Young Toothless in repose [Fuller/MGoBlog]

What’s it like for you to be back in the mix?

“It’s great. I really missed playing football. Mostly I just missed the camaraderie, I feel like. When you’re hurt, you’re not playing, you have to sit out. You don’t get to play with your friends—these guys are your best friends, your teammates, guys you work all year with to achieve your goals, and not being a part of that really hurts.”

How much did it bother you down the stretch last season to watch and not be a part of it?

“It…the thing that bothered me was I felt like I was hanging my teammates out to dry. I know we played a lot of up-tempo teams and you need depth against those teams. You can’t expect four or five guys to go out there and play every snap against a team that’s snapping the ball every 15 seconds. So, I felt like I could have done more. I felt like I was kind of hanging them out to dry, for lack of a better term, out there, so that kind of hurt pretty bad.”

You were saying at the linemen camp that you felt you were healthy and ready to go. Are you able to assess it better now that you’re actually going against people?

“Yeah. I mean, there’s no substitute for a 300-pound man trying to block you. So, it took a couple days to get back in the swing of things but I feel great. I feel 100%. Feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. Everything’s going great.”

How about the depth as it stands now? They’re talking about rolling lines.

“I’ll let Coach Mattison and Coach Harbaugh talk about the depth chart. It’s not really my place to talk about it.”

Harbaugh was saying that Michael Onwenu is possibly his favorite player on the team—or favorite of the freshmen, that he’s going both ways. So are you going against him and working with him?

“Yeah, he’s a mountain of a man. He’s a big guy. He was playing defense and giving us looks as an offensive guard in individual, you’re just like, ‘This kid is huge.’ And he picks up on everything really quickly. If you can play offensive and defensive line both as a true freshman or you’re rolling through depending on the day, whichever side of the ball they want you to play, that’s pretty impressive.”

If you had to guess, how much would you say he actually weighs?

“Um…I think the most recent weigh-in was about 375, so I think that’s the heaviest on the team by about 50 pounds. That’s a pretty wide margin on a college football team.”

But he still can move well at that size?

“Yeah! He moves extremely well for a guy who [inaudible].”

You felt earlier you could have done more last November. Medically, you weren’t allowed to play, right?

“No, I wasn’t. It’s just the feeling like I was I was out there with my guys. Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know. It was just a weird feeling sitting at home. I’ve been traveling basically every game since my redshirt year, and so watching on the couch instead of being there, it was just a little strange.”

Does that make you reassess things, not coming back by the end of the season?

“Yeah, it’s just like this game does end and having it taken away so abruptly—like, if I was a true senior or something that could have been my last game, [the game] against Rutgers. It kind of makes you take every day and cherish it and not take it for granted.”

What was the rehabilitation period like for you and the recover period like for you?

“I spent six weeks in an immobilizer. Just a little wedge thing right here to keep it still to let it heal. But our strength training staff and our athletic training staff was great, especially Jason Williams, a Michigan grad. He took probably about an hour out of his day every day to work with me for God knows how long. Probably like two weeks straight. So, that was great and I really appreciate the strength staff and the athletic training staff for that.”

What’s your reaction to the new boss on defense?

“He’s the man. He’s awesome. It’s a little different being coached by him. He’s not as big of a screamer as our past defensive coordinator but he gets the point across. He’s a great guy. His defense is awesome and we’re excited to play in it this year.”

[After THE JUMP: the origin story of Young Toothless and a little technique talk with McCray]

With the numbers that you have on the defensive line, do you feel that you’re better equipped is someone was to get hurt there or if multiple someones were to get hurt?

“Coach Mattison certainly likes to rotate, As of now, I’m not sure how many people he sees rotating in. Could be eight, could be nine, could be seven. Depends on how many people earn that right. Based on that, how [inaudible] we’ll be if someone goes down, we’ll see by the end of camp.”

We’ve heard that Chris can move inside and outside, that he has that ability. Are other people playing multiple spots or are most of you guys kind of set where you are?

