CHAPEL HILL – Austin Blaske owns two national championship rings, but don’t look for him showing them off on social media, or even within the walls of the Kenan Football Center.
Blaske is incredibly proud of the rings earned as a member of Georgia’s back-to-back national title teams from the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but he’s not at North Carolina to look back, he’s there to look forward.
“I don’t like to talk about it because, obviously I want to bring a national championship to Carolina…,” he said after practice Wednesday, the Tar Heels’ eighth of fall camp. “I’ve had a few guys, Bo Burkes and (Zach) Greenberg come over, ‘Can we see the rings?’ I’m like, dude, ‘y’all can take a look at them.’
“But I don’t like showing them around and stuff because I’m at a new place. That’s who I was, who I was with. Now, I’m here, I’m with a different team, so I want to focus on us and a national championship.”
Of course, it had to be asked. No way Blaske could avoid being asked if he’s compared his rings to UNC Coach Mack Brown’s, who won a title as a head coach at Texas.
“I saw his when I came up here on my visit, I’ve not seen them since,” he said. “So, honestly, I don’t remember what they look like. I can tell him Coach Brown, ‘I’ve got two, you’ve got one.’ (laughter)”
Blaske earned a degree in History at UGA, and his brother is still a student in Athens.
Above is video of Blaske’s Q&A session Wednesday, and below are some notes and quotes from what he had to say, beginning with a few of his stats:
*2023 season: 29 snaps; 15 run block with 64.4 PFF grade; 14 pass block with 59.9 PFF grade; 0 sacks allowed; 0 hurries allowed; 8 special teams plays.
*Career stats: 158 snaps; 114 run block with 64.4, 74.6, 66.9 PFF grades; 44 pass block with PFF grades of 59.9, 74.3, 77.0; 0 sacks allowed; 1 hurry allowed; 10 special teams plays.
*UNC Coach Mack Brown insists every time he speaks with the media that the offensive line is better this season even though it lost four starters and replaced them largely with inexperienced players that are unproven. So, even though Blaske wasn’t at UNC last year, he has watched film and is aware of how the group performed, so he replied to the question.
“We’ve definitely had some guys step up such a Trey (Trevyon Green), Howard (Sampson), some guys playing left guard – Aidan Banfield, Malik (McGowan), especially Willie (Lampkin). Me and him holding down that room.
“You can see the jumps that we’re making communication-wise, and just playing-wise, you know, playing with more effort and more intensity. The season’s right around the corner, we’ve got Minnesota coming up in about three weeks, so we’re really starting to turn it on since the spring and are really jelling together and becoming a really good unit.”
*True freshman Aidan Banfield made an impression early on last winter, and then in the spring, and continues to. He is getting in a lot of work with the White Team (second team), and appears as if he’s truly making a push for a spot in the rotation. Banfield, who is 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, hails from talent-laden Buford, GA.
“He is a very talented freshman. He’s very strong, doesn’t say much, he’s very quiet. He’s a yes-sir, no-sir guy, very respectful to coaches, very respectful to his teammates. And he works really hard. He comes in every day with that blue-collar mentality, puts his head down and works.
“When somebody does that, they’re doing the right thing, (and) they’re going to have an opportunity to play here. As a freshman, that’s really impressive.”
Blaske was asked a follow-up question about Banfield about how rare it is seeing a newcomer on the o-line with a chance at getting on the field right away.
“I have not. Even in my time at Georgia, I really haven’t seen anybody that’s flashed as a freshman. I guess one person is Amarius Mims; honestly (he was) a first-round pick. Even he didn’t start his freshman year.”
*It isn’t often an offensive lineman goes from Division III to a power conference and has a chance at getting on the field in some capacity. Zach Greenberg arrived in June after attending Muhlenberg College, and is backing up Blaske at center. Blaske’s thoughts on Greenberg:
“We’ve developed a relationship. We live in the same apartment building, so we hang out every night, listen to country music. But he really came in here and he’s really done a great job playing. (He) plays a little bit of guard, too, but transitioning to D3, Power 4 football is very impressive.
“His knowledge of the game is very impressive. For somebody who’s not played center (previously), he knows where people are going to blitz before it even happens… He plays very fast. That’s another thing, the speed of the game from D3 to Power 4 football is way different.
“So, he’s really just adjusted to the speed of the game. I’m really glad to have him on our team.”
