Cal Football: O-Linemen Embrace Having Position Coach as Offensive Coordinator
Football coaches often talk about how the offensive line is the heartbeat of their team, the position group that will most dramatically impact winning and losing.
Traditionally - not always, but usually - that assignment goes to the quarterbacks coach.
At Cal, coach Justin Wilcox backed up that mindset last December by promoting offensive line coach Mike Bloesch to also serve as offensive coordinator after the departure of Mike Spavital to accept the same assignment at Baylor.
For Cal’s veteran O-linemen, having their position coach now in charge of the entire offensive unit is a boost to their self-esteem.
“It gives us a lot of confidence knowing that our coordinator is going to have a lot of faith in the O-line,” junior right guard Sioape Vatikani says in the video at the top of this story. “So we have to step up and really lead and be the engine of this team. A lot of the team is going to be looking up at us — anytime they need a fire to be started, we’re going to be there with our fire.”
“He has our back. Coach Bloesch, from Day 1, has always been there for us,” senior right tackle T.J. Session says in the video above. “I think it helps out the O-line because he knows what the scheme is and what exactly we need to do.
“So rather than it being the quarterback coach doing it, it’s the O-line coach, who’s kind of leaning more on running the ball or being more aggressive in what we do. The O-line, that’s the roots of the team. Instead of being five pennies, we’re one nickel.”
For Bloesch, who came onboard last season and is credited with improving what had been the Bears’ weakest position in recent years, doubling up as coordinator feels natural. He held both jobs at his previous stop at North Texas.
“The reason I’ve always done it was that I knew that no matter what I installed offensively, if the O-line wasn’t any good, it wouldn’t matter,” Bloesch said. “That’s something that Justin and I talked about when he promoted me to the spot.
“He felt like I did a really good job coaching the offensive line last year and I obviously have a ton of confidence in what I can do coaching those guys. I want to see that unit continue to develop because if they develop and we can dominate the line of scrimmage it’s just going to make everybody’s life easier.”
Bloesch said last year’s O-line performance is a baseline for what he wants going forward. His players endorse that expectation.
“We’re going to be way better,” Vatikani said, comparing this group to last season.
“We wanted to build an identity. We weren’t really sure of who we were as an O-line. Coach Bloesch came in and really brought us all together,” he said.
The identity now is power football. “We want to run that ball,” he said. “We want to punch a hole in that defense and we want to run that right down the middle. We’re not running around nobody — we’re running through people.”
Vatikani, Session and Matthew Wykoff, a transfer last year from Texas A&M, are returning starters. Bloesch referred to the three as “savvy veterans,” who have mastered what he wants from an offensive lineman and now can focus on improvement.
Wykoff figures to start again at left guard, although Bloesch said he can also play center.
Otherwise, that job could go to junior Bastian Swinney. Newcomer Rush Reimer, who played alongside Session a few years back at Montana State, is working at the guard spots.
Redshirt junior Ender Aguilar and Temple transfer Victor Stoffel will compete at tackle, but the pleasant surprise of camp through two days may be Nick Morrow, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman from Flagstaff, Arizona, who played primarily tight end in high school.
He has transitioned to offensive tackle, adding about 50 pounds to top 300, according to Bloesch.
“Nick’s doing great,” he says in the video above. “I’m really really impressed with his offseason and really just the last year since he’s been here. He’s gained a ton of strength, he’s gained an understanding of what we’re doing offensively. I’ve been very pleased with where he’s at.”
Cover photo of Cal offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Mike Bloesch
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
