Player Blog: Chris Buck, "We had what it took"

Senior Offensive Tackle Chris Buck checked in with ADvantage Catdome to talk about his experience at Linfield and with the 'Cats offensive line over the past four years. Chris was an excellent example of hard work and making the most of your opportunities as Mr. Buck was named Linfield's 2009 most improved player of the year award after being inserted into the starting lineup during the 2nd week of the season and never looking back. Chris had a great senior season to cap off his time as a Linfield football player and will be missed in 2010.
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Football at Linfield is an experience I am very glad to say I have had. Coming from a sports family it was a dream of mine to play for a successful college program and I am happy to say that Linfield Football is exactly that. There are so many things in college that want to rob your attention and make you stray, and unfortunately many guys that join the Football team do not finish it out. Regardless of what position on the field a person has, to finish four years at Linfield on the football team is a great feat.

I spent my time on the Linfield football team as an offensive lineman with Doug Hire as my coach. While each year brought something new, this year will be the one I remember. In the beginning of the season the strength of our offensive line was in question. People were asking if we had enough experience or if we were strong enough as a core to protect for Boehme and create the lanes for our running backs. I can say with confidence that we had what it took.

The beginning of the season we had to adapt to a group of guys that had not all played together. We also had a rotation to find the best mix. Once we had established our line we were able to really thrive. We each were able to start reading each other really well on the field. This was by far the closest team atmosphere I have been a part of. Not just on the offensive line but on the entire team, between all position groups and I feel that greatly affected our team for the better.

On the offensive line each one of the players had their good games and each had their bad. It was a bad game that woke me up and caused me to start performing to the top of my game. My driving force was protecting Aaron. I do not know if it hurt me as much as it hurt him when he got hit, but I definitely felt it. I did my best to focus on one game at a time and even down to each play and series. I did my best to not look at the whole picture, so I am not sure when the offensive line peaked this season. I know that we exceeded pre-season expectations and did our best. I can end my career with no regrets and that is an amazing feeling.

Chris Buck #74
Class of 2010