Cal’s Stanley McKenzie Celebrates His Birthday and His Glamorless Position

Cal nose guard Stanley McKenzie celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday, which was also Day Three of the Bears’ preseason football training camp, and the redshirt freshman discussed what his birthday dinner might be if he were back home in Hawaii.

“We’d probably barbecue for my birthday,” he said. “Char siu chicken, some short ribs, steak, sausage, a lot of rice, some poke, if you guys don’t know poke [pronounced poh-KAY] is a Hawaiian style raw fish a lot people like to eat, and probably have my sister bake a cake.”

Yes, that is one meal, folks.

He needs the calories. McKenzie figures his ideal weight for the position is about 330 pounds.

“I’m at 340, but after today’s practice I’m probably 335, 336,” he said.

McKenzie, a prime candidate to be Cal’s starting nose guard this season, will need the weight to play that tough, glamorless nose guard position, which is critical to a team’s defensive success.

“It’s not a position that is real flashy,” Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said in the video below. “It is very blue-collar, very grimy and dirty. And those guys really need to embrace the repetitive banging of that position.”

Cal needs that position to anchor the interior part of the defense against the run and push the pocket against the pass, often against double-team blocking.

Nose guards don’t rack up impressive statistics, but McKenzie knows the importance of the position.

“If [the nose guard] doesn’t hold the point on the run game, it messes up everybody’s assignments,” he said. “He has a big job holding two guys, sometimes three guys, to let linebackers make the play.”

Does he get worn down facing two or three blockers on virtually every play?

“I don’t know, I get excited,” McKenzie said. “I take that as a compliment. If it takes two, three guys to block me, that shows respect.”

He gets his pleasure from seeing teammates make plays as a result of his grunt work up front. McKenzie knows his numbers won’t show up on the postgame stat sheet.

“It’s OK, I don’t mind,” he said. “People who know football, they know.”

And please pass the poke.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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