Spring Day 7: Offensive line adjusting to change

B.J. Anderson

On how practice has been going…

“Good. Guys are coming along, keep pushing tempo, but we’ve got a good start on it.”
 

On the tackles’ (Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi) play since moving positions…

“They’ve become comfortable pretty quickly. As far as their footwork goes, what we’re working now is all the little things. Right now, Jake’s changed his post hand — it’s his left hand when he’s on the right side and now he’s on the left side, so he’s got to change his post hand.

“We’ve got to work through the little things; Ced’s the same way. There’s a lot more grass out there when you play tackle, but he’s long and athletic. He’s done a nice job, but we’ll keep working on those little things.”
 

On Germain Ifedi and getting help from Ogbuehi…

“A lot. Ced really does a nice job with him and they work a bunch away from this building. I’m trying to get him better, and he wants to, which is a big part of it, so I’ve been pleased with his progress so far.”
 

On Mike Matthews' development…

“He’s doing a nice job. I think in spring ball you start, with a guy like Mike, with a targeting aspect, and that’s kind of what this spring is for him and I. He’s got to gain some weight. I’ve got to get his weight up where he can hold up in the SEC. But his targeting with our offense, his communication with our offensive line, I’ve been pleased with his progress.”
 

On the benefit of Mike traveling with the team last year…

“It helped. He got to watch (Patrick Lewis), and also the weight. He got to travel with those guys and then eat during those away games and on those planes. He’s up in the 280’s now, and we’ll keep going.”
 

On Mike’s pure ability…

“He has a bunch. He’s got a big upside to him. He’s athletic, he’s got good strength, and he’s a smart kid. I think the game has slowed down for him the last 8 practices.”
 

On Mike controlling the tempo of the offense…

“He’s doing a nice job. It’s not good enough right now, but he’s making improvements day to day on pushing that tempo. It’s not just going fast, you’ve got to go fast and be targeted. We’re seeing him get better and better at that.

“It’s not just him, it’s the whole offense. We’ve got to play faster, we expect to do that. I think by the time we get to the end of spring ball it will be a good start going into that summer session.”
 

On the biggest challenge of moving positions on the O-line…

“Probably just the communication of it. They’re looking for different things at those different positions and we’ve got to get it communicated quickly and then we have to get it executed. There’s a lot going on, it’s going on fast. Each day there’s just a comfort that comes with it and we got some great video out of the scrimmage, out of our team work, and those guys will keep getting better the more video we get.”
 
“He did have a good year last year. As far as the effort he plays with, he’s getting better at that. We've still got to get more consistent, but it’s not just Jarvis up front that has to learn how to sustain effort through long drives, finish blocks. That’s kind of our rally cry this spring. We’ll handle the targeting, but when we come out of the spring, we’ve got to find five war daddies there that will give everything they’ve got for us.”
 

On the potential of this year’s O-line…

“We’ve got a chance to be really good up front next year, but they’re going to have to put in the work to do it. We’ve got a long way to get there. They’ve got the rest of spring ball, all of summer, and fall camp to get there. They’re going to have to deserve to be a good front. We’ll see.”
 

On the depth of the offensive line…

“There’s some guys doing nice things with the second group. I think the later in spring we get, the more you’ll see me start to get plugging guys in in different spots. We’ll be thinking a little bit more about back up positions in case of injury. You’ll see that later in spring.

“Right now, I want to leave those guys alone and see if we can’t establish some continuity. Because it’s so important those guys are used to playing with each other, based on all of the communication that has to go on.”
 

On what makes Luke Joeckel so good…

“He’s a great football player. He’s got lots of skill sets, a lot of skills that make him that player. He’s a really smart guy. he handles himself like a pro. I expect him to have a really long career in the NFL.”
 

On what Joeckel going #1 would do for A&M on the recruiting trail…

“It does a ton. Everyone you run into asks about Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews. That’s the question you get out there and that’s good. Those young offensive linemen want to come win a bunch of games in college and then they want to go to the NFL. So, it’s being done here at Texas A&M, they know it’s being done here, and that helps us.”

Cedric Ogbuehi

On the transition from guard to tackle…

“It’s real comfortable. In high school I played tackle, so it wasn’t really a big change. The biggest change is I’m going against faster dudes. My set is different so other than that, it’s the same thing really.”

On the level of excitement at playing tackle…

“I was excited and I was sad that Luke left, but it’s a big change for me to show what I can do because I’m athletic. Playing guard I didn’t really showcase it; playing tackle is going to show what I can really do and also that I’m versatile. I can play guard or tackle so that helps.”

On playing with and learning from Jake Matthews…

“Before spring ball every day, me and Jake would come out here and work on our sets, because he also changed too. Going to left. So we just work on it, perfect our craft and just get better.”

On playing next to Germain Ifedi…

“It’s different, because playing two years beside Jake you make a bond. So playing with G.I. was different at first, but you just gotta keep working together to get a better bond like me and Jake had. But he has come along really fast, so it’s good.”

On using his experiences to help Ifedi…

“Oh yeah, a lot. I give tips, just give him small things to look for, instincts. So yeah, a lot.”

On the amount of potential in Ifedi…

“A lot. He’s strong naturally, straight girth. He’s a freak.”

“A lot. It’s going to be my third year starting, so I just have to speak up more and play by example and what I say. So a lot of the guys look up to me. Jake, Jarvis. So we just have to step up as leaders and lead the team.”

On having a new center in Mike Matthews…

“He’s a Matthews, so he’s doing good so far. He’s come a long way from last year. Playing some games helped a lot. So he’s come along way. He’s not Pat obviously, but he’s getting there.”

Jarvis Harrison

On how spring ball is going for him…

“It’s going pretty good right now.”

On how easy it has been playing the same position he played last year…

“Very easy. I don’t have to learn too much more footwork or nothing like that. Everything for me stays the same.”

On what he’s focusing on improving the most…

“My run blocking. Last year, I would say my run blocking wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, so that’s what I’m focused on this spring, to get better at that.”

On what it’s like playing in between two Matthewses…

“It’s crazy. Mikey, he’s an outgoing guy; he talks a lot, a hoorah guy. Jake is quiet.”

On how he is helping Germain Ifedi…

“When I first came in, I was like him. He’s big, he’s strong, but it’s nothing if he can’t get his feet right. That’s what we’ve been trying to work on, to get his feet to mirror his body.”

On the transition of having two different guys flanking to him…

“Just getting how they set, so we don’t step on each other, and communicating to get the blocks.”

On what specific improvements he has noticed in himself from a year ago…

“I would say I finish a little more. I would say, last year I probably took plays off, but this year I’m finishing every play and trying to do the best I can do on every play.”

On what it has done for his development to have spent a year with Luke Joeckel and now being next to Jake Matthews…

“It was a lot. Luke is a great guy. Jake is just as good. It’s pretty good.”

On if it has been easier for them this spring…

“We know everybody since we’ve been here a couple of years. We haven’t gotten many new guys in, so it’s pretty good.”

On what it’s like blocking for Johnny Manziel…

“He runs around. You can’t stop blocking. No matter what, you can’t stop blocking until the whistle blows. You don’t know what he’s going to do back there.”