Cal Football: Zach Kline, Guitarist Extraordinaire

(via Lindsay Brauner)

If you missed part I of our interview with Zach, watch the video below this one or read the transcript!

[Lindsay strums away]

Zach Kline: Totally sound like the Stanfurd band.

[Lindsay attempts again]

ZK: No, no, no no no.

[Lindsay gets ready to go again. Zach quells the urge.]

Lindsay Brauner: Can you do any better?

ZK: [nods] Mmmhmm!

[strikes a tune]

LB: [feeling emotions] Anyway...

[stopped again, exasperated]

LB: So Zach, Cal fans seem to fixate on players who are going to be the next Jahvid Best, the next Desean Jackson. How much does the team pay attention to the opinions of the Cal fan base?

ZK: You hear about it and definitely some of the guys all try and play like [Desean], especially the receivers, they'll try and play like him, look like him. But the players don't really pay attention to it. They kind of keep a lot of the stuff the fans say out which is really good, the good and the bad. And I think that's the way it should happen. You just got to worry about what's in front of you and the play that you're doing right now. The fans could be on your side one moment and they could hate you the next so you never know. They do a really good job at that, especially in the locker room, guys really coming together this year.

Also, being a family. Like last year we would always say it, but you'd never really see it. This year, I'm really seeing it in the team, which is really good.

LB: Zach, you committed to Cal early and were really influential among the other recruits in kind of rounding them up and encouraging them to come to Cal. I know that some of them decommitted. Do you still talk to them, and are you really looking forward to beating any of them?

ZK: No, I really don't talk to many of them. There's a few guys I keep in touch with, but other than that we went our separate ways. I hope they're doing great obviously. I really want to beat Washington really bad. Really, really, really, really bad. Especially everybody else. But Washington is one of those teams that it's now a big rivalry. Same with Oregon and Stanfurd. All those schools that we either lost players to or just we necessarily don't really like. We just want to really get revenge this year. Really prove ourselves. This is a proving year for sure. A lot of the guys are fired up and ready to start tackling and winning games.

LB: Is there anyone that you hate as much as Stanfurd?

ZK: No. Not really. You don't like losing to Stanfurd. You just are kind of groomed that way when you're coming here. So Stanfurd's not cool, that's for sure.

LB: How do you feel about the Stanfurd band?

ZK: Uhhhhhhhhh....[disgusted]... Well last year I was on the sideline a lot and you kind of hear both bands and they weren't very good ... next question.

(via Lindsay Brauner)

LB: Zach, how do you feel about gluten?

ZK: My mom's gluten-free. [Lindsay is impressed] She makes weird rice stuff. I don't necessarily even know what gluten-free means.

LB: Gluten is a protein found in wheat and barley and it's very toxic.

ZK: [Nods curiously] Oooohh.... weird....

LB: Do you have any book recommendations for us?

ZK: I really like the book Blue Light Jazz. It's an amazing book. It's unbelievable. I'm reading a book in one of my classes called Dracula. I don't like it. It's not very good. So don't read that book. But read Blue Light Jazz. It's a really good book.

LB: What's your teacher saying about Dracula?

ZK: Bunch of weird stuff that I never thought was in the book, but it is. [wants no part of it]

LB: Zach, thanks for joining us. I had fun listening to you play and I look forward to watching you play on the field.

ZK: [plays us off] Thanks.