[Fuller]

[I walked into the scrum mid-answer.] “Camp’s really been fun lately. I’m actually enjoying camp. You know, getting to spend time with the boys playing football. It’s crazy because usually different teams go do activities, but we just wake up, come down to Schembechler and practice. And that’s fun, to spend time with the boys.”

Do you think losing last year to injury changed your perspective on that, wanting to be back around and involved?

“Yeah. One thing that my injury taught me is just to be thankful. There’s people that can’t walk. I’m just grateful, grateful to play football.”

Obviously a lot of talent on the defensive line; you guys showed it last year. Do you ever think about if you were healthy, what it could have been?

“Yeah, I wish I’d be out there to be with the boys, but everything happens for a reason.”

With you back in the mix, can you talk about that depth a little bit?

“It’s really good. Coach calls it like he doesn’t really have starters, he has a two-deep group and everybody—basically anybody could play if [inaudible].”

Is it the depth that stands out most about the defensive line or is there something else that stands out to you?

“What do you mean by that?”

What stands out about the group?

“What stands out? We have a lot of veterans back, that’s what really stands out. We have so much leadership from the defensive line, and what’s really positive about the D-line is all the old heads we have.”

Why is that important? We know about the physical part of the defensive line, but the mental part.

“Mental part? Sorry, I’m lost.”

The leadership: why is that important as opposed to all the guys coming back?

“Oh, leadership! Because we have so many young guys—a lot of young guys. It’s good to have that leadership because it shows the younger boys what to do, and the vets throughout the whole thing have just been good leaders and everyone’s been backing them up.”

What’s Don Brown like to play for?

“Oh man, I love it. Coach Brown, he’s a fun coach you want to play for. I don’t know. Coach Brown, he’s just a great ol’ guy.”

What does he do that you like?

“He just brings the juice to every practice. In practices and in meetings he always has his juice. So much energy from Coach Brown.”

You talked about being thankful and you talked about the old heads a little bit. Do you find yourself in a position where you’re talking to the younger guys like, ‘Hey, don’t take this for granted.’?

“Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah, I talk to mostly all the freshmen. I took them in under my wing and just told them to be grateful because there’s no other place like Michigan. Everybody just likes and enjoys the struggle of being out there.”

[More after THE JUMP]

Is there one particular thing that you took away from that injury other than being thankful for being able to get back to football? Is there something that maybe you learned about yourself?

“Learned about myself when I was hurt? I’m more hungry. I’ve seen myself on the sideline. I might have told you guys this but being hurt, it sucked. I’m hungry. Take every play all out, not just on the field but off the field also.”

Mattison talks about having a two-deep. I know you said he doesn’t consider himself to have one starting group but two, and you compete for reps. How much does that increase the competitiveness between you and your teammates, even if it is that first group out there?

“What do you mean by that?”

You’ve got a lot of talent on your line. How competitive are you guys with each other?

“Oh, oh, oh. The competitiveness is crazy because everybody’s on it. It’s a good thing that we have that because it gets everybody better, the competition. It’s just nice to have that competitive defensive line, and not just on the defense. The whole team’s competing hard.”

What’s your personal goal for the season and what’s the defensive line’s goal for this season?

“Our goal is just to be the best, and really what we’re going to do is just continue to work the hardest and see what happens after that.”

Do you have a personal goal?

“My personal goal is just to be a great teammate. That’s my personal goal.”

MGoQuestion: Which offensive lineman that you’ve gone against has impressed you most in camp?

“Mason Cole. He’s been picking it up. He’s been really good at the center position. Like, switching from tackle to center, he’s picked up a lot. He’s good. He’s good there and I’m happy for Mason. Actually, our whole O-line, they’ve really been working, too. But Mason, yeah.”

MGoQuestion: And he’s a good player in space?

“Yeah. Great player.”

Do you and Ryan [Glasgow] ever talk? Different circumstances, but at the end of the day two guys coming back from--

“Yeah, me and Glasgow, man, we do talk about that a lot. Me and Glasgow, it’s crazy just to think about it because really he got hurt and I got hurt and our goal is just to get each other better. If one of us is having a bad practice or a bad day we pick each other up. That’s just as a whole D-line.”

[Barron]

Dymonte Thomas

[I jumped in mid-interview]: “…and where we’re blitzing at now. Took them a while to get it, but they got it. They’re doing a really good job of picking up our scheme.”

Will it put more pressure on you guys if they’re bringing people than to cover up?

“You know, we like playing man. We enjoy it. It’s you and a man. It’s one-on-one, and it’s just fun to go out there and compete.”

Ryan said that with Don Brown, the running joke is that he’s 61 going on 21. Is he that active in practice?

“Yeah. He’s here, he’s there, he’s always boom, boom, what are we doing, let’s go, bring it in! He’s always excited and he’s always moving, and like you said, it looks like he’s 21 out there on the field. We get back in the meeting and he’s calmed down, he’s more relaxed, he’s more chill. But he’s really out there on the field yelling, screaming, having fun, jumping around with us. He’s a really great coach.”

How have you guys responded? Is it vastly different than DJ was?

“No, probably the same. Just a little bit…Coach Brown’s probably a little bit more calm. Coach Durkin was a little bit more of a yeller, but it’s pretty much the same throughout the practice and everything.”

Which quarterback’s having more success against you guys?

“To tell you the truth, when I’m back there I don’t even pay attention. They all rotate in and out. They’re all doing pretty well right now, so it’s a great competition and a tight competition. Like Coach Harbaugh says, the best man will win.”

With the linebackers, everybody says that they don’t know much about these guys. I guess that’s the question mark. You’ve seen them in practice; your thoughts on them.

“I’m not worried. Our defensive line’s great; they’re going to stop the run. Our linebackers do a really good job plugging in gaps and feeding out to the corners and safeties. I’ve got faith in Ben and Mike. I know they’ll do well. I worked out with Mike throughout the whole offseason Monday through Sunday and he worked his butt off, so I know he’s going to be fine. I know Ben will, too. That’s the good thing: nobody knows much about them, but you’ll see them throughout the season making plays.”

Do you feel like they’re entering the season like they want to prove something? Both of those guys have played a little bit, but—well, Mike really hasn’t at all and Ben really hasn’t played to this level.

“Yeah, they’ve got a lot to prove. They’re going to play with a chip on their shoulder, but we’re not really worried about. It’s a team defense out there. We’re a team as a unit. We’ve got their back no matter what they go through. Like I said, they’re going to do well. They’ve been doing well for us throughout camp and also throughout the spring, so I think they’ll be perfectly fine.”

Your thoughts on what David Long and Lavert Hill are doing so far?

“They’re doing good. They’re both competing. They’re doing well. They’re going to be two great players for us as well.”

Is Khaleke [Hudson] just playing safety?

“Uh…yeah, just safety.”