UConn FB O-Lineman Chris Fortin August 6

The Senior from Quebec is now married and looks forward to competing for a starting spot on the interior of the O-Line 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's have been like adjusting to to this new offensive line.
I guess without you lost three guys inside just it's
been like trying to build those spots. I mean we've
got a lot of spot open right now. I mean
we're trying to figure it out. So it's just like
a lot of experience going down. But like still our
tackles are there to help us inside, especially because we've
got a lot of people just moving around, and uh,

(00:22):
it's good, it's going well. We can start to figure
out some stuff right now. So I think it's going
pretty well. Those two guys been on the outside, they're
pretty They have been like our leaders so far. I
mean both seniors, like both like uh, harden, that'll harden
the tackles and games, a lot of snatter, a lot
of starts, so they get they help us on the
day basis about like scheme and like everything else, like technique,

(00:44):
like push us to push your limits and push your
standard to in the next level. What do you try
to do as far as to be a better leader,
What do you try to do? We just tried to
lead them and help the younger guys and the new
guys with the scheme and stuff. Like that because like
I feel that's one of my strengths, knowing the ADA
playbook by heart, because now that's their third year with

(01:04):
that system. So I'm trying to help the new guys
to get the acclimentated. I claim it. I just get
better in it. Yeah, sorry about that, No, you got it.
The militari reliment. I mean, like you've maybe seen today,
like a lot of rotation inside like try like red
Fright Center, Like we we move a lot of people

(01:27):
inside just to figure out the best five. Did you
did you get the home much over the summer or
did you get did you go home for very long?
I stayed here because like I'm newly married, so I'm
just staying in uh with my with my wife. So congratulation,
thank you once you get married. January sixth, fourteenth. Okay, great.

(01:47):
What's it been like to go from having all of
your teammates and now be remember of the coaching staf
Sorry no, no, oh no, yeah yeah, I mean it's
just like a lot of experience coming back that can
help us. Like that was a great friend, like that
that's still a great friend, but like now he's like
in coaching position, so like uh, like we can like

(02:09):
meet and everything like outside, but like still we when
we talk inside like the football facilities, Like he's still
a great help for us, like because he's done it
for a long time and at a high level, and
you're just like helping us on the on the basis,
how does coach Sam's go about building chemistry with a
lot of when we first got here too, Like you
did a really good job. How did you go about

(02:30):
doing that? I mean just like he made us like
work all the time together, mix it up, but like
still like met by pushing up by doing a lot
of reps, like in like in India, like doing a
lot of reps together so we can no understand like
the people next to us, and like uh when we
were when we're doing our stuff by ourselfs uh during

(02:51):
the summer, just like trying to figure out like with
I have a lot of reps with everybody and like
stuff like that. So like I took a lot of
reps next to Chase, a lot of reps next to Val,
a lot of reps next to all the centers and
stuff like that, just so we can like build that chemistry.
So when we came into camp and stuff like that,
like we start, we already had like some type of

(03:13):
like chemistry, just talking about it's hard enough being a
student then being an athlete and oh, by the way,
a husband. How do you balance all of that? I mean, it's, uh,
it's there. The days are pretty long. I mean it's
like I woke up at four and like do my
chore at home, like and after that, walk the dog
and stuff like that. I just like tried to balance
that because like I'm gonna come back probably like late

(03:35):
because I'm walking back home because like it's pretty close.
But like it just at some point you understand it's
fullball time and like that's my dreaming goal to get
to the next level at some point. So she understand that.
So we make it balance. Like when we got their
day off, we just like tried to hang out a
little bit more and stuff like that. Which is Sophie Sophie.

(03:56):
So yeah, she a student or she was a student.
She graduated in uh Smiths Spring. Uh. She work at
a bank right now. So how far is the watch
for you to go home? Twenty minute? Said that bad? Okay,
keep keep myself in good shape. Chris, what's it like

(04:16):
going against Big three up front? Of every day in
practice with Jilani Price and uh, it's uh, it's pretty intense.
Like Jelani got that twitch on him like he he
got he make me neat. You get me to have
perfect technique every day because if not, like I'm getting
like open and like exposed. But like that just helped

(04:37):
me to get better just because like with Jilani Dal
if I'm not perfect on my technique, like I'm gonna
I'm just gonna get like exposed. So I'm just like
that make me take about my technique on the day
basis to just like have a good rep against them
and like having a great practice with that