Cal Football Countdown: 11 Days, Grab-Bag of Quotes

Today on the Cal football countdown, we've got a handful of quotes that didn't necessarily fit into stories, with 11 days left until the start of the season.

Evan Weaver told a story of Blake Antzoulatos coming up to him on campus and saying 'I'm like you,' pretty much unprompted. Antzoulatos gave us his side of that story.

"I don't remember that happening, it probably did, but I walked over," Antzoulatos remembered, "said 'hey, I'm Blake, nice to meet you,' I mean he's the man around here, a great player. I've been hanging out with him a lot even outside of football, and he's been a great person to look up to and he's made this whole freshman thing an easy transition."

Ben Hawk Schrider has made an early impression in the OLB room, as the Berkeley native and UT-Chatanooga grad-transfer has been a pleasant surprise for Tim DeRuyter and company. Schrider has also been a fan of Cal since his youth, carrying through to now, as he braved Pac-12 After Dark start times on the East Coast while at Chatanooga. Now he's on the same level as the guys he's been a fan of.

"As a fan of Cal, I knew who Tevin Paul was, he didn't know who I was," Schrider said, "but I knew who he was. I think the cool thing is, when I go out on the field, I'm seeing Tevin, Evan Weaver, Bynum, Ashtyn. I was talking to Ashtyn the other day, 'I used to be your fan, I remember when you were a walk-on earning a scholarship, and hearing about that, that was cool. You didn't know me personally, but I was rooting for you in Tennessee.'"

QB Spencer Brasch had some early struggles in camp, but has looked more comfortable with more reps, as he adjusts to the speed of the game.

"What we had at Higley compared to what we have now," Brasch said, "it's the same in a way, we have the same spread kind of stuff but there's a lot more. It's a lot more complicated, there's a lot more steps to it, and it's just so much faster. We have phenomenal athletes here, not that we didn't have any in high school, but everyone's faster, everyone's bigger, and just being able to learn all these plays as quick as it has been, that's probably the hardest part, but other than that, it has been a great transition. The coaches have helped me, even the other quarterbacks in the room have helped me to learn the plays better and everything like that."

Makai Polk has been here since January, he was recruited by Burl Toler, and has been getting the experience of playing for Toler on a closer level.

"It’s pretty fun playing for coach Toler," Polk said, "he’s a nice guy, lot of energy, and it’s fun being with him. Details, we’re really keen on details, because the big things are there. The little things, route running, knowing where you’re supposed to be lined up, on the ball, off the ball, where to break your route off."

Running back DeCarlos Brooks physically looks the part in fall camp, but the mental side of Berkeley is what he's had to focus on so far.

"The only thing I have to focus on is time management," Brooks said, "Categorizing, prioritizing everything has probably been the hardest thing, but after you get into the swing of things, it's pretty easy."

Finally, Craig Woodson has turned heads to the point where he's going to play this fall, redshirt rule or not. Some of that is coming on special teams, as Gerald Alexander noted that it'll help him to get better in space.

"I think that's the fastest way to get on the field defensively or offensively. Special teams is football in space," Alexander said, "it gives him some of those valuable reps running down, covering, getting off blocks, and showing up, making plays. I told those guys 'I don't want you playing on defense if you're not contributing on special teams or having a permanent role on special teams,' because that's the fastest way to help us in a very important phase. Obviously if you can make plays there, you can make plays on defense, and I think it's pivotal we use his athletic skillset."

For Woodson, this fall camp has allowed him to play with the older guys (thanks to some nagging injuries and some guys being held out), and Woodson's acting like a sponge in absorbing their wisdom.

"I’m really just asking the older guys, just getting that time in," Woodson said, "really learning the defense. Coming in, there’s a lot of things you’ve got to note, they’re helping a lot, every chance I get, I’m asking them questions."