Khaleke Hudson

Chris Partridge said he’s got blood in his mouth and every day that he wakes up he thinks about it. I’ve been told too that he reminds you guys of that, too. What are they saying to you in practice to remind you of what happened last year at the end of the season in the Ohio State game and with Mattison and Al Washington leaving?

“With them two coaches leaving, they had to make a choice for themselves and for their families so I’ll never knock somebody for making that choice. Since that game and stuff happened we want to win that game. That game’s been stressed. That game is circled on our schedule. We’ve got to win that game. We can’t let the same stuff keep occurring each year, so every day in practice we’re just working our tail off and keeping it in our head that the last two games of the season really haunted us and we don’t want to ever feel that again so we’re going to work every day to not have that happen again.”

So do you feel like you also have blood in your mouth?

“I mean, yeah, I feel like we need to get revenge on them and just [inaudible].”

MGoQuestion: What does it do for you guys on defense as far as communication goes to now be facing an offense in practice that emphasizes tempo?

“Communication is key. Even with an offense that doesn’t do a spread, communication is key. Everybody’s got to be in sync; everybody’s got to know what the play is, everybody’s got to know the adjustments. If everybody doesn’t know that, that’s gonna cause chaos [and] people will be scrambling around.

"By them doing the spread it makes us have our communication even tighter because guys are hurrying up, guys are moving fast and getting to the line faster. We’ve got to be able to match that energy and match their speed and intensity to be able to keep up with them, so I feel like it’s ultimately helping us as a defense helping us. Going against them is going to help us going against other teams.”

[After THE JUMP: Jeter on Mazi (and Mattison), Uche on standout defenders, and Woods on facing a Gattis offense and the speed of this year's defense]

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[Patrick Barron]

Donovan Jeter

How have players that have been injured still been involved this spring even though they can’t practice?

“Dwummy, Mike, he became like a coach almost. He’s almost a coach. But I think the guys who are injured, I think they’re stepping into a leadership role. Obviously they’re injured so they can’t come out and practice but you can pull a young guy to the side: Hey, work on this, work on that, expect this in a certain formation. Just because you’re not out there practicing with the young guys, you can still, like I said, pull them to the side: You’ve got to work on this. Expect this in this type of formation. So it’s just being a leader.”

How’s he progressing, Dwumfour?

“He’s good. I mean, he’s Mike. Mike’s real tough. Like very mentally tough and physically tough, so he’ll be alright.”

And for the young guys who have had to step up into those roles because of injuries, what has it been like for them? What have you seen from them?

“I’ve seen a lot. There’s a lot of potential for all of us, the whole defense, the whole team, but Mazi, when he—he’s still young. Like, he’s supposed to be in high school right now but I feel for him because I tell him all the time ‘I was you. I was in your exact same position.’ So it’s just, with him it’s going to be how fast he can pick up the speed of the game because Mazi, dude’s like a monster.

“Want to talk about a monster? First day, upper body, I’m one of the strongest benchers on the team and he’s making the weight I’m doing look light and I’m sitting there like Maybe I need to reevaluate myself. He’s coming in just moving weight and I’m sitting there like, ‘Man..’ He’s so far ahead of the curve he doesn’t know it yet, so every day I’m in his ear like ‘Yo, when you’re ready to dominate, you’ll dominate.’ But he has great potential. He’s big—he’s just so big and strong. Like I said, when he’s ready to dominate, he’ll dominate.”

…

Describe Shaun Nua as a coach.

“Energetic, fiery, everything we needed. He brings a type of energy that Matty couldn’t bring, and that’s not to put Matty down but he’s a former player so he understands how we feel physically and mentally sometimes, so I think that’s a big aspect for coach Nua.”

Speaking of Mattison, you’ve been pretty vocal on Twitter and social media—

“No comment. No comment, no comment. I ain’t got no filter, I’ll—no comment.”

What’s the biggest gain you’ve made in spring ball?

“Probably I think technique.I’ve always had power, I’ve always been strong, but I had to just fine tune little things and I’m still working on it. Like I’m still working on a lot of things but every day I told myself I’ve got to get better at something. Whether it’s my hands or my feet or how I play a certain block or how I read the back, there’s certain things I have to do I still work on every day to fix my technique.”

…

And why no comment on Mattison? Aidan [Hutchinson] was in here talking about putting a snake on a tweet last week and—

“Because I’m a lot less filtered than Aidan and so…”

You can try us.

“I can’t—I don’t want to say anything bad about Matty because I messed up a lot off the field and he kept his faith in me. Matty could have just [said] ‘I’m done with this kid’ but he brought me along, he showed me how to play, how to stop the run, how to be a professional. But doing what he did, I can’t—no comment.”

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[Bryan Fuller]

Josh Uche

How have things changed for you in what they’re asking you to do?

“I got my weight up to 250. I’m rotating in at defensive end a lot more now. Just trying to keep me on the field as much as possible and use my skillset to help the team.”

…

What have you seen from other defensive linemen this spring?

“Donovan Jeter is really special. I’ve known it. Me and him, we’ve gone through stuff. We’ll talk to each other, pick each other up and he’s just special, man. He’s picked it up so much this spring and I’m so proud of him. I can’t wait til you guys see what he’s done this spring. Him and Aidan Hutchinson. He’s a beast.”

What makes him stand out?

“Aidan, he’s a beast. He’s matured a lot quicker than most of the other guys. He’s just mature. He’s the guy, you know what I’m saying. You know, when a guy steps in the room you know their presence is felt.”

…

MGoQuestion: You mentioned Hutchinson and Jeter as guys that have stood out. Who else do you think has taken the biggest step forward from maybe the end of the season until now?

“Jordan Anthony’s special. Cam McGrone’s very special. Oh, Vincent Gray, I’m telling you. You know what, just watch. That’s all I’m going to say about Vincent Gray. He’s extremely special. I feel like he could be out of here in three years if he truly put his mind to it, and that’s just from my observations and from working out with him and pushing him to the next level. He’s extremely special. But Jeter, man, I’m telling you guys, keep an eye on him. Just keep an eye on Jeter.”

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[Bryan Fuller]

J’Marick Woods

How have you seen differences going against the offense? What’s different about them?

“The offense is very fast tempo. They get us in shape in practice and getting ready for the games and everything and they also spread the ball out a lot more. It’s not so much Power and stuff like that. They actually get it out to the perimeter and everything, so I kind of like that.”

…

Don Brown said a couple weeks he ago he thinks this defense is faster than last year, and he thought last year was the fastest. Is it?

“Oh, I think so for sure. We’re all fast but when you know what you’re doing, you know what position you’re supposed to be in, you play faster, too, so I feel like that’s what he’s talking about also with that regard. I feel like we all understand our defense and the scheme and everything so we’re able to take our game to another level.”