For junior offensive lineman Mark Brazinski, the 2012 preseason camp is much different than when he first arrived from Immaculata High School in New Jersey as a freshman in 2009. He had earned a starting role at left guard earlier this spring before an injury in practice during spring drills forced him to the sidelines. He continues his rehabilitation and is hopeful to be back in action later this season.

In the meantime as Brazinski's fourth pre-season camp began this week, the studious offensive lineman who will graduate from the Haas School of Business later this month, sat down for five questions with the Cal Bear Blog.

How different is it for you to come in as a veteran now than when you were a freshman?
As a freshman, you come in and you don't know what is going on. You don't know which way is left and which way is right. You come in and the first day you learn eight plays against five different defenses and you try to memorize every picture. The second day, you learn eight more plays. By the fifth day, your head is spinning in every direction. Now that I have been here for a couple years, it is like second nature to me.

It gives you a different prospective, because each camp gets easier. You are in better shape and you are mentally stronger. This one will be a very interesting camp because of my position with the team. I think it is going to be a lot of fun. We are really getting after it.

I have been here for a lot. This is the third locker room we have had since I have been here but this place is a palace so it was well worth it.

What will it be like to play back inside Memorial Stadium?
Unfortunately, I am injured and won't be able to play on Sept. 1. I am looking forward to experiencing it as a player later in the season. I appreciated AT&T Park last season, but there is no place like home. You don't need to take a bus 30 minutes across the bridge to get to your home field where there is a dirt baseball field in the middle of the grass. It was fun, but when you are at home, you have that home feel. Memorial Stadium creates a special energy like no other. It really shows what college football is all about.

How is your rehabilitation going?
I met with my doctor recently and he felt I was ahead of our expectations now that we are three months since the surgery. Working day-by-day, everything that is supposed to be sore is sore and everything that is not supposed to be sore is not. I feel really good about it. I am getting after it a little harder each day.

How did you spend your summer?
Because of my injury, almost everything took a back seat while I continued my rehabilitation here on campus this summer. I had planned a trip to Europe, but had to cancel it to remain here because missing a week of rehabilitation could mean setting myself back three weeks or a month. My brother, who attends Cambridge in England where he is writing his dissertation, opted to come to Berkeley and be a visiting scholar this summer so I got to hang out a lot with him. That was a lot of fun.

Even though you won't get to compete on the field with your teammates just yet, how exciting is it to be back with the team now that preseason camp has started?
The next season really begins the day after we get back from the bowl game. We are here year-round. We hang out together, we lift together, we eat together. However, when camp starts, it is different. There is that feeling of 'it is time to get after it' and get the pads on and play. It will be great when we start playing the games in less than a month.