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Terry Price
Julien Obioha
Texas A&M Football

WATCH: Price, Obioha break down D-line riches

March 26, 2015
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Terry Price

On Qualen Cunningham, Daeshon Hall and Jarrett Johnson…
“Those three guys you mentioned have all – to me – done a very, very good job this spring getting better. They’re getting – to me – adjusted to a new scheme, which a lot of those guys have come off the ball a little bit, a little more speed. They’re taking advantage of it. They’re having a good time; they’re enjoying it. All three of those guys you mentioned are making big progress this spring. I’m happy with where they are right now.”
 
On Julien Obioha’s adjustment to the scheme…
“Some of it’s alignments, as far as how we’re playing our guys up front. Some of it’s looser alignments. The thing about this scheme, I guess, especially for the edge guys, is it’s predicated on those edge guys getting pressure. To me that’s the most important part. You hear Coach Chavis talk a lot of times about how if you have great corners and great defensive ends, you can play really good defense in this league. So as a group on the edge, all those guys are going to work to be the best rushers they can be in one-on-one situations, and that’s one thing we stress and work on every single day. There are some small nuances here and there, but for the most part being a consistent rusher on a down-to-down basis.”
 
On Obioha’s pass-rushing abilities…
“He’s really improved. He’s had a lot of time to work at it; that’s one thing we’ve stressed more than anything this spring. He’s worked at it. Honestly, I don’t think he’s blessed with the same skill set some of the other guys have, speed, quickness, and that’s the first step. But to me, what he lacks there, he makes up with technique and some hand speed and some upper-body technique. So, does he have the same skill-set some of those young guys have? I would say, ‘No.’ But he works his tail off, and he tries to do everything we ask him to do. So he’s getting better.”
 
On Myles Garrett’s development…
“I don’t care who you are, he has a lot of room to improve. He has a lot of room to improve as far as technique, stance, steps, footwork, hand placement – I mean, all the little things to become a great guy up-front in this league, you have to get better at, and he has to get better at. I think every day he’s getting challenged.

"He fell behind early, because he has some nicks and bruises and didn’t get a lot done, probably, those first six or seven practice days. But the last few days, he’s having to knock the rust off, and again, work on some of those techniques to help himself get better. Some more consistent pass-rush moves, work on some better counters and really be more physical at the point of attack in the run game are some things we’re trying to work on him improving this spring.”
 
On Daeshon Hall…
“He’s working hard to be more of a technician in his rush, not just depend on speed. That’s one thing he’s really worked on – we’ve worked on, together – as far as studying the game and studying how to make some of these moves and be more aggressive and more powerful with his hands.

"A lot of that was because a year ago, he was coming off of two surgically repaired shoulders where he wasn’t very strong from the upper-body. And when you’re not strong in the upper-body, you can’t use those hands violently like a boxer punches. That’s how you rush the quarterback. You’ve got to be violent with those hands. Because he lacked strength and had two bad shoulders, he struggled with the physical hand-movements of his pass-rush. Well I think now, he’s finally getting stronger. His shoulders feel stronger; he feels more confident, and because of that, he can be more physical with his hands and his upper-body. That’s helped him become a better pass-rusher.”

On what he’d like to see in Saturday’s scrimmage…
“Production. Improvement. One thing I was saying in that room, ‘Don’t make the same mistake twice.’ So I want to see across-the-board improvement. We’ll go here and grade this film tonight, and then, obviously, watch with the guys tomorrow. I want to make sure that we’re eliminating mistakes, become more physical at the point of attack in the run game and being consistent pass-rushers in one-on-one situations.”
 
On the defensive line’s depth…
“One of the things we’re working on a daily basis is combinations up front. I mean, we’re finally getting some bodies. A lot of them are still young, but a lot of them last year, as true freshman, played a lot. We’re going to find different combinations 1-, 2- and 3-deep that can get us through a season. You can’t play with one defensive line; we found that out a few years ago. You can’t do it, especially with young guys at that point. If we can develop a solid 1-deep, a solid 2-deep and some threes that can come in there and help us, we can go out there and rush and attack people with the best of them.
 
“The biggest thing is we signed a good class of freshman last year, and they’re all sophomores. As you become sophomores, you get older. You get wiser. You get better. You get stronger. You get bigger. You get faster. So the age on those young guys, along with the experience they had last year, is going to help them become better football players, and that’s going to help our team.

Julien Obioha

On having John Chavis and the new coaching staff...
“It’s been a new mentality. Coach Chavis is kind of bringing that swag that’s at LSU here. It’s really nice. Coach Chavis just has this really, really aggressive mentality. He thinks great defenses are aggressive so he’s instilling that mentality into us.”
 
On whether it changes the way that they have to individually play and approach the game...
“Yes sir. I’ve been watching a lot of films on guys like Sam Montgomery. The way the attack the line of scrimmage and the way they play defensive end, it’s just a lot different than the way we play defensive end here so I’ve just been watching them and it’s definitely changed the way I’ve been playing.”
 
On whether his skill set is a good fit for that style of defense...
“In my particular skill set it’s getting more shape in this style. Maybe my skill set last year wasn’t necessarily the best for it, but over this spring I’m shaping my skill set to blend more with that style. In particular, it’s really football-technical stuff. It’s not crazy stuff but it’s stuff I can I do that I didn’t do in the past. It’s just a different skill set, I just have to shape myself in a different way. That’s the way I look at it.”
 
On the scrimmage Saturday...
“We’re looking for a win. We’re looking to beat the offense. Personally, I’m just looking to get pressure on the quarterback, set a good edge on the run game, attack the line of scrimmage. Overall, defense is looking to get a win.”
 
On dealing with the change of style...
“Well, you know, it’s hard for anybody to change …being in a system for three years then going to another one. You’ve just got to look at it like everybody gets a clean slate, all spots are open. You’ve got to make your claim to a spot. It doesn’t matter if you’ve started two to three years or you’re a returning starter that doesn’t really matter.  In a new scheme all the spots are open, so you’ve got to study your play book like you’re a freshman.”
 
On the competition defensively...
“Everybody is trying to get a piece of the pie, everybody is trying to play. I can’t say who’s starting right now,  who’s second string, who’s third string. Everybody’s trying to get a piece of the pie and we’re all competing hard. It’s really fun. This is my last year. I have a great time out there with those guys. The young guys are pushing me hard. I’m pushing the young guys hard. It’s great out there.”
 
On the object of the new scheme...
“Coach Chavis said the first day he got here and he got the defense to play, he said, 'My goal is not to have eleven guys that are able to play, my goal is not to even have 22 that can play' — he wants to have 33 guys that can play. It’s just a battle, a war of attrition. Put one group, then put the next group in, then put the next group in. That’s the object of the new scheme.
 
“I remember last year I didn’t have to play a thousand plays, I only had to play fifty plays. This year I might only have to play thirty plays. Everybody is going to be a lot more fresh.”
Discussion from...

WATCH: Price, Obioha break down D-line riches

7,743 Views | 5 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by OleAg65
TexAgs Studios
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Staff
WATCH: Price, Obioha break down D-line riches
Maroonblood32
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Great post and thanks for sharing! What Coach Price said at the end was spot on. We got a group of young talented guys with more experience. We're gonna be bigger, faster and smarter. I am really excited to watch this happen next fall.
Burrus86
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AG
Thank you sharing!
Localhero88
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Hope price stays the long haul...haul love this coach
ccatag
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AG

OleAg65
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AG
Working for a new scheme spring and fall will play dividends, who will step up?
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