congratulations on being a team captain I knew that came out last night what does that mean to you uh I know a lot of you guys probably saw coach H post uh he always talks about it's the greatest honor um to be voted as a team captain by your teammates uh and him and I sat down after captains were selected last season and uh he told me he goes this is one of my goals uh he goes this needs to be one of your goals next year um so everything I've done leading up to this point uh being announced as a team captain uh has been surrounded by that goal Marcel obviously Gus has talked about this being one of the more difficult fall camps he's going to put you guys through because of what happened last year what have you seen from him and and and from some of the coaching staff when it comes to what you're expect to see over the next three or four weeks uh I can tell they got uh pressure on them for sure uh and it's just like uh you guys talked about with uh Gus having a chip on his shoulder he told us last night he's got a chip on his shoulder he doesn't like the way the season ended last year uh just like none of us on the team do um so just you can just tell they're going about it a little bit differently um holding everyone to a higher standard um just pushing everyone to be the best that they can be um so it's just been it's been good so far uh day one went well uh we'll see how it keeps unfolding moving forward Marcel is it feels like each of the three years Gus has been here there's been some sort of an offensive line rebuild you obviously are going into another season you've been part of an offensive line rebuild that he's had to make and there's elements of that again in this coming season from your perspective how hard or not is it to make that happen and what kind of what are kind of the keys to making that happen uh I mean there's definitely some challenges to it for sure just because uh that as offensive line you got to have that cohesiveness you got to uh be on the same page as the guys around you uh but coach Han does a great job getting us prepared um he does a great job bringing in talented guys to step up and do the job um I had an opportunity to join the line last year and work with those guys it was an amazing opportunity uh and now I got the opportunity to lead some of the guys coming and behind us so it's uh there's definitely challenges like I said but it all comes with time just being together and uh making it work what are you most confident about in this offensive line uh I mean we got kids who are willing to um do their job uh that's the biggest part do your job put your hat on your hat and um get where you're supposed to be uh these guys are tough um we got a solid unit up front uh guys who are willing to get nasty when it's time to do that um love running the ball uh it's going to be a great season for us up front what aren't you about uh honestly I'm pretty confident where we're at the biggest thing right now is just making sure that uh we're all on the same page uh with it being day one just making sure communication uh installation all that stuff is um being done properly uh so we can succeed when it comes time seems like there's different tone from this year could be ticked off how have you seen a different mindset or different attitude from Howes that uh I think it it goes back to that conversation about him talking about his chip on his shoulder um he talked about he's always had that chip on his shoulder since he started um and he you can just tell that he's carrying himself a little bit differently uh he knows what it takes to win a championship he's done it before uh and I think he's bringing that same energy uh in order to go do it again this year do you like season yeah I love it uh I'm one of those guys I like being pushed uh I like uh I think he's trying to bring out the best in everybody in the room uh and that if that happens uh we're going to be very good obviously as a captain and a leader in the offensive line room you've played a lot of different positions how do you think that helps you lift up the younger guys like you said uh I think it gives me the ability to just uh know the o line play inside and out uh I've even had the opportunity to kind of see big picture kind of what's going on just because I've had the opportunity to play so many different spots um but it just gives me the ability to sit down with a guy uh he's asking a question about this position like I've been in his shoes I know where he's at uh I can see what he's talking about uh just in order to help him grow in the open portions there was different rotation on the right side of the line you'd see Jabari Play Right Guard and then Paul play right tackle and you'd move over kind of both of those spots so what's the competition like on the right side of the line and how does it directly affect where you're going to play uh at the end of the day uh coach H brings guys in who are going to compete um so we got a good group of guys uh and everyone in the room can play So at the end of the day we're going to go through camp and uh like I said I trust in coach hand I feel like I know he's going to put the best Five Guys on the field so whatever that looks like I'll play where he needs me to play uh and we'll go from there is this your last year of Eligibility or you still have one more after this uh I believe I have one more you have one okay I'm not sure maybe it does make a difference though just how important is this season to you obviously second year in this program big season ahead you know you had a great season last TR you want to build off that what do you want to accomplish this year uh the biggest thing is to win um we always talk we talk about winning championships that's what we're here to do um and at the end of the day we win a championship and everything else comes with that uh I just want to be able to lead this team and help um the guys around me succeed and like I said if we win then everything else will take care of itself kind of kind of building on on that point last year was this program's first in the Big 12 I know it's a little bit of a different conference this year but what was the biggest lesson from everyone returning about what what you guys learned from that first first year last year you got to be willing to go win big games when it counts uh we struggled a little bit at uh finishing out closing out games um so that's one of the biggest things on a lot of our minds is just developing that edge that when you get in a situation like that um you have the ability to go win the game obviously UCF is going to be one of the more dominant rushing teams this year as they have been the past couple years especially more Talent added and arj getting better how is it to just like block those guys and be able to block for those guys and and lead the way for them uh they definitely uh make our job a little bit easier up front uh we have one of the I would say probably the most talented running back room in the country uh just a solid group of guys who are willing to uh put their foot in the ground get vertical uh go get the that we need um at the end of the day though it comes down to us putting our hats on our hats up front uh and giving them opportunity to do what they do best Marcel was you know first day you know I don't know a whole lot happens new scrimmage yet but what was the highlight who had the who had a good day out there did anyone stand out any individual play that maybe uh you remember I'm not going to lie every time I was out there my head was in somebody else across from me so I'm not really sure exactly uh what was going on I know he uh broke a couple big runs and stuff like that so um I think overall we had a solid first day like you said it's day one uh there's definitely some growing that we got to do but um I'm not worried about where we're at right now I'm excited I want to ask about one of your other captains KJ how has he commanded the Huddle and kind of earn earned that respect since walking in oh yeah he's done a great job uh he's still uh doing a a great job leading uh and I think he's one of those guys who really leads by example as well that's kind of where I see myself as well so a lot of times it's not necessarily hey like um he does a great job again commanding us up front and getting the offense Set uh and then also just being able to look back at him and be like oh like I know he's going to do his job how was how was the strength program different you know first sum under coach kiny uh how was how was it different and and where did you maybe make some improvement uh I think uh the atmosphere in the weight room was different uh it made everyone more excited to show up uh made everyone excited to train and get better uh um we did some more speed training just different uh it was different it was more specific to the needs of the guys um I think he did a great job just again preparing us to accomplish what we fell short of last year did you make any gains yourself that you were proud of uh I I mean I feel like I improved all around uh that's one of the biggest portions of the offseason is just trying to become the best you could be uh before we start the next season so I feel like I've uh made some Leaps and Bounds in uh what I'm trying to do uh just to prepare for camping this season coming up Marcel uh coach handis talked about the family atmosphere you guys have in your your group your unit what how has that helped you guys I mean when bringing in new faces and also having guys who have been back how does that help that being kind of that Brotherhood you guys have been build up in that group uh I think it it makes it easy when we talk about the cohesiveness and stuff like that um it's again like you said it's that Brotherhood um we're bringing in guys who come from great programs have played a lot of reps understand a lot about football um and just to be able to throw your arm around them and like let's do it together uh and it's also helps me out because I was one of the guys who came in last year so I've experienced it from the outside uh they welcomed me with open arms and gave me the opportunity to succeed and uh it's just our job to keep doing that with other people who get the opportunity to come play with usks yeah thank you guys