Cal Football Countdown: 33 Days, Cam Bynum, the Workhorse
The Cal Football countdown continues, as we're 33 days from the start of the season, and only four from the start of camp on Friday.
One of the key pieces for the Cal defense will be Cam Bynum. Bynum, to put it lightly, is a workhorse. He consistently puts in an extra 30 minutes after practice working on his footwork, even working with recruits after recruiting camps. He took part in extra lifting sessions to keep weight on and even add weight a year ago. All this should lead to Bynum being a selection in the NFL whenever he heads out for the draft.
For now, Bynum is set for his third year as a starter at cornerback, as he plays the veteran role on the defense, and we got some key quotes from him during Media Day
Who's the Best Trash Talker on the team?
Evan or Tevin. Jeremiah (Hawkins) is the most annoying, he'll make one three-yard catch and talk, like 'give me the ball, feed me!'
I remember, I don't know who it was (or what game), but they asked the (opposing) quarterback 'why are you playing?' and that's the saddest thing I've ever heard.
On teaching the younger guys with some of the post-practice work
We're bugging the younger guys, like let's get in the film room and learn a couple things so we'll go teach it, and not even that we're just trying to teach them, we're training ourselves, we're able to teach it so we know we can do it. That's probably a big thing we do, just knowing that we're good, that can help the younger generation.
Do you see some of that fire in the younger guys who have been here and seen your growth?
Yes, in a competitive way, for instance, Chigi (Chigozie Anusiem), I talk about all the extra work I do, he bugs me and says 'don't work out without me, I've got to be there, I'm taking your spot this year.' That's the kind of person I respect, he's straight up with me 'I'm training with you, but I'm training to be better than you.' I wish we had that with every single person, because then everybody would be good. I see a big jump out of Chigi this often, because he's working just as hard as we are, and I see his mentality, that he's coming to me personally and telling me he wants to take my spot, I respect that.
How is it to have someone around who wants to put in that same level of work that you do, like Chigi?
Coaches, they've told him 'yeah, you need to shadow Cam,' and ego-wise, you don't want to be told that, but it snapped to him, 'this is a good person for me to follow because he wants to help me, he's been bothering me, 'when are you working out?' And he's doing workout with Elijah (Hicks), Steve McIntosh, and I. He's doing all the work with us, he's coming to our house. Me, Steve, and Elijah all live together so we can do extra work whenever at the house, at the pool, Chigi comes to our house, sleeps over so he can get a workout in. He's already big and long, but now he's putting weight on, he's looking like something.
What's your impression of Isaiah Humphries so far?
It's tough coming into this defense mentally, because it's a lot different from where he was at, but in workouts, he's been looking really solid, building his body, but he just need to learn the scheme better, then he'll be looking a lot better. He's got plenty of time (with having to sit out a year), that's what we keep telling him, you're not going to play this year, but you've got to start next year now, mental reps, getting ahead of everybody or otherwise you're going to get lost in the dust. He did get the most picks in spring ball, he was looking real solid, he has to keep it up and learn consistently.
On Cal commit (and fellow Corona Centennial DB) Isaiah Young
Great work ethic, and he's being coached by the right people, same guy I was coached (by) in my 7 on 7 team, just building a great foundation. I talk to him every week, he sends me his film from practice and stuff, his 1 on 1 reps, just to critique his stuff. I'm mentoring him and he's taking it all in.