No player on the USC roster has more career starts than Max Tuerk's 33. And no offensive lineman has filled so many spots. And yet it's his bring-my-hard-hat-and-lunch-pail mentality that seems to resonate most with his teammates.
Tuerk is, by all accounts, a true elder statesman of the team. We caught up with the senior center recently to check in on his offseason, the maturation of the O-line and what's changed under new coach Bob Connelly.
How different is this offseason for you, seeing that you're finally preparing to play the same position for the second consecutive year?
MT: "There’s definitely a difference with the repetitions I’ve taken. The first year I was still trying to get the hang of everything, with the snaps and making all the calls. Now that I’ve taken so many reps, that stuff is coming a lot easier and I can work on my technique and work on the little things, work on communicating with the guys and helping everyone else out."
I imagine Toa Lobendahn, Damien Mama, Zach Banner and Viane Talamaivao are all probably feeling a bit of that, when you consider they were all playing for the first time.
MT: "Definitely. The more repetitions we have together, the more practice we have, the more PRPs we have, the more time we’re in the weight room together, that adds up and it helps us come together as a unit."
With Chad Wheeler in the lineup, what's the ceiling for the offensive line?
MT: "We can be great if we work hard enough. That’s how I look at it. We’re not there yet. There’s always things to improve on. We’ve been getting together every day, in the morning at 76 a.m. working our butts off, getting in the weight room, trying to get stronger. We’re always working on our communication, working on making our calls, working on the mental stuff, up in the room watching film together. We’re always trying to improve. That’s our goal, to improve. No one thinks we’re there yet. We’re not there yet."
You guys work together as a unit in a very different way than most positions. In what way have you guys grown since the end of last fall?
MT: "Like you said, last year was the first year some guys were playing, the first year we were all together. Over time, we’ve developed close relationships together, we’ve worked really well together. We know each other, know our tendencies, that definitely helps. Communications is probably the biggest part. When were all on the same page, that’s when we do stuff well."
We know you’ve been looking to get bigger. Where are you at with your strength and conditioning?
MT: "It’s coming along well. I’m trying to gain two or three pounds a week and I’ve been hitting that goal. I got a couple more to go. I’m trying to get about 290, 295 before camp. I’m going to try to stick there the whole season. That’s my goal right now. That’s what I’m really focusing on. I’m at about 285. There were times where I was at 270, 265 last year. I didn’t do a good job of keeping it on during camp last year. But this year I’m going to really work on eating a lot more."
You probably didn’t even know for certain that you would playing center going into last season.
MT: "I think I learned I was going to center about this time last year."
So are you just going to Five Guys every day?
MT: "Oh man, I eat everything. I try to eat every two hours. My favorite place to go is actually Chipotle. I could eat Chipotle three or four times a day. I could easily do that. That’s my favorite. It’s right down the street."
A lot of people are interested to see what will be different with Connelly at the helm. How would you describe the changes he’s made?
MT: "We’re working a lot on the little things right now, on our steps, on our footwork, being mentally tough. He’s really big on being mentally tough, being mentally aware of all of our assignments. You’re going to see a really close, tight-knit group of guys this year. There’s going to be no selfish guys on the offensive line. You can’t be selfish if you want to play on the offensive line. And we’re working hard every single day."
Is there a directive to be more physical, especially given how important the run game is to Steve Sarkisian?
MT: "The run is always important. A lot of that falls on the offensive line. We’re working now on getting stronger, getting mentally tougher, that’s a big thing for us, physicality in the run game is definitely big. Mental toughness is doing the right thing even when you’re tired, even when you’re hurt even when something’s not going your way. We can work on it. Ivan (Lewis) has been working on it a lot with us with our conditioning. It’s when you’re tired, you just got to dig down and keep going."
Tuerk is, by all accounts, a true elder statesman of the team. We caught up with the senior center recently to check in on his offseason, the maturation of the O-line and what's changed under new coach Bob Connelly.
How different is this offseason for you, seeing that you're finally preparing to play the same position for the second consecutive year?
MT: "There’s definitely a difference with the repetitions I’ve taken. The first year I was still trying to get the hang of everything, with the snaps and making all the calls. Now that I’ve taken so many reps, that stuff is coming a lot easier and I can work on my technique and work on the little things, work on communicating with the guys and helping everyone else out."
I imagine Toa Lobendahn, Damien Mama, Zach Banner and Viane Talamaivao are all probably feeling a bit of that, when you consider they were all playing for the first time.
MT: "Definitely. The more repetitions we have together, the more practice we have, the more PRPs we have, the more time we’re in the weight room together, that adds up and it helps us come together as a unit."
With Chad Wheeler in the lineup, what's the ceiling for the offensive line?
MT: "We can be great if we work hard enough. That’s how I look at it. We’re not there yet. There’s always things to improve on. We’ve been getting together every day, in the morning at 76 a.m. working our butts off, getting in the weight room, trying to get stronger. We’re always working on our communication, working on making our calls, working on the mental stuff, up in the room watching film together. We’re always trying to improve. That’s our goal, to improve. No one thinks we’re there yet. We’re not there yet."
You guys work together as a unit in a very different way than most positions. In what way have you guys grown since the end of last fall?
MT: "Like you said, last year was the first year some guys were playing, the first year we were all together. Over time, we’ve developed close relationships together, we’ve worked really well together. We know each other, know our tendencies, that definitely helps. Communications is probably the biggest part. When were all on the same page, that’s when we do stuff well."
We know you’ve been looking to get bigger. Where are you at with your strength and conditioning?
MT: "It’s coming along well. I’m trying to gain two or three pounds a week and I’ve been hitting that goal. I got a couple more to go. I’m trying to get about 290, 295 before camp. I’m going to try to stick there the whole season. That’s my goal right now. That’s what I’m really focusing on. I’m at about 285. There were times where I was at 270, 265 last year. I didn’t do a good job of keeping it on during camp last year. But this year I’m going to really work on eating a lot more."
You probably didn’t even know for certain that you would playing center going into last season.
MT: "I think I learned I was going to center about this time last year."
So are you just going to Five Guys every day?
MT: "Oh man, I eat everything. I try to eat every two hours. My favorite place to go is actually Chipotle. I could eat Chipotle three or four times a day. I could easily do that. That’s my favorite. It’s right down the street."
A lot of people are interested to see what will be different with Connelly at the helm. How would you describe the changes he’s made?
MT: "We’re working a lot on the little things right now, on our steps, on our footwork, being mentally tough. He’s really big on being mentally tough, being mentally aware of all of our assignments. You’re going to see a really close, tight-knit group of guys this year. There’s going to be no selfish guys on the offensive line. You can’t be selfish if you want to play on the offensive line. And we’re working hard every single day."
Is there a directive to be more physical, especially given how important the run game is to Steve Sarkisian?
MT: "The run is always important. A lot of that falls on the offensive line. We’re working now on getting stronger, getting mentally tougher, that’s a big thing for us, physicality in the run game is definitely big. Mental toughness is doing the right thing even when you’re tired, even when you’re hurt even when something’s not going your way. We can work on it. Ivan (Lewis) has been working on it a lot with us with our conditioning. It’s when you’re tired, you just got to dig down and keep going."
