The defensive line was the position that I got the best look at during the practice. They were doing the drills right in front of where I was standing. It was awesome to say the least. The DNA of Carolina's D-line has changed drastically since Spurrier took over as the head ball coach. I was very impressed with our D-line as well as with the D-line coach. Brad Lawing is a hard nosed, determined person that relies on repetition. He had at least 10 drills that I saw him go over with his massive squad and I was standing 10 yards from the action throughout the whole thing. What I mean by repetition is, he made sure each player new exactly what they had to do in each drill by making them do it over again until they got it right. It wasn't a "you screwed up, do it better next time" type of thing. I watched Cliffton Geathers do a drill at least 10 times back to back until he did it exactly the way Lawing wanted it to be done. He was hard on them but you could tell that they respected him.
Without further a due, I give you my defensive line evaluation of the practice:
Defensive Line
Eric Norwood: He showed that he is the leader of this group. He is playing the role as a teacher. After each drill was over, Eric was talking to the newcomers about how they can do better. He is very polished and looked like he was a senior out there as a sophomore. He is going to be awesome for this very talented Carolina defense.
Travian Robertson: WOW, this kid physically looks like he has been playing college ball for 3 years! He is the best looking, size and muscular wise, DE we have on the team and he is only a true freshman! He is quick with his footwork and did not repeat a drill one time. He knows what Lawing wants out of him and it was known in the spring that he is hard to block. I can't wait to see him with pads on and will not at all be surprised if he holds down a starting spot until Fall. The kid is truly amazing for a true freshman. See the pic of him and Cliff Matthews above. When you see this kid on the field this season, you will know what I'm talking about. He has some big years ahead of him and I think this season may be one of them.
Cliff Matthews: Cliff was the quickest lineman on the defensive side during the drills. He showed excellent footwork and speed. He needs to put on about 10 lbs. but he wasn't near as skinny as I was expecting him to be. He reminds me a lot of Ricky Sapp judging by the pictures I saw on Tigerillustrated. He, like Travian, knew what he was doing in the drills and was nearly flawless. I don't look for Cliff to redshirt this season but instead be brought in on special passing and punt blocking situations. Don't be surprised if you hear Cliff Matthew's name this season on a key play.
Ladi Ajiboye: I see now why Ladi is already on the first team at the DT position. He was another guy that I didn't see have to repeat one of Lawing's complicated drills. He seemed like he knew exactly what he was doing every time. He, after a while, started cramping and left to the sidelines, but what I did get to see of him was great. Very big kid but not much fat, he has some noticeable muscle. Very quick for his size. He is also a true freshman.
Clifton Geathers: Cliff could easily be the best looking of all the D-linemen with about 30 lbs. added to his frame. He is the tallest of all of them and has the longest arms I've ever seen. We he got in the backfield during the spring game, it was hard for anyone to get by him with his reach. The problem is getting into the backfield. Cliffton is going to have to put on more weight to make a contribution in the SEC. He is a slow learner and it will take time but I think one day he will be a good player. Redshirt is on the way for Cliff.
I think the DTs were off with the special teams group for a while so I didn't see much of Marque Hall and Nate Pepper but I knew both were there because I watched them leave after practice. These two guys are huge! Marque is going to help out a lot this season after suffering a leg injury in the UGA game last season in what was supposed to be his breakout year. He was granted a medical redshirt and will be a Junior this season. You guys remember Pepper. He was the one with the big return, then fumbled due to JD knocking out of his hands in the Clemson game. Besides that play, he was a huge contributor last season. Kenrick Ellis is by far the biggest guy on the team but he was running the sprints with Blakey the whole practice. He was a 4 star coming out of high school and I heard some great things about him in the Spring. He will be rotated in a lot this year. He is a MASSIVE guy!
Overall, the D-line will be close to the best position on our team this season. It will without a doubt in my mind be the most improved. This squad will make it very hard for opposing teams to run the ball on us this season and will hopefully put a lot of pressure on the QBs. This is what Tony Morrell had to say about the D-line after watching the first 2 Fall practices:
"I've been going to South Carolina's practices for several years now and games for much longer. I can safely say they have NEVER had a defensive line group that looks like this one."
Sounds very promising! I will cover the rest of the defense when I have time, had a big test to study for tonight. Hope ya'll liked what I did write.
