University of Connecticut Athletics
Getting to Know the Freshmen: OL Chase Lundt
9/29/2019 3:21:00 PM | Football
Freshman offensive lineman Chase Lundt is a long way from home here in Storrs. He is from Arlington, Texas, and is determined to bring some of that Texas spirit to the UConn football program. We got to learn some more about him last week in an interview.
Q: You're all the way from Arlington, Texas. Why UConn?
CL: I just thought whenever I came up on this campus, I felt like I could make a difference coming from Texas. Texas high school football is a lot different, so I feel like with that, I could come up here and bring my leadership skills. Maybe not my first year but throughout my next couple of years, I could help change the program with that and bring that dog mentality into everybody. I think we'll be successful with that.
Q: How does Connecticut compare to Texas?
CL: A lot more rural. Where I'm from, it's more suburb area, so it's different. But Storrs is nice. I feel like I get away from everything. It's like a nice little island almost, just relaxing, but I like it so far.
Q: What's your favorite thing about playing football at UConn so far?
CL: Just getting the opportunity to be around all my teammates. All these guys are from all across the country, and I feel like with that, I can bring a bigger bond. Even though we're from different places, we can instill that bond, and it'll be even bigger come next season.
Q: The o-line is the most veteran group on the team, a lot of older guys. What's it been like being a freshman and learning around them?
CL: Obviously it's tough at times. I'm a freshman so I'm getting ragged all around a lot. But with the help of Matt [Peart], Ryan [Van Demark], Cam [DeGeorge], Nino [Leone] and some of those other guys, I feel like they're going to get me to where I need to be. I don't know what I'd do without them because those are my brothers, and I'd fight for them, I'd die for them.
Q: O-linemen tend to be the least appreciated people on the field. What's something football fans should know about the life of an o-lineman?
CL: Life in the trenches, man. It's definitely a different animal. I mean you're going up against guys that are like 6'4, 280 and just nothing but pure speed if you're playing a defensive end or something. I came from Arlington Martin [High School], where Myles Garrett played so I've seen how defensive ends operate.
Q: What's been the biggest transition from high school to college football?
CL: Just the amount of time you have to put into football now. You have to invest so much more time in it. Like with fall camp, we invested so much time into camp, so I think that's been the biggest change for me going into college football.
Q: What do you feel is the best thing you bring to the team?
CL: I think my best attribute that I bring to this team is probably leadership. With my [freshmen] group, The Goon Squad, I think I can bring leadership skills into that group. I think when we come our next couple of years and we start to evolve as a unit and we start to get our spots, I think that we'll be a really great team. I think our group can bring something special into this.
Q: What's something you think you can improve on?
CL: Definitely my footwork. I came from high school where we ran a lot of power offense, so I never really learned the two-point stance until I got here. So I think that'll be my biggest adjustment coming into here. I think after a little while that I'll be able to get comfortable with it. I think I'll be a lot more comfortable with the playbook, my fundamentals and my skills overall. I mean I'm very versatile, but I think with the two-point stance and everything, it'll definitely help me adjust.
Q: What's something you want UConn fans to know about you?
CL: I'm Texas made, man. I bring that Texas mentality in here, and I just want people to know that I'm not leaving here. I plan on staying here all four years, even five years if I'm redshirted. I just want to do everything I can to help this team and make us successful.
Q: What's something you'd like to accomplish over your whole time here?
CL: My goal probably is to be a captain one of my years. I did that in high school, and it was definitely a really good experience for me. I mean just being the leader for those guys, having them look up to me and just bringing that mentality into the room just really helped out our team. So I feel like if I did that here, then I'd really help change the face of the program.
