[Barron/MGoBlog]

Ben Gedeon

[I didn’t label these MGoQuestions because it was a one-on-one interview]

Where would you say you’ve made the biggest gains from last year to this year as far as technique’s concerned?

“I think just kind of honing in on the little details of my technique. That was big for me, going back and watching past years and seeing where I need to improve and kind of honing in on the smaller details of things. Getting off blocks, finishing tackles, finishing plays were the biggest for me.”

With Don Brown coming in, are you guys going to be dropping into coverage a little bit more or is it about the same as what you’ve done in the past?

“Pretty similar. But his motto is ‘Solve your problems with aggression,’ so we’re going to get after the quarterback. We’re going to be blitzing a bunch. We had aggressive defensive coordinators in the past as well. Coach Durkin got after the quarterback as well, so it’s not too much of a change for us.”

Technique-wise, what does Coach Partridge or Coach Brown preach to you most often?

“Just really getting off blocks and finishing tackles. That’s the art of playing linebacker. You’ve got to get off blocks. You can’t stay on blocks, you can’t trade one for one. You’ve got to finish plays.”

You were saying you feel like you’ve made pretty big strides as far as shedding blocks?

“Yeah, I think so. Spring’s a big fundamental time for us and I think altogether us linebackers got a lot better in that regard.”

How do you get better at that? Is it through drills, is it through live reps, or can you study it on film? What helps the most?

“I think it’s a combination of all of them. You start with the drill. You start not against another person and you hone in on the technique, but once you get to a live period sometimes you forget all that and you fall back on your technique and you evaluate it at film [sessions] and try to improve.”

What, if any, differences are there from last year’s defense to this year’s defense as far as your assignments are concerned?

“The biggest difference?”

Yeah, if there are any.

“Pretty similar. I mean, for me personally it’s just being more vocal and making the calls as a Mike linebacker. Play a lot of man coverage. No secret there. We’ll be blitzing a lot so we’ll play a lot of man.”

[After THE JUMP: Learn how Carlo Kemp became Chris Wormley’s psedo-son and which NFL players’ film Amara Darboh watches]

[Fuller]

Chris Wormley

When you heard that Don Brown’s nickname was Dr. Blitz was that kind of music to your ears or what did you think about the new style?

“Yeah. I think Dr. Blitz fits Coach Brown’s personality. As you saw at Boston College, he had the best defense statistically in the country. If you watch film on them they blitz probably 75% of the time, which fits in to me. Those tackles for loss, those sacks on third down is pretty cool to see and it excites us because that just benefits us.”

When you first heard he was hired what was your first reaction? Had you ever heard of him?

“Personally, Coach Brown, I hadn’t heard of him. We all loved Coach Durkin. We were all excited for Coach Durkin to be our coach but when he left for Maryland Coach Harbaugh said he was going to get the best guy. I guess when you’re the best defense in the country that speaks volumes, and Coach Brown is the best in the business, I guess, so—”

Is that sign in the locker room that says “solve your problems with aggression” new this year?

“That’s kind of Coach Brown’s thing. He had that in spring ball. Best way to solve your problems on a football field is you want to play with aggression and that usually takes care of it. We’re excited for that slogan and we’re excited to showcase that.”

MGoQuestion: Do you think you’ll be playing at 3-tech and strongside defensive end this year?

“I think so. I think there will be a couple guys that’ll play a lot of different positions, different packages. We’ll just have to wait [for] Coach Brown, see what he thinks, Coach Mattison, and just put the guys in the best position to be successful.”

MGoQuestion: As far as technique is concerned, how difficult is it to move from the inside to the outside in term of the angle that you’re taking?

“Yeah, it’s a little different but I played inside and outside my whole career so there’s a little familiarity on each when it comes to playing inside or outside. It’s going to take a little adjusting, but at the end of the day your defensive linemen are similar and you’ve just got to go out and play.”

MGoQuestion: Technique-wise, is there something different that Coach Brown teaches than what Coach Durkin taught or is there a lot of consistency because of Coach Mattison?

“Yeah, Coach Mattison has a lot of influence, especially on the defensive line, so we’re playing a lot of the same stuff. Probably a few things that we’ll do differently but you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Are you guys still going to use stunts as much as you did last year?

“Yeah. With stunts comes blitzing. Guy moves inside and the linebacker blitzes where you’re supposed to be and vice versa, so there’s still a lot of blitzing. Lot more aggression, lot more stunts. Especially as a defensive line, we’re excited to see that in action.”

As a defensive lineman, knowing you have guys like Peppers and Lewis back there, what does that mean for you in terms of pass rush?

