Interview With California Golden Bear, Donovan Edwards

Last week, we talked to California Golden Bear Cameron Jordan about his time at Cal and his future.  Today, we are talking with California Golden Bear Donovan Edwards about his time at Cal and his future.  

Donovan Edwards' story is the classic "Local kid makes good."  Raised in the Bay Area, he graduated from Pinole Valley High School before heading over to Diablo Valley College (Go Vikings!).  From DVC, he transferred to Berkeley in 2008 to play the tackle position.  

Donovan Edwards had a lot of starts for Cal and was a key cog on the offensive line:

CAL CAREER (Career Stats): Played in 34 games with 18 starts all at right tackle during his three seasons with the program from 2008-10 ... signed by the Golden Bears late in the summer of 2008 and joined the team for preseason camp prior to that season.

He is well known to Twitterers as one of the more gregarious Tweeters on the team.  You can follow him here.  He was kind enough to answer some of our questions.  After the jump, you can learn more on the transition from DVC to Cal, the toughest defensive players he had to block, and much, much more.  Many, many thanks to Donovan Edwards for taking the time to answer these questions.  Good luck to him in finishing up his degree at Cal and his life going forward.  GO BEARS!

1.  How did you feel when you transferred to Cal & started playing football?

I was overcome with a great feeling of excitement when I first got the opportunity to transfer to Cal, because of the pride and tradition of school and football. Not only that I was also getting a chance to stay home and play in front of family and friends.

2.  What interested you in Cal?

One of the first things that I interested me about Cal was its apparent academic value that had a world wide appeal. Not too many people get to attend the number one public university in the world.

3.  What was the most difficult thing that you encountered when you transferred from Diablo Valley College to Cal?

The most difficult thing had to be the amount of workload each class at Cal required per week. I had never taken a class that once required a more than a hundred pages of reading per week, and at Cal in my first semester, I took 4 classes that required that much out of me.

4.  What's your fondest memory from the time you've spent on the team?

My fondest memory would probably be all the time I spend together with teammates on and off the field. Of course you're going to remember the games, but the majority of the time pretty funny moments happened in meetings, practice, and weights.

5.  What advice do you have for fellow recruits and other students about being a Cal student athlete?

My advice to any current Bears or future Bears is to buy into the program from day one and you'll be successful. Buying into everything this program requires of you on and off the field will set you up to be successful whether it's in the classroom or on the field.

6.  What's the one thing you can't miss out on when you are a student @ Cal?

I am little biased, but from talking with other students on campus, Game Days at Cal are pretty big deal with the parties, pre-gaming, BBQ's, and of course Cal Football on Saturdays.

7.  Could you share your short term & long term plans after getting your degree? How will you use your Cal experience to help you achieve your goals?

Currently as of now, I'm on track to complete my degree in Legal Studies this spring.  I'm considering a number of avenues to take. The one walk of life that interests me the most is becoming a UCPD Officer, because I'll get a chance to stay around the college I love, while also getting a chance to complete Masters Degree in Education. Other than that, my dream is to play in the NFL, but if that doesn't work out I will not be too sad because I had the opportunity to play with the best of the best at Cal.

8.  What's a typical day in the life of Donovan Edwards as a Cal student-athlete (practice, class, chilling, etc.) like?

Depending on the day, I'm usually attending classes in the morning to early afternoon, workout in the afternoon, and chilling at night. I don't live the exciting College Football Player live as depicted on several movies, but I like to think that I do.

9.  I would imagine an O-linemen has to eat a lot to bulk up. What's your typical diet like?

Oh wow, at Cal I've always had to maintain or gain weight, so I would eat at least four times a day, if not five. I always like to start my day off with oatmeal, lunch varies, dinner varies also.  My late night snack would be a PB&J sandwich with two glasses of milk.

10.  Have you ever had to play through injuries? If so, what were the toughest ones to handle?

Throughout the course of my Cal career I have never had to play through any serious injuries such as some my teammates.

11.  Who would you say is the most handsome of the offensive linemen other than yourself?

I would like to believe I'm the most handsome Cal offensive lineman lol

12.  You seem to be the Golden Twitterer. Are you this gregarious in real life? Do your teammates make fun of your habit?

This is a really funny question because most of my teammates cannot stand to follow me on twitter! They despise the fact that I can tweet up to a 75 times in an hour! Depending on whom you are, my twitter reflects who I am, but if I don't know you I will not be that open to you such as I am on twitter.

13.  Who's the funniest guy in the locker room? Who's the guy you don't want to mess with in the locker room?

I've been fortunate to come into contact with some pretty funny guys on the team throughout my time at Cal. The funniest guys in the locker room over my time at Cal would have to be CJ Moncrease, Jermey Ross, Devin Bishop, and Cameron Jordan.

14.  What things did Steve Marshall teach you with regards to pass protection and run blocking?

I've learned a lot from Steve Marshall as it pertains to pass protection and run blocking. This includes everything from technique in pass pro to the importance of getting your second step down in run blocking.

15.  You were coached by both Jim Michalczik and Steve Marshall. What were the similarities and differences in their coaching styles?

Coach M and Coach Marshall had pretty similar coaching styles, both knowledgeable of the game with slightly different personalities. They had far more similarities than differences and that's due to the fact of their longevity in the game.

16.  Describe the responsibilities of a right tackle. What was the toughest thing for you to learn?

Right tackle such as left tackle, I had to be ready to face the opponents best pass rusher as teams flip their guys down to down. Along with that, the right tackle such as the left tackle had to be ready to block on the front side of run plays and well as cut off the backside, which is very important in zone blocking schemes.

17.  Who were your most difficult assignments to guard off the edge at Cal? How did you try to deal with them?

My most difficult assignment over the years had to be the double team tandem of Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore at U of A, Nick Reed at Oregon back in 2008, and Dexter Davis at Arizona State in 2009. Dealing with these guys, I had to watch film to see if they had any tendencies on certain down and distances, such as Nick Reed like to utilize a spin move on 3rd and long plays.

18.  What would you say was your most effective blocking move on the field?

That would easily be the hook and reach of outside defenders on one of our fast outside zone run plays.

19.  What was your favorite football play as a Golden Bear?

Favorite plays had to be one of screens or reverses where I got out into open space to block a small safety.

20.  Which offensive linemen should we watch out for in 2011?

Watch out for Mitchell Schwartz, as I'm sure he'll be dominant in 2011.

21.  Give us your early prediction for the 2011 Cal football season. How do you think the O-line will perform, and how do you think the team will perform?

The Cal O-line will perform pretty well in 2011 with the guidance of Coach M and senior leadership of Mitchell Schwartz and Sam DeMartinis.

22.  Thai Basil, Top Dog, Steve's, or Taco Bell?

Never been to Thai Basil, not fond of Top Dog, and I would choose Steve's over Taco Bell any day.

Many thanks to Donovan for taking the time to answer these questions.  Good luck to Donovan with the end of his time at Berkeley!  GO BEARS!