Each week, I get to sit down with different 49ers players and alumni for the team's only player-focused podcast, discussing the upcoming game week and leading players through fan-submitted questions about football, life and everything in between. Offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and center Jake Brendel joined the 49ers "You've Got Mail" podcast presented by Manscaped to share more about their journeys to playing in the trenches and discuss their off-the-field interests.
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Here are five things we learned about McGlinchey and Brendel:
McGlinchey and Brendel may be NFL players, but in their spare time, they also like to binge Netflix reality shows. The offensive linemen are begrudgingly also binging "Love is Blind."
McGlinchey: "I wouldn't say I'm caught up, but I have seen bits and pieces. Brooke (McGlinchey's fiancée) uses it as a show that she has on in the background when she's working. I'll come home and catch the middle of an episode or something. It's just so bad."
Brendel: "Love is Blind" is probably the worst one I've seen. We love to watch it though."
The duo didn't always envision themselves playing in the trenches. In fact, they had dreams of playing quarterback and catching touchdowns passes. However, both of them are very grateful for how their football journeys panned out.
McGlinchey: "Offensive line is just kind of something that happens to you. For me, I was playing in high school, and I went to a small school so I played just about every position for our football team because I only had 35 guys on the team... I came in thinking I was going to play tight end and catch touchdowns and run. Then in my freshman or sophomore year, I picked up my first offer, and they said, 'We're not offering you as a tight end.'"
Brendel: "Where I grew up in Wisconsin, there was a weight restriction for people that could move the ball, so if you were a skilled position in the 4th grade, you had to be like 90 pounds. I was 140, so I was way above that every single year. The guys that could move the ball had little stars on the back of their helmets, and I was without a star so I had to be in the trenches."
Maintaining weight is an important part of being an offensive lineman, and McGlinchey and Brendel both had interesting stories of how they used to hit their daily calorie goals.
McGlinchey: "It doesn't happen at this level because you've got a little money in your pocket and you can do things the right way, but in college, you haven't eaten in a couple hours, you only have $5 in your pocket, so you're going to Little Caesars."
Brendel: "Over a summer I had to go from 230 (pounds) to 265, so I was eating three sweet potatoes and half of a Blue Bell ice cream every night just to try to gain weight."
McGlinchey and Brendel have hidden talents and interesting off-the-field interests. One of them is musically inclined, the other has a lot of experience with motorcycles.
McGlinchey: "I'm a human jukebox. I know the words to almost every song."
Brendel: "I'm pretty good on two wheels so either a bike or motorcycle. My dad's gift to me when I turned 16 was a Harley."
With the holidays quickly approaching, shopping is top of mind for a lot of people. The duo shared some gift-giving advice and past white elephant gift fails.
McGlinchey: "My thought process is always what I don't know who is going to wind up with my gift, but if they do get my gift, they will at least use it. It's like coolers, a grill, a travel bag of some sort."
Brendel: "I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but somebody brought a Theragun which we have access to an ample amount."
