Each week this season Penn State has made an assistant coach available to media via teleconference. This week it was defensive line coach Sean Spencer's turn.
Among many topics – the Wild Dogs, their ritual of a pregame rawhide bone that gets carried out onto the field, Carl Nassib, of course – was the freshmen defensive linemen.
Spencer went in depth about each of the true and redshirt freshman DL who are on scholarship, emphasizing how "even if they're redshirted, we make those guys study and take notes.
"We give them the same test as the older guys because you'll never know when they're preparation will be called upon in a game."
DE Torrence Brown (6-foot-3, 250 - R-Fr.)
- "One thing about Torrence that we always liked: He was the small school basketball player of the year in the state of Alabama. Just a tremendous athlete. A D-end with that type of athletic ability, he's the quote-unquote best basketball player on the team. We have a lot of guys who say they are, but they all know that if Torrence was playing basketball against them, he'd give them all he can handle.
"He's got a great skill set. He can play on the perimeter. He's also strong enough and powerful enough to play against the run and he's also probably one of the more dynamic pass rushers that we have."
DT Antoine White (6-foot-2, 292 - R-Fr.)
- "He came in as a mid-year kid, and it was a little fast for him. He really should've been going to the prom and things like that, but he was working with the team in January (2014). He's improved and with the guys in front of him that he sees, they're good guys to follow. Anytime you're following Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson, Barney and Parker, you get an opportunity to see how those guys work and how these guys have success on the field by working hard.
"Talent was never the issue with him. It was just learning the schemes and being consistent. He's worked on improving that. I mean, he's improved every week. When you have success in a game, you're confidence goes up. He actually developed a Wild Dog chant for us. He can start writing music because he did a pretty good job with that."
DT Ryan Buchholz (6-6, 254 - Fr.)
- "Ryan is, first of all, a tremendous talent for us. He's capable of playing end and capable of playing three-technique. Obviously in our first year we didn't sign a defensive tackle. He was one of our (2015 recruits) that we said, if we need him to project inside, that he could. We try to put the best players in the best positions to be successful and we think he has a chance to be pretty good there. He's an extremely talented kid. He's a guy who is versatile enough to play end or three technique."
DT Kam Carter (6-4, 271 - Fr.)
- "First of all when we recruited Kamonte, he was 245, 248 pounds. He came into camp about 284, so his body was going to eat him himself inside. We always knew that. The guy played quarterback in high school, played stand-up defensive end and linebacker. So, obviously, he's a tremendous athlete. When you put that size on an athlete that's what you're looking for."
DE Kevin Givens (6-1, 238 - Fr.)
- "That guy is so explosive. He's really a ball of muscle. You hit him on the back and it's like hitting a brick wall. We're very, very excited about the future of Kevin Givens in our program. When we recruited him, he played linebacker, full back (and defensive line.) Where do you play him? I think we found a home for him at defensive end and we're excited about him moving forward."
DE Shareef Miller (6-5, 245 - Fr.)
- "Shareef is a guy who has unbelievable twitch and unbelievable abilities to get off the ball. It's funny. I know they're from the same area, him and Deion Barnes, but they have an unbelievable resemblance on the field of (how) they learn and the way they carry themselves.
"I'm really impressed with how Shareef has gained weight. We recruited him when he was 225 pounds. He's now somewhere around 248 or 249 pounds. He's just learning the game himself. I think it's great to be able to have that guy redshirted right now. You can learn from those older guys. You've got Nassib and Sickels ahead of them as guys to watch. Then you have guys like Torrence Brown, a redshirt freshman who is coming on the field and having success. So I think Shareef is excited for the coming years."
DT Robert Windsor (6-4, 286 - Fr.)
- "He's a guy who we were really excited about when we recruited him. We were lucky to get him as late in the process as we did. He's ben everything and more than we thought he would be. Obviously, we'd like to continue to redshirt him, if possible. We'll see how the season goes. He's a guy who can play for us now. We're working on some things for him, just picking up the schemes and those types of things, but he plays hard. He's going to attack you. We're really excited about him for the future of our program and the future of our defensive line."
