he's 285 lbs but that he would like to weigh 305 lbs this spring...his dad chimes in & tell me his ideal weight is 310 lbs...trent, listen to ur smart dad, ok
the difference between a 9-10 victory 2023 season & a 9-10 loss 2023 season is gonna be determined by cal's monster offensive line
but there can be absolutely no doubt that the shockster luvs each & every one of them and the passion/dedication they bring every single ******* day while toiling in obscurity
hopefully goobear will weigh in with his 2 cents (or the netherland's currency equivalent) re: cal's monster offensive line
let's roll, baby (magical saturday nite for the ages at memorial stadium)#
