Craws Commentary: Ludwig and Sofele
In the fourth installment of Crawford's Commentary this fall, staff writer Ken Crawford catches up with offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig and explosive true freshman Isi Sofele.
In these interviews, Ludwig talks about any changes to the gameplan when preparing for a road game, the improvements made by quarterback Kevin Riley and what he feels the offense still can improve on, among other things. Also, Crawford catches up with Sofele to discuss his move back to running back, his two big runs against Eastern Washington and his overall experience as a Cal Bear so far.
Also, Ludwig and Sofele both also mention the impending contest against Minnesota.
Also, listen to the mid-week press conference interviews with head coach Jeff Tedford, quarterback Kevin Riley, linebacker Eddie Young, linebacker D.J. Holt and nose tackle Derrick Hill.
List of quotes in order:
Tedford on how they approach this road game
Tedford on when they decided to travel on Thursday for this game
Tedford on difficulty of playing teams with little film to go on
Tedford on Minnesota's strengths
Tedford on Minnesota QB
Tedford on how the offense has played
Tedford on why Cal hasn't had any interceptions yet
Tedford on having escaped the first to games with few injuries
Tedford on Tavecchio's kickoff performance
Tedford on who's going to kickoff
Tedford on DeBoskie-Johnson and Sofele getting playing time
Tedford on backup QBs not getting many passing opportunities
Riley on Minnesota's defense
Riley on Minnesota's defensive strategies
Riley on value of having more experience on the road
Riley on being hurried at last year's Maryland game
Riley on other things that make the road difficult
Riley on preparing for crowd noise
Riley on performance against Eastern Washington
Riley on lack of penalties in 1st two games
Riley on the need to win on the road
Young on doing better on the road
Young on flying to Maryland on Friday
Young on difficulty of early road game
Young on what most affected the team was the humidity
Young on advantage of being in 2nd year of 3-4
Young on signs in the locker room
Young on how much Minnesota film has been watched
Young on difficulty of facing teams with new schemes
Young on how the linebackers have done so far
Holt on how much Minnesota film he's watched
Holt on Minnesota's running game
Holt on playing on the road
Holt on other teams gunning for Cal
Holt on being in 2nd year of 3-4
Holt on Devin Bishop committing to Minnesota before coming to Cal
Holt on lots of 2nd stringers getting lots of playing time
Holt on him and Mychal Kendricks filling big shoes at inside linebacker
Holt on differences on being a starter
Holt on benefit of depth on defense
Hill on benefit of experience on the road
Hill on crowd noise affecting defensive play
Hill on Minnesota's offensive line
Hill on Nose Guard being thankless job
Hill on the roll the defensive line has on sacks
Hill on being rushed at Maryland due to the Friday flight
Hill on areas to improve
Hill on what makes good time great
Hill on the attitude to have on the road
Hill on value of depth on defensive line
Hill on his phantom shoulder problem and knee surgeries
Ludwig on not having much film on opponents defense
Ludwig on Mansion and Sweeney only getting one throw each
Ludwig on gameplan changes for playing on the road
Ludwig on simulated crowd noise
Ludwig on Riley's area for improvement
Ludwig on areas for offensive improvement
Ludwig on lack of penalties on offense
Sofele on playing RB versus WR
Sofele on coach Gould
Sofele on missed tackle in Maryland game
Sofele on inexperience and missing that tackle
Sofele on his two big plays against Eastern Washington
Sofele on confidence gained from first big play
Sofele on how first touchdown felt
Sofele on difference between first and second game
Sofele on sideline mentors
Sofele on other true freshmen on traveling squad
Ken Crawford is a staff writer for BearTerritory. A lifelong Cal football observer, Crawford has covered the Bears since the 2006 season, which included an up close and personal view of the memorable 31-24 victory over Oregon at Autzen Stadium in '07. Crawford will continue to handle Cal football assignments during the 2009 season.