North Carolina State University Athletics
#STATEOFGRIND: "Butt up, Sprinter's stance"
3/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
RALEIGH, N.C. - The Pack was back at it this morning with a contact practice in full pads. Coach Doeren said the defense had a "really good practice," and also singled out the running backs - freshman Reggie Gallaspy II in particular - and QB Jacoby Brissett as having good days.
"The offense is down a little bit numbers-wise and it's effecting them a little bit," he said following practice. "The receiving corps is taking a lot of reps right now so their fatigue is effecting them. We've got to help them get their legs back."
David Grinnage, who has been out this spring with an injury, got some work in during pass skel today and there were a few extra coaches on the field, as some of the players who participated in yesterday's Pro Day were out. Tyson Chandler was coaching Alex Barr up, while Art Norman was on the other field talking to the d-ends.
At the end of practice, Mickey Matthews, a long-time coach who led JMU to a national title in 2004 and was the national coach of the year, talked to the team. He told them a couple of jokes and told them that recruiting rankings didn't matter at all once they put on the college uniform. "You don't want to be the kind of guy who talks about it," he said. "You want to be the type of guys who gets it DONE."
Today's focus is on the defensive line. This group is especially young this spring, as RS-senior end Mike Rose and junior Monty Nelson are sitting out with injuries (sophomore Justin Jones is also out). That leaves sophomores B.J. Hill (T), Pharoah McKever (E), Kentavius Street (T) and Kenton Gibbs (T) as the elder statesmen of the unit. Most of the other players vying for playing time are mostly redshirt and true freshmen: Deshaywn Middleton (T), Deonte Holden (E), Coult Culler (T), Ty Linton (E) and Darian Roseboro (E).
Defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen is high energy during practice and may be the most hands-on coach on the field. Before a drill starts, he might be down on the ground physically moving a player's foot to the exact proper stance. On the next he might be pushing a hip down or a shoulder up. He coaches the mechanics of the positions ("Butt up, sprinter's stance" is frequently heard) as well as the physics (a lot of talk about power and torque).
When a drill begins, Nielsen doesn't say "Go," but instead tells them to "Work!" He is right on top of the play, yelling, spit flying. If someone makes a good play, he's jumping up and down and if they make a bad play, he's in their face. It almost seems like he feels their successes and failures personally. By the end of practice he is hoarse from yelling so much.
A good portion of position work was spent on "Bob and Swat" while working with the pads and going live against each other. The younger players, particularly the ends, seemed to get a ton of reps today.
Norman said during practice, "I knew Coach Nielsen was a good coach, but after talking to other d-lineman from other schools I've realized even more what a good coach he is."
The group is pretty serious during the entire practice (the absence of Rose might have something to do with that as he tends to lighten up any group). Rose also ranked third in the ACC in tackles for loss last year, so the unit is definitely a stronger one with him there, but it might be a positive that with him out, younger ends are getting more reps.
