UC Center Gavin Gerhardt Spring Practice Interview
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00:00 Russell of all Bearcats here with UC starting center Gavin Gerhart.
00:06 Gavin, start off with first day of the spring,
00:09 first day of 2024 where the pads are clacking.
00:12 I'm sure that's always fun for you guys in the trenches.
00:16 >> Yeah, it's really our first taste of really hitting somebody.
00:19 I mean, we go out there and you put the spiders on, it's not really.
00:22 I mean, not a lot changes when you put the pads on, we're still going full go, but
00:25 it's definitely different getting the pads on for the first time.
00:27 I love it.
00:28 >> So how has the O-line grown, you guys all coming back,
00:32 the entire starting five coming back.
00:34 How has your guys chemistry grown in these few months since the last game in
00:37 November?
00:38 >> Well, the off season, we drafted crews and we worked out in crews.
00:43 So we kind of were all separated, all five of us were on different crews.
00:46 >> Okay, like leading your own crews?
00:48 >> Yeah, almost leading it.
00:49 I was on one, Kendra was on the other, and so on, everybody else was on other ones.
00:54 So we were kind of separated, but we still did drills together.
00:58 I mean, we hung out every day, we were together every day.
01:01 But it feels good to be back out here.
01:02 >> How much does that give you guys a head start compared to other years in your
01:07 career, getting all those guys back and your O-line coach back all at once?
01:12 >> It's a lot better.
01:14 I mean, cuz in the past, you go into the off season, you go into fall camp,
01:19 you go into spring ball, you don't really know who the five are gonna be.
01:22 >> Right, and you've had multiple coaches.
01:24 >> This is my third coach.
01:25 So it's a lot different, cuz last season, Coach Carbo was new.
01:29 And then I was the only guy that had really played here before.
01:33 And then Luke came in, and then John had played, and
01:36 DT got his shot and he ran away with it.
01:39 >> Yeah.
01:40 >> But it's a lot different.
01:41 >> It's a lot different, very cool.
01:42 So some younger guys getting run as well.
01:45 How important is that?
01:46 Just obviously some guys are banged up right now, but just to see the younger
01:50 guys get run and have success that I was seeing, especially today in the run game.
01:54 >> Yeah, guys like Jonathan Harder, he's running with us right now,
01:56 and I'm excited for him.
01:58 He's done an awesome job so far.
02:00 He's gonna continue to improve.
02:02 And guys like Green and Evan Tinglesole, he's playing center.
02:05 He's doing really good, and I'm really happy for him.
02:08 I'm proud of him.
02:09 >> How nice is it just knowing you guys as a whole unit,
02:13 probably this is the deepest O-line room that it's been in your entire career,
02:16 probably.
02:17 How nice is that, knowing that you guys can go through some ups and downs,
02:21 go through maybe get banged up a little bit, but
02:23 know that you can rely on the guy next to you.
02:25 You can rely on all five down the line, no matter who's in there.
02:27 >> Yeah, it's awesome, cuz something's happened to me, you got Kendra.
02:31 And just for instance, you got Evan, who's done an amazing job, but
02:35 in the past it hasn't been that way.
02:37 You haven't had five that have came back since I've been here, really,
02:41 you haven't had that.
02:42 And then you've had some guys that have done awesome so
02:44 far in spring ball that are gonna really help us this fall.
02:47 >> Speaking with Gavin Gerhart, UC Center here on Talking Cats with Russ Heltman.
02:50 So second year with Coach Cardwell, mentioned that.
02:53 And what's the biggest thing he's done for
02:56 your game over this kind of 12 plus months that he's been your coach?
03:00 >> I mean, he's developed a lot of aspects of my game, just football IQ.
03:05 He's helped me develop speed off the ball, strength to power attack.
03:10 And every aspect of my game, really, he's helped me improve.
03:14 >> And then yourself, top improvement that you honed in on coming off of
03:18 the season in November that you're trying to work on throughout this offseason
03:21 heading into fall camp?
03:23 >> Probably just strength right at the beginning of pass sets,
03:28 right off the snap of the ball, getting my hands on the nose guard pretty quick.
03:32 Cuz last year, not necessarily I would not get them on quick, but
03:37 once I got them on eventually and got my feet set, then I'd be in an okay position.
03:41 But it was getting my hands on as quick as I can,
03:44 I kinda struggle with early on in the season.
03:45 I continue to get better at that throughout the season.
03:48 >> Has the game slowed down for you?
03:49 Have you noticed it slow down at all in terms of just being able to react and
03:53 being able to get hands on bodies faster as you've gotten more starting experience?
03:57 >> Yeah, I would say from my first year, the last year was a big jump.
04:01 I'm sure this year will be a big jump.
04:03 New conference, it was different, obviously, the speed of the game was faster.
04:07 But I'm sure this year will be different.
04:08 I can make calls faster.
04:09 I know the offense pretty well now, I'm pretty comfortable.
04:13 >> The vibe around the team seems different this year compared to last year,
04:17 just already, the guys are joking around.
04:19 There were some scuffles today, but it was still not bad blood.
04:24 It was just guys being competitive.
04:26 How much of that do you think has been the leadership of the team,
04:30 you were part of that, stepping forward in this offseason?
04:33 And on top of that, how much involvement did you have in maybe the transfer meetings
04:37 and stuff like that?
04:37 Cuz you guys didn't really bring in a whole lot of,
04:39 there wasn't a whole lot of transfers to bring in for the O-line room.
04:41 >> Yeah. >> But I'm sure as a whole team leader,
04:44 did you guys still have involvement with that?
04:45 >> Yeah, yeah, me and Dante and all of us, we had a say.
04:49 And I think the coaching staff and
04:50 recruitment staff brought in some really good players for us.
04:52 And it's 28 new guys, I think, including freshmen.
04:56 It's night and day difference from where it was last fall.
04:59 >> Yeah, I'm Gerhardt, everybody.