discouraged. Instead we kept going as hard as we could until the last second. Once it was over I was kind of sad we lost, but we at least lost to a great team in the final four and It fires me up to maybe get another chance to play them again.
3. You guys are still being picked to win the conference but at the same time many folks are saying this will be a down year for the Blazers. How do you feel about that and does it make you want to prove the naysayers wrong? I don’ t think it will be a down year for us because we’ ve worked so hard this offseason to get ready for conference. Even though we lost a lot of starters, this year new players have stepped in and contributed to the role that they are trying to fill. In the end, I feel like we’ ve got some dudes that can play to lead us into another great year of football.
4. You have played a significant role on the team’ s offensive line. That is often a position that gets overlooked. Discuss playing on the line and what that experience is like. The line is a hard fought battle the whole night. It’ s basically mini car crash’ s every play. You can’ t be tired or mess up because that can cause one of your teammates to get injured and that’ s on you. Even though we don’ t get noticed, our teammates / coaches understand the work we put in so that they can get their chance to do something big.
5. You will be protecting a new quarterback( s) this season. Has that been an adjustment? I don’ t really feel that it’ s a big adjustment because I trust any quarterback that we have as much as they trust me, and I trust who the coaches choose to play that position.
6. At the same time, you guys return Carter Wallace who will likely see 20-30 carries per game. There’ s some familiarity there. How do you guys work together to create big plays? The way we make big plays is getting lots of movement and getting to the linebackers so that Carter can do what he does and find holes to bounce to so that he can get the ball downfield.
7. You are the most experienced offensive lineman returning. Does that put some pressure on you to perform and also be a leader? What all responsibilities come with that? When I played in my sophomore and junior years, I always tried to learn as much as I could from the seniors. Now, being that senior, I am trying to teach and lead the people around me to make everyone better so we can be a great o-line.
8. What has it been like playing for Coach Cockrell? It’ s been an amazing three years playing under Coach Cockrell. He really has led this team in the right direction and gets everything ready for game time. I’ m honored that he has trusted me with this position and provided me coaches to make me better at my job. When it is game time, he can lose his mind a bit but that’ s a good thing; honestly, because it makes you want to play better and gets you riled up.
9. Who are some of your teammates you expect to have a big year for you guys to be successful? I think that Houston Walker, Camarion Davis, Parker King, and Carter Wallace are the guys who I expect to do great things for the offense this year. They have shown great potential this year by how they have put in lots of work in the offseason by getting stronger and showing their talent in practice.
10. Is there a specific game that you have penciled in on the schedule? If so what is it and why? I have Nettleton down as a big game this year in our conference because they are very physical, and we don’ t score as much on them as other teams. It’ s a hard game to play against them because we have to put our hand in the dirt and figure out what to do in different situations. Nettleton has great competitors that help us get better as a team.