Wisconsin defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow spoke to the media during fall camp for the first time since the spring. The first year coach touched on plenty of topics, from his transfer additions to how comfortable he is with depth and rotations.
Here's everything Whitlow said at his availability:
*Authors note: Some questions and answers are rephrased for clarity.
Q: What did you think you were getting in Brandon Lane when you signed him, and what's been your impression during the first couple of days?
"Definitely when you take a look at Brandon, you see a guy who's big, dense and powerful. He's really really athletic for his size. Those things have definitely kinda held true in working with him and spending time with him."
Q: What have you seen from Dillan Johnson early on?
"Obviously, god blessed him with great leverage. He really does a good job of using that, playing square, playing powerful with his hands and playing with a really really high motor. So, definitely done a good job these first couple days."
Q: Tell me a little bit about the accountability and why it's so important early on.
"Well, obviously we know football is a game of inches, and all those little details, they add up if you wanna be great. So we always focus on and harp on doing the little things right. Because at some point in the season, a little detail is gonna be the difference between winning and losing. So we harp on it with everything."
Q: In terms of depth, what makes you feel comfortable with this room?
"The big thing is, we just talk about everybody in the room has a role. Everybody in the room has a piece of the pie if they earn it. Guys have to come out here with the right mentality and work, on and off the field, in the weight room, doing all those little things right, to earn that trust. To have that trust for your brothers that they believe in you, and so we can roll guys and play the game the way it's supposed to be played."
Q: Coach Luke Fickell has mentioned the importance of rotating and having that depth; in your career, how often have you seen a coach that wants to push six, seven linemen a game?
"The great thing about coach Fickell is that he played the position. He understands that if we wanna play the game up front the way it's supposed to be played — hard, violent, playing with passion and guys being relentless in their pursuit — you can't be a guy that plays 70, 80 snaps. And obviously, the goal is to play a long season. And that adds up, all those snaps. So you have to have depth, you have to have guys that you trust to go out there so we can continue to hunt."
Q: Playing with violence, you mention that a lot in practice. What's the bigger meaning to that, just to touch on that?
"It's a mentality. It's as simple as that. You can't play D-Line if you don't play with a sense of violence, an edge, right? If you don't have that mentality that it's me versus the guy across from me, and I gotta own the line of scrimmage. That mentality, and hearing it over and over and over again, it becomes who you are."
Q: What are the biggest strides you've seen with Curt Neal from when you got here to now?
"Well the big thing with Curt is his emergence as a leader. He plays with a ton of passion, he has a ton of edge and energy, and now he's been continuing to grow into a guy that's becoming more vocal. The guys, the younger guys can really look at that and say, 'hey, this is the right way to do things.' So just continuing that leadership growth has been huge with Curt."
Q: You mentioned some of the benefits and challenges of being a shorter defensive lineman. When you look at Neal as a pass-rusher, what are the steps that he's taken and what's the next step for him?
"Well obviously like you talked about, with that natural leverage, you're able to get up underneath guys. And Curt has done a heck of a job this offseason with his strength, and how strong he is and how powerful he is to now play under offensive linemen, use that leverage and run them back, collapse the pocket with it."
Q: As far as Elijah Hills goes, from spring to now, what have you seen?
"Again, a ton of growth. The guy has really bought into the culture here, the identity of who we are as a team, who we are as a unit, and just worked his tail off. His offseason was really really good, and expecting big things out of him. So just continuing, every opportunity that we get out here, continuing to get better and improve."
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