This morning offensive coach Daryl Agpalsa met with reporters and went in-depth on position battles, fall camp, cross-training players at different positions and how nutrition has played a big part.

Read some of the key things Agpalsa talked about in his press conference and the ongoing competition going at several position on the offensive line.

Talk about the competition at center with Shane Bumgardner and Bryce Foster…

Really good. You know, it's been really good. It's still a competition. Shane has taken a step from the spring to now, and he's more consistent, he's stronger, he's faster. Bryce Foster continues to get better every day. Sometimes I’ve got to remind myself he just got here, but those two have been battling it out, and I foresee a battle continuing this week.

What were your first impressions of Bryce…

Bryce Foster, good kid, you know, and in the recruiting process. He's got a great personality. I think he can have a great conversation, light up the room. Obviously, his size and strength is very noticeable off the bat as we've gotten him here. What's been very impressive for me as a coach is his football I.Q. He picks up terminology and languages pretty quick and schemes really quick. I think that's just helped propel him to where he is right now.

Did you envision Shane making that kind of jump he has and did you see that coming after spring football…

Yeah, it's a conversation we had at the end of the spring. He came here, and he's got a year left, right? And he came here for a specific reason because he wants to play. He wouldn't leave a starting spot, and we had a great conversation and talked about things he needed to do in order to take that step. He listened and he had a great summer and he's done a great job.

What were some of those things he did to improve…

Part of its nutrition, you know, coming from a lower level. Part of it was nutrition. Continuing to feel good about the offense and the system. You could tell at times in the spring there is just a little hesitation coming to a new system, and since then, it has not been that way this fall at all.

We have heard how complex the offense is, does that is make it hard to learn for a center…

Yeah, it's just added another layer, I guess, at the end of the day. Obviously we talk about everybody being in charge of their own success in the offensive line room, but, you know, they were a heavier load as a center, knowing that they have to make spots, IDs, checks, blitz calls, seeing the safety. So there is that added bonus or that added layer that they need to do. And I think both of them have done a really outstanding job to this point.

We have heard cross training a lot and how that can help the OL…

It's something that we've done a long time, and position flexibility is such a huge bonus in the offensive line. Coach Leipold and I have spent a lot of time together, and if something was to ever happen or we had to make a change, it's not always about getting the backup in. It's getting the six linemen in. And in order to do that, you have to have the ability to be multiple with your linemen. So, you know, Bryce (Cabeldue) going from one side to the other, going from guard to center to guard, we just have a greater plan if something were to happen to get the next best person in the.

And equally, I love the fact that we continue to develop people, and now they have to learn big picture what everybody has to do, just not keep it in a box and learn what they have to do at a specific position.

What have you seen from Bryce going to left and Logan to right…

You made that change? It was good. You know, obviously, Bryce has been all right tackle for a long time. He actually welcomed the challenge, and I talked to him about it before we did it, and he was very excited about the opportunity, he knows, for his opportunity, even at the next level. Right. To have that ability to show people that you can play both sides is really important. He's embraced it, and he's gotten better every day. Logan, before he was our left tackle, he played right tackle at his previous school. So to have the multiplicity with both of them, to put him one side or the other is a great advantage for us.

Do you see Cabeldue and Brown sticking with the change…

Maybe, I guess. I think we have another week or so until we kind of finalize it. And that's what I'm excited about, is I know we can plug and play Bryce Cabeldue anywhere. You know, the best part is we'll find that next lineman and see who's playing the best, and then he can move. And that's what's exciting to me as a coach.

We've seen Nolan Gorczyca play some tackle and guard, what has his growth been like…

Being able to play both those spots a lot. You know, he had to have the ability to really learn and understand the offense at both positions before he could sustain at a high level. It's been really fun to see his growth as lately in camp we've been actually flipping him from right side to left side with tackles and, you know, that's only going to make us stronger as a unit once we hit fall.

You mentioned nutrition how much has the helped with the linemen…

I'll tell you what, Katie O'Connor, she does a phenomenal job. She's our head nutritionist and she cracks the whip. She gets them going. And what I'm excited about, with Bryce (Cabeldue), is this, I think a lot of the offensive linemen made a lot of gains through Katie and our strength staff.

But Bryce in specific, he understands this is his last season and it just flips in your mind when you know you have 12 guaranteed opportunities left, what you're going to pour into the off season to make sure you're at your biggest and strongest and fastest going into the season. How he has changed his body. When I saw him even in January to now, he made a concerted effort in his nutrition and his strength.

And I believe this is the biggest and fastest and strongest he's been and that's exciting for us.

You guys have three freshman offensive linemen playing in fall camp what have you seen from them…

Oh, our babies. They're doing great. And they actually took the last four plays of the team period at the end of practice. And that's our tempo period. We're going quick. And they have to talk and communicate quickly to know what's going on. And they execute at a high level. So it's great. And I think what our program does holistically with two huddles, also with spotting a third group is they get a ton of reps. I've been at places where your young players don't play as much, and our program philosophy is to develop everybody in our program. And that's what's exciting to us is the ability to develop our freshmen so they're not just standing there. So we're really excited about all of them. I think they all have great prospects and potential to be great for us.

Obviously, they have to continue to develop like all young offensive linemen do, but we can't be more excited about them.

What have you seen from the inside interior and the competition at guard…

It is hot and heavy. It's been fun.I talked to you guys last spring and the one thing we want to bring to our room is competition. Competition to us, equals great growth. You know, human nature is sometimes just to be average and be okay. And when you're competing with someone, you have to be on your P's and Q's all the time. It's been really fun to see Darrell Simmons take a huge step. Kobe Baynes take a huge step. Michael Ford, as much as he's played for us. You know, earlier we talked about Bryce Foster, even Shane. There's so much. We talked about James Livingston. There's so much competition right now and that's fun for our room and it's healthy. It's not negative, it's healthy.

They all want the best for one another, but it brings out the best in each of them and that's what's been really fun for me as a coach.

Do you have a rotation number that you want to see on game days…

Not yet. It really just depends over the course of the next two weeks who steps up. We talk all the time in our room. We want to play the most consistent people that can stack plays individually, stack plays as a unit. Which unit has the best synergy? So that way we can stack quarters, halves and games. That's what we really want to do. So as many people as we can find that can do that, we'd love for them to play because we truly believe, especially at this position, the depth is important, but we'll probably figure that out in the next week or two.