“I guess we can be a little more greedy knowing we have guys like that that can cover guys more than three or four seconds, guys that can deflect the ball, guys that can get interceptions. Playing with them gives us free reign to be a little more aggressive, be a little more hungry to get those sacks because we know guys on the back end of the field are going to have our backs.”

Who are some guys you’ve been mentoring. I saw a picture of you with Carlo Kemp the other day. I guess he’s your son?

[/laughs] “Yeah, Carlo Kemp is my son on the team. It was kind of organic how we became friends. He’s almost five years younger than I am. I have a sister that’s older than him and my brother’s in high school, so he’s closer to his age. It just happened organically. He’s a great kid. I see a lot of myself in him, which I think is why we became such great friends in such a short period of time but yeah, him and Rashan’s another guy who’s been around, been in our workouts a little bit, so me and Taco have brought him along. I think those two will be a big part of our defense this year, so we’ve got to bring them along as quickly as possible.”

Have they been adjusting well to the college life?

“Yeah. I mean, Carlo’s been here for eight months now, so he’s been adjusted to it. So yeah, they’re doing fine. They’re doing real well.”

MGoQuestion: Where do you feel you’ve made the biggest advancement in your game from last fall to this fall?

“I think just the confidence. You know, getting out there and playing 60 or 70 snaps a game, you’ve got to have that confidence to go out there and dominate somebody or know that you’re not going to be the weak link on the defensive line. I think just having the opportunity to play a lot more snaps like I did last year brought the confidence up, and then working on everything that you need to work on to be a dominant defensive lineman each and every game.”

MGoQuestion: Who are the toughest players that you’re going to go against individually when you look at this year’s schedule?

“Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of good left tackles, right tackles, guards. I think we had the biggest trouble with Indiana last year just because of the fast-paced tempo. They have some offensive lineman that are quick and they’re big as well, so I think when you look at the schedule you have to take each game day by day, watch film, and kind of adjust to their type of play and be the player that you need to be to be successful.”

With everyone back except for Willie Henry, do you feel like your unit is the strongest in the nation?

“I think so. I know there’s a lot of hype around that. We’ve got great players like Taco and Glasgow and Mone and Hurst, Chase Winovich, and myself. There’s a lot of guys that can come in and play a lot of different positions and rotate, which keeps us a lot more refreshed to be the most productive.”

Mone missed all of last year. How does he look coming back?

“Good. He’s dropped probably 30 or 40 pounds. He’s as strong as can be. It’s exciting to see what he can do, because his freshman year he was just a freshman and he was still trying to learn the game of football. This year I think he’s ready to go and be a big, major part of our defense.”

[Fuller]

Amara Darboh

MGoQuestion: You were saying that coach Fisch has you watch NFL flim. Does he have you watch specific guys or is it more like, ‘Hey, watch how this guy runs a dig’ or ‘Hey, watch how this guy runs a hitch’?

“Yeah, he does the routes and stuff but as a receiver you kind of look at guys that are a similar build to you. I look at Larry Fitzgerald a lot and Julio Jones a little bit too, just guys that are a similar build to me. But he shows us routes, different routes and how they were run and even if it’s a little guy you try to do it to the best of your ability.”

MGoQuestion: Where do you feel like you’ve made the biggest gains as far as technique is concerned from last year to this year?

“For me, I feel like my release and just my speed. The speed is coming from being comfortable with the offense now, and I think now I’m more comfortable and not thinking as much. I still need to work on it, but I’m getting in and out of my breaks smoother and quicker and all that so yeah, all those areas.”

How do you feel about your ability to read defenses and make sure you’re in the right spots to, like you said, score more touchdowns?

“I’m feeling pretty confident. I’ve been watching a lot of film on that, just watching the defense that we have and we went through in the spring and stuff and then throughout the spring I kind of got used to it, so I had that advantage. Once the season starts I’m going to look at other teams’ defenses a lot more, too. I can’t really tell until I go against other defenses when I’m only going to have one chance other than the chances at practice.”

MGoQuestion: Speaking of watching film, when you have watched film who are the toughest defenders you’re going to face this season?

“I haven’t watched any film on this year yet.”

MGoQuestion: But of the guys you’ll face that you faced last year.

“Yeah, yeah. Obviously Desmond King from Iowa is one of the top guys and Michigan State guys are always tough. Ohio State, those rivalry games. I think a lot of DBs are going to come in trying to prove themselves because we have all that hype building around us and also our receiving corps as well. I think we’re going to get the best of everybody so we have to come into games prepared and just treat every game like we’re going against an All-American DB, which we do everyday in practice so it’s really easy.”