(U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. — Boller, Igber, Ward, McArthur, Banta-Cain. If you can identify those last names, you just passed California Football 101. Now let’s move up to the graduate level.
Try Tercero, Wilson, Jones, Murphy and Giesel. Things are getting a little harder, aren’t they? But don’t feel bad if you couldn’t put a name with a position or an accomplishment, you’re not alone.
These are the men that make up the Cal offensive line.
It’s the least recognizable position on the field, and the most vital to offensive success.
The lack of attention that the men in the trenches receive have led them to coin “results are what matter” as their motto, and they’ve lived up to it this season.
After producing few positive results in the past few seasons, the unit has been arguably the biggest difference in the offense this year — opening up holes for Joe Igber and giving quarterback Kyle Boller enough time to pick the lint out of the pocket.
They even added a score themselves this past weekend when left tackle Mark Wilson scored on a lateral from Boller and rumbled three yards ahead to the endzone.
“It was a great moment for the offensive line,” says Wilson. “We work so hard as a unit.”
Unity has been the one of the keys to the unit’s success this season.
“We are all a brotherhood,” says center Ryan Jones. “I think that is key for offensive success and something that may have been missing in the past.”
Over the offseason, the offensive linemen took it upon themselves to change things.
Four of the five starters moved in together, increasing their accountability to each other and to the program.
“On offense everyone has to be on the same page, especially up front,” explains Tercero. “We have to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and work together on all aspects of the sport.”
Over the past four years Cal football fans have been left with head in hand, as the Bears flirted with school and Pac-10 records for offensive futility, and this ragtag bunch was not expected to change that.
Jones and tackle Chris Murphy are both walk-ons. Jones and guard Matt Giesel are both converted defensive linemen.
Jones, Wilson and guard Scott Tercero all came to Cal weighing under 260 pounds, downright anorexic by O-line standards.
This year, Boller’s numbers are up, leaving no question that he is having a banner 2002 campaign. But one has to give credit where credit is due.
The Bears rank first in the Pac-10 in scoring, red zone offense, and (you might want to sit down for this) sacks allowed, with six.
This turnaround comes right after an era where the offensive linemen spent more time picking Boller off the ground than actually blocking an opposite color jersey.
The mastermind behind the offensive line’s miraculous improvement is first-year offensive line coach Jim Michalczik.
Michalczik, a former All Pac-10 guard at Washington State, has stabilized the offensive front by finding ways to erase the past from the minds of his players and reinforce the fundamentals of the game.
“When I first came to Cal, I really did not look at much film from last year,” says Michalczik. “I don’t look at the past, I focus on where we’re at, where we want to go and how we’re going to get there.”