Spring Practice Thoughts: The Defense

The following is a transcribed phone interview with Raleigh Hokie.

The starters on the defensive line certainly looked good on Friday night. The Hopkins brothers know each other well obviously, and they are going to really work very well together on the field. Antoine is going to stay motivated the entire season because his little brother is going to be better than him.

I’m trying to remember who Derrick Hopkins reminds me of, because he’s so short for a defensive tackle. I don’t even know if Charley Wiles has to tell him how to play very much. He almost has that instinct of playing exactly how you want somebody to play. His first step is extremely quick, he’s got great hands, he’s got great feet, he’s very aggressive and he’s all about penetration.

Last year penetration was a problem, and when the tackles did penetrate, they had trouble getting off blocks at times. That made pursuit a problem, and pursuit is very important in Tech’s scheme. If one guy doesn’t hold his gap, and there is no pursuit, then it’s a big gain for the offense. That happened a lot last season.

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