[Isaiah Hole/WolverinesWire]

Spring Practice Presser 3-20-19: Shaun Nua Comment Count

Adam Schnepp March 21st, 2019 at 8:00 AM

Coach, tell us how it’s been in your short time so far here in Ann Arbor.

“It’s been good. It’s been really good. It’s a great honor to be here. Grateful for the opportunity to be at such a prestige school at such a high level. It’s been great. Cold as well.”

Why did you come to Michigan?

“It’s Michigan, man. You know, if you’re in this profession, if you’re a player or coach, you want to be the best. You want to be at the top. You want to compete at the highest level, and it can’t get any higher than this. Everything’s set up so we can get some goals accomplished and get there. Michigan can help us do that.”

On a somewhat inexperienced line, with losing guys, is it good to have a Carlo Kemp?

Great to have a Carlo Kemp, Kwity Paye, Aidan Hutchinson, even Jeter. Those guys—and Dwumfour. Those guys had some experience. I don’t know if all of them got to start but just the films we watched, experience is so invaluable. It’s great to have a young group with some experience so yes, it is really good to have a Carlo Kemp.”

How much film did you watch of last season to a feel for these guys?

“Every game. You try to watch every game and learn the defense that way and try to learn the personnel and yeah, so a lot.”

How would you describe your coaching philosophy?

“High energy, good teacher, and someone that can rally the guys and just come together and help each other accomplish team goals.”

[Talking about a post-Chase/Rashan/Mone DL after THE JUMP]

Kemp talked about you building on stuff they’ve already been taught. How do you mesh that when you have your own way of doing things?

“My way probably—you always want to be yourself, but these guys have a great foundation with coach Brown and even coach Matty, what he’s been doing here for many years. You want to take all the positives and try and continue to build on top of that. And then whatever I could bring to help that thing escalate to a higher level, you add on to it. But these guys have been successful for a long, long time. I know the end of the year not on a very high note, but you can’t overlook the success that they’ve been doing for a long time, since coach Harbaugh and coach Brow have been there.”

Not a guy that’s had the experience on tape but he’s been here for a few years: what’s it been like to work with Luiji Vilain and what have you seen from him so far?

“Impressive. Very, very athletic. Very, very smart. He got out there and I thought he was going to be rusty but he’s off to a great, great start and he’s had some injury problems but crossing my fingers because he’s a good, good athlete.”

How good can he be, do you think?

“They sky’s the limit with him because he’s very athletic. He can play Anchor and End, so I’m very, very excited with Luiji and it’s time for him to shine. And he’s ready for it. He’s very, very anxious and he’s excited for it.”

Mike Danna’s not here but why was it important for you to bring him in?

“Experience. He has experience and he was very productive at his previous school and he’s a guy that fits in right with what we’re doing. And he’s a great young man as well.

Hold on. I can talk about Danna, right? Yeah? Yeah, cuz he signed. Sorry about that.”

Offensive line coaches talk about having seven or eight guys ready to go. As a defensive line coach, how many guys do you want to be able to have ready and rotate in there in the course of a game?

“You’re only as good as your depth. You never know how the course of a game goes but three deep, if that’s a good answer for you. However many coach Harbaugh and coach Brown say I get to travel, that’s how many should be good. You’re only as good as your depth.”

Harbaugh said the other day this is the most eager, most ready-to-go early enrollee group he’s had thus far. Of your three guys, what have been your impressions of those guys? Ojabo, Smith, and Newburg.

“They’re here, you know what I mean, so they have an advantage to be ahead of whatever young men that are not here yet. Very, very impressed with Mazi’s strength, Ojabo’s athleticism, and so is Newburg, but the sky’s the limit for them, too. And them being here is going to help them a lot, and they all have to have the mindset that they’ve got to contribute this year.”

Is Don Brown pretty much hands off? You obviously know what his system is and what he wants, but does he just say ‘Do what you do’?

[/smiles] “Don Brown’s never hands off! He’s the kind of leader you want, you know. He wants to make sure that the things from the nose to the back end is correct, and that’s exactly how I want it. I want someone that’s very experienced. I’ve been following him for a long time now. It’s just a great honor for me to be in the same room with him and learn from him, but at the same time I’m excited to contribute and help him with the defense but he’s tremendous to work for.”

Why have you followed him so long?

“He’s been successful everywhere he’s been. When he was in Boston College, one year he [had the] #1 defense with the worst offense. If you’re a coach or anyone in this profession, you look at who’s at the top and his name keeps popping up, so you’ve got to follow who’s best.”

Harbaugh mentioned among many positions he might try out Ben Mason on the defensive line a little bit. Have you worked with him at all yet and if so what are your impression?

“Yeah, Ben Mason, what he has is the mindset. Mentally tough and enough athletic ability to help us on d-line, so would love to take him any time, any day.”

Getting back to Kemp for a minute, he’s played linebacker here, he’s played defensive end. He actually asked to move inside a year ago. What do you see in him that allows him to do that?

“Great leader, very unselfish, and very, very intelligent. I’m putting a lot on his plate to be a leader and lead this group because he has experience and he’s very unselfish in that way, and the guys love him. You know, the guys love him. So, Kemp has a huge role not only on the d-line position but the whole team.”

You talked about following Don, but the defensive line here the last few years has had a lot of success, a lot of guys who went to the NFL. How much of that did you pay attention to when you took this job, that this is sort of a factory now for defensive linemen?

“Michigan’s always been good with producing guys who go to the NFL. You come in, you’re like ‘Dang! I wish Rashan would stay’ but you always want what’s best for those young men. Very excited for them. Great for them, great for the program. It’s the name of the game: next man up. It’s been fun watching Rashan and Chase and even Mone in the middle. I thought they did a great job last year. I’m a fan of those guys.”

The one thing Don said about Kwity—he got a lot of time last year when Rashan was hurt—is that he sort of came out of his shell. Have you seen that? He’s sort of a quiet guy generally. Have you seen that?

“Kwity’s competitive now. On the football field you may not—he may not talk to you guys a lot, but he pushes the guys. ‘Pad level’s too high!’ He yells those things out. But he is a special player. I can’t wait for him to do his thing.”

[Ed. A- I wasn't at the presser last night, so thank you to Isaiah Hole for the video from which this was transcribed. He's a good dude with thoughtful Arrested Development takes.]

Comments

Sten Carlson

March 21st, 2019 at 9:32 AM ^

My question : “coach, you watched EVERY defensive snap of every game from last season ... why, in your expert opinion, does the Michigan DL — despite being an elite unit with potential first round talent — seem to struggle drawing holding flags, and with batting down passes ... and, are those things that you have coaching techniques that you can instill in future Michigan defensive linemen?”