Michigan State LG Blake Treadwell Ready To Go as He Talks College Football
Michigan State LG Blake Treadwell Ready To Go as He Talks College Football
A: We hope that nothing happens, but if somebody goes down these young guys that we have will be able to come in and pick up steps and not lose our momentum. We’ll keep that pressure going.
Q: When you lose a running back like Le’Veon, does that make your job on the offensive line that much harder?
A: I wouldn’t say so. Just more than anything all offense starts with the linemen. If the linemen don’t block, the running backs can’t run. So if anything we need to keep doing our job, making those big holes, and we’ll find a guy to fill the running back shoes.
Q: Last year you had a little bit of inexperienced guys on your position. They’re older now. Do you still feel that pressure to set that tone?
A: Yeah. Also, as well, I expect the wide receivers to really have a breakout year this year. This summer especially I’ve been seeing them work really hard. Bennie’s been pushing wide receivers. Quarterbacks and receivers have really been working hard. So we expect them to really break out of the shell and have a great year. As well our offensive line always starts up front. We can’t get our job done if nobody else can get their job done. So we know we must get it done.
Q: Since the defense is so great, is it hard to not be reliant on them? How do you keep that motivation up to help them when they may not be having a great game?
A: Yeah, this year we’re really looking to have a breakout year for offense. Last year there were some points in time when a game was close where if we got a big play here or a first down the results might have been different. But this year especially we’re looking forward to closing those inches and yards and really make a difference for our team.
Q: Do you play the NCAA football video game?
A: Not really. I’m pretty bad at video games.
Q: Do some of your teammates play them?
A: Oh yeah, I know that they do.
Q: Are you familiar with the lawsuit that’s going on over the players likenesses and they’re making money, and student athletes aren’t making money, using your images?
A: Oh I’m not really gonna get into that because I don’t really know…
Q: As a student athlete in general does it seem unfair when they sell your jerseys and use your images for video games and you don’t get paid? Or do you look at it like you’ve got a scholarship and that’s enough?
A: I lean more towards the scholarship and just the opportunity to play.
Q: Talk about the versatility in your offensive line. Coach D was talking about the positions and the depth chart. What’s that like as a lineman to have that versatility and how does it make you stronger?
A: It’s very important. One thing I know, as an offensive lineman there’s a lot of competition this year. So if one guy’s not doing his job, Coach Staten won’t be putting that guy in. So it puts pressure on us older guys to perform as well as the younger guys. So it’s really good overall to have great depth and anybody can play in this spot.
Q: Do you guys typically rotate? Maybe you’re having a good game but Joe Blow comes in just to freshen things up. Is that a typical thing?
A: We’re gonna try and do that this year more, if there’s some opportunities to put the younger guys in. I know Coach Staten said he wants to do that, give them some experience. So whatever helps the team we’re willing to do.
Q: What has Coach Bollman brought to the mix for the O line in general?
A: Him and Staten actually go way back in the day. So him and Staten are really on the same page on a lot of things this year. They kinda have the same mindset, the same goals. Coach Bollman, one thing we notice about him, is his care for the players. One thing I noticed when he first stepped in was how much you can trust him and how much he really cares about all the players, issues outside of football.
Q: Quarterbacks being live in practice…did it kinda set the tone that it was gonna be a big competition? Coach D said he thinks he’s probably the only program in the country that has done that.
A: Oh yeah. Playing live, I tell you what, is a lot different than quarterbacks in a redshirt. Because as offensive linemen if we mess up, our guy getting hit like that, you never want that to happen. So if anything it really sharpens your game. It really sharpened the offensive lineman, defensive linemen. I’ll tell you one of the main problems is when a quarterback is in his redshirt is for the defensive guys playing the quarterback got sacked, cause he just got tapped on the shoulder. So this time we know who got sacked and who didn’t. It really sharpens your skill and keeps you on alert. I enjoy it. It’s a good experience.
