Football: Defensive Line Meets With the Media Tuesday
Jim Heacock, defensive coordinator
On the defense
“We need to get better everyday. We need to be more dominate as a defense and need to get tougher up front. We have to get a better up front and improve our turnover margin.”
On replacing Vernon Gholston
“We have two different looks. One is with Lawerence (Wilson) at one end and Cameron (Heyward) at the other end and we are also working in Thaddeus Gibson in there. I really wanted him to get some reps in that spot.”
On Thaddeus Gibson
“He has had a great off-season and he is going to be one of the guys that see a lot of action this season for us. He has been great in the weight room and so far has been solid.”
Nader Abdallah, senior defensive lineman
On the offense
“I think that everyone on the offense has looked really sharp. Chris Wells had looked really good coming back from injury and Brandon Saine have looked very explosive.”
On the difference between last season and this one
“All of the guys have seen action now and it is more about just expanding our overall knowledge of the game and just gaining a better overall grasp of the game. We just need to get better every day.”
Todd Denlinger, senior defensive lineman
On the team
“We just need to work at getting more pressure as a team. It all starts with us on the defensive line. Last year the (defensive) tackles only had about four or five sacks we need to triple that this year.”
On lessons from last season
“We need to collapse the pocket. So often we were just trying to get up field. Now we know that we need to get inside and work as a four man unit in order to break down the protection.”
Lawrence Wilson, senior defensive end
On his injury
“At first I was sad about it, but I haven’t been down on it. I knew I had to think of the team and keep encouraging my teammates to go out there and win. Right now, I’m almost 100 percent healthy. I feel really good and I know I need to keep pushing myself to get better.”
On Vernon Gholston leaving
“He will be greatly missed. He was the best defensive lineman last year and him leaving can be a big toll on the team. However, we know we have to work even harder to fill that void.”
Doug Worthington, senior defensive lineman
On the defensive line’s strategy
“We want to keep getting better on both sides of the ball. We have an urgency to improve and everyone is stepping up and becoming a big roll on the team. It is easy to see how hungry the young guys are and how much they want to want to improve.”
On preparing for next year
“Everyday we are getting ready for next year. We are hungry and want to play our game. It is hard to lose someone like Vernon Gholston, but each guy has really stepped up."
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