After redshirting in 2014 and receiving limited playing time last year as the backup to Graham Shuler, Jesse Burkett's role might increase exponentially in 2016.
Burkett is currently the leading candidate to replace Shuler, who retired from football with a year of eligibility remaining, as the Cardinal's starting center. Redshirt freshman Brian Chaffin is also in the competition, and fifth-year senior guard Johnny Caspers could be called upon if needed.
Cardinal Sports Report caught up with Burkett after Monday's practice, the final of the first session of spring ball, to discuss his development and responsibilities he handles at the center position.
Cardinal Sports Report: Transitioning in to Stanford, redshirting and then playing last year, what areas do you feel like your game has improved or grown the most from when you stepped on campus until now?
Jesse Burkett: In this offense I think it's a real accomplishment to say that I finally feel very comfortable with all the calls. Especially at center that's a big part of the game, so I think that's definitely the farthest I've come.
CSR: For the media, for observers, you can see physical play, but you don't really know what's going on with the calls. How hard is that to master? Can you take me inside how complex the calls are and what it takes to get down?
Burkett: It's kind of tough to describe. To get it down, we're always teaching the younger guys. Over the summer we meet every weekend and kind of take the young guys through it. Even in the offseason before spring, every Saturday we'd have a meeting to go through it. But after a couple of years you really have it down and you feel really comfortable in it and it's really beneficial to our offense.
CSR: Don't divulge any state secrets, but by calls, is that like calling out protection for different blitz pickups? What all do the calls encompass?
Burkett: Yeah, like pass protection calls, run combo calls. Pretty much anything you can think of related to the o-line we probably have a call for it.
CSR: How long did it actually take you to feel comfortable with that?
Burkett: I'd say by the beginning of this spring I feel the best I've ever felt.
CSR: This spring you are working with the ones, good chance you'll be the starting center. How is your mentality different, if it is at all, than the first two years when you weren't playing all that much?
Burkett: You kind of have to have the same mentality every day - come out and get better, that's all you can do. So it hasn't changed that much, but I definitely feel a bigger responsibility now to get better.
CSR: Did you play a lot of center in high school?
Burkett: I did not play center in high school at all.
CSR: What was the most difficult part of that transition aside from the calls - from a physical perspective - and how has that progressed?
Burkett: I had been having trouble with the snaps. Getting those snaps and stepping at the same time was just so different for me. It's something I had never done. But it was just something I had to work on, and I got better at it.
CSR: Finally, you go up against these defensive linemen on a daily basis. Are any of those guys particularly challenging for you to block?
Burkett: Well, we've definitely talked a lot about Solomon Thomas in the film room. He'll be fun to watch.
