[Barron]
Cesar Ruiz
Where have you seen the offensive line grow in the last two to three weeks after the Penn State game?
“After the Penn State game I just noticed everybody going a lot harder. I mean, we always went hard in practice but I noticed guys going a lot harder and everybody’s starting to get used to everything now, the young guys are starting to get used to everything; me too. And just a lot more full-speed things. A lot less thinking. More everybody just knows where they’re going now and it’s just a lot of full speed.”
What are the biggest things that you’ve learned as an offensive lineman at this level since the start of the season?
“I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned how to play four different positions. I’ve learned also be ready, you never know when your name’s going to be called too, so make sure you know what you’re doing at all times.”
What’s the one position you haven’t taken reps at?
“Left tackle is the only position I haven’t taken reps at.”
…
Where have you played the most?
“I’ve been focusing on left guard up until this week, until the last week when I jumped in at right guard.”
[After THE JUMP: more Ruiz, Spanellis, Hurst, Long, and apologies to Poggi]
…
In terms of picking it up, is there a particular area where you felt it was a challenge or did you have any hitches along the way?
“Not really. Coach Drevno, he really teaches us how to block multiple fronts in camp. Spring ball, we blocked multiple fronts so the line calls and different things like that were just things that we already knew when we were [inaudible] for teams.”
When guys are up there blocking and you see somebody all of a sudden taking off 60, 70 yards for a touchdown, describe the feeling there as an offensive lineman.
“Once I see that—there was a play where Karan kind of ran me over and I got up and my first instinct was to go run with him, mix hands with him and meet him in the end zone, so as an O-lineman, that feels great. That means we did our job.”
Has that ever happened to you before or a similar play where your running back runs into you?
“Uh, no, that was new. I haven’t witnessed that before but, you know, Karan, he doesn’t stop his feet so I got down and he knew I was there.”
[Upchurch]
Stephen Spanellis
When did you find out that you were going to have a role in the offense as that sixth offensive lineman?
“It was the Monday before Rutgers. Just came in and coach Drev said how would you feel about playing as a big tight end and I was just so excited about it because that was kind of something I really enjoyed about watching past Harbaugh teams is they utilized extra offensive linemen. That was something that really caught my eye in recruiting so that was kind of a little bit of a dream come true, I would say.”
…
We’ve seen the past couple weeks the offensive line play as well as it has all year. Is that something where it just kind of clicked? What was the hurdle there?
“I don’t think there was a hurdle. I think it’s hard for you guys to tell but we were just so close for so long and the line between a great offensive line and a good offensive line can be so blurry. I think we just kept pumping and pumping and it finally broke.”
What are some of those fine details we maybe don’t notice?
“You get a guy blocked for five second but you don’t strain for the sixth second or maybe you’re running downfield and you cut somebody down rather than just trying to push them.”
…
You mentioned pumping and pumping. Did coach Drevno tell you that story about his water days.
“Yes, yes. Yeah. That was a direct reference.”
I figured. Did you guys need a pick-me-up or a “hey, keep going, it’s almost there” type of pep speech at that point?
“He gave it to us. Whether or not we needed it could be argued but pep speeches, you could always use one. I think it’s true and it almost doesn’t have to be said that if you just keep on working, good things will happen.”
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You’re like 20 years old. Had you ever seen one of those before? Did you have any idea what he was talking about when he said he had to pump water?
“I hadn’t seen it but Bredeson has. He’s more of a country boy. I’m less so, more of a suburban child. Yeah, Ben confirmed that they exist, although I don’t have any personal empirical evidence that it does.”
[Upchurch]
Maurice Hurst
When you go against Cesar in practice, what’s he learned from the start of the season to now?
”I think Cesar’s somebody who came in with a lot of ability. He’s really starting to come into his own. I think he’s going to be a really great player here. I think he’s doing some things; I think he’ll be able to get better.”
Now that he’s getting some experience, where do you think that will help him the most?
“I mean, it’s hard to be a freshman offensive lineman and start your first game. It’s good for him just to get that experience.”
Spanellis said that he knew he was starting to come along when he finally was able to not feel like you were pushing him back a ton. What have you seen from him?
“From Spanellis? Oh, he’s someone who’s just a big, strong kid and he’s also been one of the people who’s really gotten a lot better over the past year and has been really good at developing and I think that’s something that you see from a lot of the guys that are kind of in that two-deep on the offensive line. I think they’re starting to develop some serious depth for like when Mason [Cole] and Pat [Kugler] leave. I think they’ll not really skip much of a beat. There are some great guys that can come in and play right away and just be great for our offense in the future.”
[Fuller]
David Long
It’s been a while since either you or Lavert have been not only targeted to an extent but since anyone’s even completed a pass on you. Did you think you guys were going to be this far along this quickly?
“I don’t really think about it like that. We just try and every week work on our technique and perfect everything. We give everybody the respect that they’re due and just go into the game and try and compete on every rep and know the guys across from us are going to do the same.”
MGoQuestion: To piggyback off that, what kind of an opportunity does that give you to work on run support?
“Coach Brown prides us on that all 11 guys tackle, so it’s something that we all do that’s just been taught in the defense regardless of what position we play.”
…
Which Michigan receiver’s hardest for you to cover in practice?
“I’d probably say Kekoa [Crawford]. He gives us a variety of looks and he works inside and outside, but we have a plethora of receivers, like different type of guys: we have big guys, fast guys, so I really credit the offense, the scout team as well, for the job that they’re doing helping us get prepared as far as the different looks and different type of receivers we’ll see over the course of the year.”
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You’ve gone back with Brandon [Peters] since the Army All-American game. How has he changed, if at all, since you first met him back then to how he is now?
“I think Brandon’s the same. Just a really focused, really dedicated guy who works really hard. Definitely somebody who’s a leader on the team. Not necessarily vocally but by the things that he does.”
***
Apologies to Henry Poggi for not having anything from him to transcribe. I was talking to Mo Hurst while Poggi was available. Not sure what he talked about, but I don’t think it could be bigger than this.
The Ann Arbor Dairy Queen has officially closed her doors for the long winter. I’m not doing well emotionally.
— Henry Poggi (@The_Hank_Poggi) November 7, 2017
Please keep him in your thoughts during this difficult time.