Among many topics – the Wild Dogs, their ritual of a pregame rawhide bone that gets carried out onto the field, Carl Nassib, of course – was the freshmen defensive linemen.
Spencer went in depth about each of the true and redshirt freshman DL who are on scholarship, emphasizing how "even if they're redshirted, we make those guys study and take notes.
"We give them the same test as the older guys because you'll never know when they're preparation will be called upon in a game."
DE Torrence Brown (6-foot-3, 250 - R-Fr.)
- "One thing about Torrence that we always liked: He was the small school basketball player of the year in the state of Alabama. Just a tremendous athlete. A D-end with that type of athletic ability, he's the quote-unquote best basketball player on the team. We have a lot of guys who say they are, but they all know that if Torrence was playing basketball against them, he'd give them all he can handle.
"He's got a great skill set. He can play on the perimeter. He's also strong enough and powerful enough to play against the run and he's also probably one of the more dynamic pass rushers that we have."
DT Antoine White (6-foot-2, 292 - R-Fr.)
- "He came in as a mid-year kid, and it was a little fast for him. He really should've been going to the prom and things like that, but he was working with the team in January (2014). He's improved and with the guys in front of him that he sees, they're good guys to follow. Anytime you're following Anthony Zettel, Austin Johnson, Barney and Parker, you get an opportunity to see how those guys work and how these guys have success on the field by working hard.
"Talent was never the issue with him. It was just learning the schemes and being consistent. He's worked on improving that. I mean, he's improved every week. When you have success in a game, you're confidence goes up. He actually developed a Wild Dog chant for us. He can start writing music because he did a pretty good job with that."
DT Ryan Buchholz (6-6, 254 - Fr.)
- "Ryan is, first of all, a tremendous talent for us. He's capable of playing end and capable of playing three-technique. Obviously in our first year we didn't sign a defensive tackle. He was one of our (2015 recruits) that we said, if we need him to project inside, that he could. We try to put the best players in the best positions to be successful and we think he has a chance to be pretty good there. He's an extremely talented kid. He's a guy who is versatile enough to play end or three technique."
DT Kam Carter (6-4, 271 - Fr.)
- "First of all when we recruited Kamonte, he was 245, 248 pounds. He came into camp about 284, so his body was going to eat him himself inside. We always knew that. The guy played quarterback in high school, played stand-up defensive end and linebacker. So, obviously, he's a tremendous athlete. When you put that size on an athlete that's what you're looking for."
DE Kevin Givens (6-1, 238 - Fr.)
- "That guy is so explosive. He's really a ball of muscle. You hit him on the back and it's like hitting a brick wall. We're very, very excited about the future of Kevin Givens in our program. When we recruited him, he played linebacker, full back (and defensive line.) Where do you play him? I think we found a home for him at defensive end and we're excited about him moving forward."
DE Shareef Miller (6-5, 245 - Fr.)
- "Shareef is a guy who has unbelievable twitch and unbelievable abilities to get off the ball. It's funny. I know they're from the same area, him and Deion Barnes, but they have an unbelievable resemblance on the field of (how) they learn and the way they carry themselves.
"I'm really impressed with how Shareef has gained weight. We recruited him when he was 225 pounds. He's now somewhere around 248 or 249 pounds. He's just learning the game himself. I think it's great to be able to have that guy redshirted right now. You can learn from those older guys. You've got Nassib and Sickels ahead of them as guys to watch. Then you have guys like Torrence Brown, a redshirt freshman who is coming on the field and having success. So I think Shareef is excited for the coming years."
DT Robert Windsor (6-4, 286 - Fr.)
- "He's a guy who we were really excited about when we recruited him. We were lucky to get him as late in the process as we did. He's ben everything and more than we thought he would be. Obviously, we'd like to continue to redshirt him, if possible. We'll see how the season goes. He's a guy who can play for us now. We're working on some things for him, just picking up the schemes and those types of things, but he plays hard. He's going to attack you. We're really excited about him for the future of our program and the future of our defensive line."
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