Austin Blaske Q&A: New UNC OL Quickly Creates Impression

The Georgia transfer can play all five offensive line positions — maybe some jumbo tight end, too — and already has Mack Brown making a favorable comparison.

Adam SmithFeb 19th, 6:03 PM

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Offensive lineman Austin Blaske is a new arrival on the North Carolina football team, but he quickly has made a positive impression among the Tar Heels.

Coach Mack Brown already is comparing the Georgia transfer Blaske’s leadership qualities to the invaluable traits possessed by former UNC offensive lineman Corey Gaynor, the previous starter at center who served as a guiding force for the Tar Heels across the last two seasons. Brown said there are times when he looks out from his office on the fourth floor at Kenan Football Center, and notices Blaske practicing snaps with new Carolina quarterback Max Johnson, the transfer portal addition by way of Texas A&M and LSU.

“Austin has been fantastic as a leader. He has fit in,” Brown said this month. “I’m really, really impressed with his attitude. He’s been such a great leader in a short term. He was helping us recruit. He was wanting to go everywhere and do everything, so I love his attitude. He’s very similar to Corey Gaynor, and what Corey brought us when he came in here with his energy and toughness from Miami.”

Blaske, a 6-foot-5, 310-pounder, has joined the Tar Heels with two seasons of college eligibility remaining. He played in 18 games during the last three seasons at powerhouse Georgia, which claimed the 2021 and 2022 College Football Playoff national championships. Blaske competed with Earnest Greene III for Georgia’s starting left tackle position entering the 2023 season. Greene won the job, and injuries limited Blaske to appearances in three games.

Blaske said he consulted with Georgia offensive line coach Stacy Searels as he considered choosing UNC as his transfer destination. Searels worked at Carolina on Brown’s coaching staffs from 2019-21, before departing to take the same position with Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. Blaske said he was adamant with certain transfer portal pursuers about his preference to play inside at guard or center next season, rather than on the outside at tackle. He said UNC and Georgia Tech became his finalists during the transfer process.

“Honestly, before I came to visit here, I thought I was going to go to Georgia Tech,” he said. “I’m an hour away from my girlfriend in Athens, and I’m like three hours from home (Effingham County, Ga.). But then I came up here and visited, and I just fell in love with the place. I was like, ‘I think this is where I want to go.’ And I committed the next day. Actually, it was graduation. I committed the day of graduation in Athens.”

The Tar Heels are tasked with restocking and remaking their offensive line, with veterans William Barnes, Ed Montilus, Spencer Rolland and Gaynor having used up their college eligibility, and Diego Pounds having transferred to Ole Miss. Here’s more of what Blaske said when UNC introduced its new portal class …

What were you looking for when you got in the transfer portal? And what did you find once you had entered?

Austin Blaske: “Really, I was just looking for a spot that best fit me, academically and most importably, football. At this point in my career, I already have my college degree. I wanted to find a place where me and the coaches would get along. I think I can be used very well here. And just being able to show what I can do on the field, I think this is the best place for that.”

You also wanted to find a place where you can play a lot, right?

Blaske: “Absolutely, I wanted to go somewhere I was going to play, yeah.”

What’s it like talking shop with Willie Lampkin? He’s the only retuning starter coming back on the offensive line.

Blaske: “We’ve talked about a lot. He’s a guy in a leadership role, and I’m coming in and trying to step into a leadership role, being one of the older guys in the room. Having him there to kind of like, ‘hey, let’s go over this play, let’s do this,’ he’s kind of helped me get the playbook down easy. He’s been a big role in helping me try to step into a spot where I can help lead this team to make the playoffs this year, and hopefully win a national championship.”

Howard Sampson came in and had the connection with coach Randy Clements from North Texas. What was the connection you had here? Was there a familiar face you knew?

Blaske: “My dad’s from Texas, too, and so is Coach Clem. So they kind of have similar personalities being from Texas. Texas guys, they’re distinct. It was kind of relatable from that aspect. And I like Coach Clem, he’s a straight-up guy. He’s going to tell you how it is. He’s not going to sugarcoat anything, and I appreciate that. I respect someone who’s going to tell me how it is all the time, and not just tell me what I want to hear. So I like that, too.”

Did you get any sort of advice or advance scouting from Stacy Searels? Did you bounce any ideas off him, or ask what’s it like in Chapel Hill?

Blaske: “There were a few times. Me and Coach Searels have a great relationship. He’s a great guy, great coach. And I asked him about Coach Clements and everything. He was like, ‘he’s a great guy, great coach.’ Hearing that from him also kind of sold me on the place. Because I was like, ‘hey, my coach I had before, he’s telling me this is a good spot.’ And that really meant something to me.”

How has your high school wrestling background contributed to your agility and your ability on the offensive line?

Blaske: “It’s been a big part. Because in wrestling, it’s all about body control and balance. How you use somebody’s weight against them. And I think that a lot of people who say you shouldn’t play other sports, I think that’s not true, especially for linemen. I think you should wrestle, because it teaches you so much about your body. It teaches you how to use your weight the right way. And it’s fun, too. I went out there my freshman year and I was like, ‘hey, I’m just going to do this to stay in shape,’ and I winded up winning the state championship my senior year in high school. So I recommend that people do it if they want to be a good offensive lineman.”

Don’t know if Willie has told you, but he has a wrestling background, too.

