Here is the link.
Brian Bainum: So what is all this I heard about you working with plywood?
Zack Follett: It’s a joint thing me and (fellow linebacker) Greg Van Hoesen put together. I get these big things of plywood and then I’ll get my favorite athlete and I print them out on a clear piece of paper and put it on the piece of wood and cut it out with a jigsaw and sand it. Then Greg comes along and paints it. He can paint some unbelievable things.
BB: Who have you guys done so far?
ZF: We’re doing Russell Crowe from Gladiator. It’s cool. We’re also making one for (San Diego Chargers fullback) Lorenzo Neal, because he’s from Fresno and we work out together. We’ll see how he likes it.
BB: Now you guys have to start getting commercials like Ben Roethlisberger and Fathead.
ZF: That would be sweet.
BB: You could make a Brian Urlacher cutout. Isn’t he your favorite linebacker?
ZF: Yeah. My uncle just met him and got a signed picture of him, and I put it up in my room.
BB: Nice. Did you see how he got fined $100,000 for wearing an unsanctioned hat at the Super Bowl?
ZF: Yeah, that’s kind of extreme. I mean, he gets fined $5,000 for hitting a guy helmet-to-helmet, then he wears the wrong hat and gets $100,000.
BB: Switching gears, you guys just finished up spring ball. Do you feel more in a leadership role now that Desmond and Mickey are gone?
ZF: Definitely. The coaches put it on me. They even moved me to (middle linebacker) for three weeks during the spring, but they finally realized that wasn’t the spot for me. It was too robotic. The weak side is way more natural for me.
BB: Have you talked to Des or Mickey with the NFL draft so close now?
ZF: I ask them how things are going. They get to talk to a lot of athletes around the country, and they’re saying once I get there and get my chance, there is nothing to be intimidated about.
BB: Along those lines, it appeared you guys maybe were a little intimidated in last year’s opener at Tennessee. Are you already thinking about September’s rematch here in Berkeley?
ZF: We had a team meeting early in the morning when spring ball was over, and Coach Tedford put together a TV clip of the Tennessee game and what the commentators were saying about it, basically mocking us and laughing at us. They were saying how they can put their third string guys in the third quarter and this and that. I’ve been motivated since that plane ride home. I told the team they have my 100 percent dedication. I’m going to go out there and try to hurt people.
BB: Sounds like you’re ready to go right now.
ZF: Yeah, really what motivated me was when Desmond came back. He had talked to a Tennessee linebacker and Desmond asked him what they thought of us. And in their minds, they think California players are soft. Personally, that pissed me off.
BB: You think the crowd will be ready to bring it too?
ZF: I predict it is going to be one of the loudest and most exciting games at Cal. The Big Game, it’s still the Big Game, but they are not as competitive. They are bringing something in or trying to figure out something to make it loud, just like Tennessee.
BB: They’re bringing something in?
ZF: They haven’t really talked about it. I think they are trying to keep it under wraps, but they are going to do whatever is legal to help the crowd out.
BB: And, on the field, you go out there and hurt people … as long as it’s legal.
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