Coach Johnson & DL Talk Fall Camp
8/17/2023 12:57:00 PM | General, Football
On how much his unit looks at stats such as total sack numbers
“It could be the combination of a lot of things. When you talk about sacks you’re talking about a stat. We don’t look at stats, we look at the unit stats. What are we doing as a unit? Are we applying pressure? I think that’s what we will have to wait and see how it goes. I want the concept to be that we have four guys, a unit, working together as best as we can to stop the run and then have an opportunity to rush the passer. That’s our goal.”
On Mike Hall’s performance on the field and his leadership skills
“He’s explosive, quick and has good instincts. It's all of the things you want to see from a guy that plays inside. He’s done a great job of doing that. I think he leads by example at times, really working hard in practice.”
On Ty Hamilton as a player and a leader
“Ty is very strong, very smart, understands the game very well and I think he has really great leadership skills. He's an outstanding student in the classroom. All those things tie in to make him a really great leader, and he is very vocal.”
On Kenyatta Jackson improving
“He’s a dude who kept his head down, kept going, kept doing all the little things and trusting the coaching he was receiving. He’s been one with the brotherhood.”
On teammate Jack Sawyer
(Jack) playing the Jack (the position) helped him. He’s reading things a lot better and it helped his mind. I know that's a difficult position but he came with a hungry mindset and kept it going for all of us.”
On how him and Jack compliment each other
“Energy. I see him on the end and we just feed each other. When he’s hype, I’m hype and that’s just how the whole defensive line works.”
On what makes him a good fit for the “jack” role.
"I think my experiences as both a linebacker and down lineman probably help me with that. I’m versatile in that position and you need that for the position. So I think that’s why they saw me there and kind of what I could be and then successful on the field in that position.“
On what potential he sees for the “jack” role this year.
“We could do a lot of things and [coach Larry Johnson] is doing a great job figuring out ways that we can be successful. I think there are a lot of things that can happen.”
On what is the biggest role he needs to fulfill in the position.
“I think the biggest thing is just being aggressive. Just going as hard as I can off the staff. You know, I’m trying to disrupt as much as I can. So I think that's the biggest thing, being aggressive.”
On his older brother being a blueprint for success
“Of course I look at him as a blueprint. I’m my own person but I definitely want to use that blueprint and amplify it. I wanna be able to do better than him and what he did, and just use his teachings and take it and use it to my advantage.”
On what has changed the most about his game
“Confidence. Coming off the back half of the season playing pretty well, it gave me confidence to go out there and dominant so when my number is called I can just go out there and play.”
On if he envisioned himself getting to where he is now as a big nose tackle
“I didn’t. I thought I was coming in to play as a defensive end, but I think it’s definitely a blessing to be where I’m at now because Coach J saw a vision in me and now I’m here so I just can’t help but be grateful.”
On where he is compared to a year ago
“Ever since I got here my goal has been to come in and compete as best as I can and work as hard as I can. Injuries held me back. Getting over those and continuing to work hard has gotten me to where I’m at now.”
On what it means when Mike Hall is at his best
“When Mike Hall is at his best, I think we’re all at our best. When he is playing well, we all come together and play as a whole. He brings energy, we all bring energy.”
On improvement made by the defensive line during camp
“We’ve all been working on our first step as a collective unit. It’s just finding every little thing you can do to get better and to get to the quarterback faster.”
On achieving goals and aspirations set out for a career at Ohio State
“We talked kind of all together as a unit before camp started this year and came to the conclusion that we have to focus on the day and we can’t let what we want to be and what we want to achieve personally effect the day that we are in right now. Coach Day calls it finding the 1%, the 1% to get better everyday and before you know it you will be achieving all of those goals.”
On playing a different position other than Jack this year
“I feel very comfortable being back at defensive end. When the coaches and I talked at the end of the season, that’s what I wanted to do and that’s what they thought I was best at too.”
On how him and Kenyatta [Jackson] have been pushing each other this year
“I feel like us being together day in and day out, always looking up to Jack and JT, we’re just continuously trying to push each other to get to the next level of our game, our craft, and I feel like we always keep working with each other”
On the offensive line making it tougher for the defensive line in practice
“Everyday I feel like they’re getting better and they’re making everything a lot harder for us. They’re just making us work and get better in different ways.”
On focusing only on football instead of two sports
“Just to focus on one sport I can maintain that and don’t have to worry about going to swing a bat or fielding some grounders. So focusing on one sport makes my training better.”
On if playing baseball helped with football
“I would say [it helped] hip mobility. You've got to get use to swinging the bat to catch up to the fastball so it helped with my pass rush game too, trying to get my hips through in certain pass rush schemes.”
On going against Donovan Jackson everyday in practice
“He’s just good all around. Everyday we try to get each other better. He’s teaching me things on how to handle guards and I’m teaching him things on how three-techniques try to move.”
On returning from an injury that occurred at the start of camp
“I’m feeling good. I’m back running and back practicing, slowly getting back on the field. It’s better than having it happen at the end of camp and having to sit out of some games.”
On how his conditioning has improved year to year
“It’s definitely gotten better since freshman year. I’ve tried to maintain and build off of the previous seasons so I think I’m in a good spot right now.”
On what areas of his game he is looking to improve
“Everywhere. I’m looking to be a leader of the group now and bring the young guys together so we can play as one, play faster, the simple things. It’s a process, you won’t get it in a day, so over a long period of time I'm trying to work on those things.”