“The expectation is to learn more than one position. If you play nose, you’re supposed to learn 3[tech]. If you play 3, you’re supposed to learn nose. Chris is at that 3. He’s big enough to play inside and outside, so I’m pretty sure Chris knows all the positions on the defensive line. If you play Anchor you’re supposed to know End and vice versa, so I’m pretty sure everyone could double up their positions if needed. You don’t get the reps at that position all the time, but I’m pretty sure everyone could play two positions if needed.”

Did you lose a tooth?

[laughs] “Yeah.”

What happened?

“Long story.”

That just happened now or what?

“No. Got it knocked out when I was really little and had it put back in. Then last camp I caught an elbow when we were just doing a walkthrough and I was like, ‘Wow, this thing is actually loose. Like, it might fall out and bite the dust at any time.’ So, then after last season I was like, ‘Okay, this thing has to come out.’ Scheduled it, then this summer had it taken out, had a little procedure done, so after the season I’ll have a permanent one screwed in and it’ll be all better.”

Do you like it? You like the look of missing one there?

“At first I didn’t like it at all. I have a fake tooth. Left it at the dorm today.”

Do ever mess with people with it?

“Yeah, I’ve done that a couple times. When I first lost it and someone would hit me brushing by I’d pop it out. ‘Look what you just did!’”

You said you lost it when you were little. Did that involve one of your brothers?

“Yeah. Jordan, actually.”

What did he do?

“We were racing around the cul de sac on our bikes. Jordan was still really little and had his training wheels on. Throws on the brakes, I flip over his bike, land on my face, knock out my tooth. So, uh, yeah, that was Jordan’s fault.”

You ever play any hockey?

“Roller hockey back in the day. I was a young prodigy. Not a lot of ice hockey teams in the middle of Illinois, but it would have been a great spot to play—second sport.”

MGoQuestion: Does Graham really call you Young Toothless?

[laughs] “He, uh…not really. We were just messing around when I first got out. We were both home and he just called me Young Toothless out of the blue so I was like, you know what, that’s a pretty good nickname. It was pretty funny. So, it stuck a little bit, for a couple days. But now everyone’s back to Ryan, for the most part.”

[Upchurch]

Mike McCray

In addition to Coach Brown, you’re also working with a new position coach in Chris Partridge. How has that been going? What have you been seeing from him?

“He’s a great coach. He’s real smart and I’ve learned a lot since we started working with him. I feel like I’ll get more throughout the season.”

Were you surprised to see another freshman linebacker come in with the same number as you on the roster?

“No. There’s a lot of guys on the team so they double up on numbers sometimes. I wasn’t really that surprised.”

How have you seen Devin Bush progress since the spring?

“He’s progressed a lot. He’s my roommate and everything, so we get along real well. He’s a great kid.”

And you guys are at the same spot, right? The Will?

“Yes.”

Is that something where you guys have different skills? You’re a lot bigger than he is. Is it something where there’s different sets that you guys are in?

“Not really. We kind of are about the same, I’m just a little taller than he is. He’s about as big as I am. Not bodyweight-wise, but about the same thing scheme-wise.”

Anyone standing out to you in the freshman class aside from the guys at your position?

“They all look pretty good. They’re all competing, just trying to learn the playbook and everything. That’s the biggest thing for them now is just learning the defense.”

MGoQuestion: As far as technique is concerned, how different are the drops this year compared to what you were used to last year?

“You mean pass drops?”

MGoStatement: Exactly.

“It’s about the same. I think everybody’s about the same. It’s the same technique as probably around the country at the linebacker position, so I think probably about the same.”

MGoQuestion: Are you dropping into coverage more this year, or is there more man coverage?

“It’s about even. We mix it up, man coverage and zone coverage. So, probably just like anybody else in the country.”

MGoQuestion: Technique-wise, if you have to take somebody coming out of the backfield, what’s the best way to do that? What are you taught to do?

“I was taught in high school—you know, my dad, he played linebacker as well. He taught me inside out. Take away the inside and then I got here and Coach Brown, it’s the same thing.It’s been the same.”

MGoQuestion: What are some of the biggest differences from last year to this year as far as what you’re being taught technique-wise?

“Technique-wise it’s really the same, you know. Like I said before, it’s pretty much the same thing around the country at the linebacker position.”