Blaske: “Yeah, I’ve been giving him some words about it. The sport of wrestling’s a little different. We’ve actually wrestled in the locker room to see who’s better. But I’m not going to say who won.” (smiling)

You and Willie are pretty flexible guys on the line. Mack was saying you can play all five positions. In your mind, where do you see the two of you ending up Week 1?

Blaske: “I don’t know, because we both play guard and center. I’m going to be inside somewhere. That was a big thing about me coming here, because there were a lot of schools that wanted me at tackle, and I don’t want to play tackle. I think if I’m going to go to the next level, it’s going to be at guard.

“I think it’s interchangeable. We don’t know right now. We have a lot of guys who can play inside — Willie, Malik (McGowan), (Jonathan) Adorno. We have a lot of guys who can play inside, so it really doesn’t matter to me. Whichever fits the best for this team, that’s what I want to do.”

Georgia transfer Austin Blaske figures to play a key role for UNC's remade offensive line. (Photo: Adam Smith / Inside Carolina)

What kind of quarterback is Max Johnson? From what you’ve seen since you’ve been here, and over the years in the SEC.

Blaske: “He’s a great guy. I love Max. We actually go golfing together and stuff, hang out. We watch football games together all the time, (NFL) playoff games. … He’s a great guy. He’s very competitive. I can tell on the golf course, he hates to lose. I’m not saying he lost to me, I’m not very good at golf. But just from that, I can tell he’s going to be a great competitor on the field, and I’m very excited to have him behind us this year — or Conner (Harrell), whoever it is. I’m just excited to have him on the team.”

So the quarterback-offensive lineman relationship already has sprouted with Max. Take us on the golf course, what’s going on there? Does he swing lefty?

Blaske: “He’s a lefty, but he plays golf righty. Which is crazy. I think. I think he plays golf righty. Pretty sure he plays righty. We’re just so intense. I’m focused on myself, my swing. I’ll ask him … (Max confirms he plays golf right-handed from across the room). I just get locked in on the game. But we’re out there playing, it’s just super competitive. If he has a bad shot, he’s getting in his own head and he’s talking to himself and getting fired up. It’s pretty funny, though. But just knowing that he’s that competitive is making it very exciting for this year, just to see what he can do on the field.”

Mack said you guys were already working on snapping together and stuff like that. What’s working out together on your own been like since you’ve gotten here?

Blaske: “It’s been good so far. We’ve done it a few times each week. I’ve never had to snap to a left-handed quarterback. It’s actually different, because with a right-hander, it’s like this under center (demonstrates with both hands). And then he’s like this under center (flips hands, demonstrates again). So it’s a little bit different. It’s not bad, we’re getting used to it. It’s just the pressure to where you’re trying to push up on is different, because his thumb’s in a different spot and his middle finger’s in a different spot. But doing that together is kind of building our relationship even more. With the golf, too. Golfing, snapping together, doing these workouts, and just hanging out on the weekends, it’s really bringing us closer. And I think by the time the season rolls around, we’re going to have a great relationship and be ready to go.”

Did you play against Max at all as high school kids in Georgia?

Blaske: “I did not. He was 4-A with Oconee County, and were we 5-A. Well, we’re 6-A now. We were 5-A back then.

“… the chemistry, hanging out on the weekends, golfing together. Getting to know the guy that’s behind you makes a big difference. You know, ‘hey, I’ve got to protect this guy behind me. I’ve got to get the ball to him and do my assignment.’ It’s a big reason we’ve been hanging out and stuff, just so we can get to know each other. Just developing a relationship to where, ‘hey, I need to protect this guy at all costs.’ ”

Mack has been singing your leadership praises, that you have that kind of character. How does a guy who hasn’t been here come in and try to establish himself as a leader?

Blaske: “It’s a little bit different coming in as a transfer. We’re in the new era of college football, where older guys are coming in and stepping into a role where they have to be leaders. But I think there’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. You don’t want to come in and say, ‘hey, I want to be the leader of this team.’ You have to earn the respect of the guys. And I think that’s what I’ve been striving for these first few weeks. Getting the guys to respect me and respect what I do, so that this year I can contribute what I need to do for us to be a winning football team.”

What places were your finalists in terms of a transfer destination? What were the schools you gave the most consideration?

Blaske: “It was really two, because a lot of schools wanted me to play tackle. They were like, ‘we don’t want you at guard, we want you to come here and play tackle.’ And I was like, ‘I just don’t like it.’ And there were SEC schools that wanted me to play tackle. ‘I’m going to be straight up with you, I’m not playing tackle.’

“But my last two honestly were here and Georgia Tech. Because they really wanted me to play inside, and they’re a decent driving distance from home. That was a big thing for me, too, so I could go see my parents and my brother and my girlfriend, also. We’ve been together for four years, so that’s a big thing for me, too.

“So it was really those last two. And then honestly, before I came to visit here, I thought I was going to go to Georgia Tech. I’m an hour away from my girlfriend in Athens, and I’m like three hours from home. But then I came up here and visited, and I just fell in love with the place. I was like, ‘I think this is where I want to go.’ And I committed the next day. Actually, it was graduation. I committed the day of graduation in Athens.”

So you’re going to play guard and center. Do you play both guard spots?

Blaske: “I play all five (positions on the offensive line), but I’m comfortable at both. I’ve had to play both. I mean, I played guard and center this (past) year. Played a little bit of tackle this year, too. But I can play wherever they need me to play, honestly. I can play tight end, too. (laughing) I played tight end my junior year. I played tight end on goal line and if we were going for short yardage, I played tight end. I wore number 85.”