DC CLANCY PENDERGAST
--on what he’s seen from Talanoa Hufanga
“He’s been very active, he’s getting a real feel for what we’re trying to do defensively. We want to keep focusing on continuing to get him to communicate better, but I’m glad he’s here and getting this spring ball in, for sure.”
--on whether his early success is more the result of his natural playmaking or him already grasping the defense
“It’s a combination of both. I think he’s feeling his way somewhat, but if you look at his tape from high school, he had a really good nose for the football, played with really good instincts and you see it showing up now. We just got to get him saying the correct things when he’s out there, but he does play sideline to sideline.”
--on if Hufanga is further along than a typical freshman
“He is. We’re trying to narrow down hopefully between now and fall camp who we’re going to have next to Marvell. It’s important that that piece plays together, those two safeties and maybe the safety with the combination of the nickel back all playing together, but obviously we’re going to let It play itself out.”
--on how Ykili Ross has performed
“He’s done a nice job, he’s playing two positions, the nickel back and the safety. He’s made a lot of progress. I think there’s certain things he needs to continue to get better on and I think these last few practices, he’s really going to focus on those things. We had a good conversation earlier today about the things he needed to work on and I’m excited to see how he’s going to do finishing up spring.”
--on what Ross needs to work on
“I think to fill in that role, we need somebody to fill in with Marvell or he can get comfortable playing with that guy on more of a consistent basis. But you talk about YK, you talk about Bubba (Bolden), you talk about Isaiah (Pola-Mao) who is doing a nice job. Isaiah just can’t do everything because he’s coming off shoulder surgery, but in terms of his assignments and his communication when he’s in there, he’s pretty spot on.”
--on how Bolden is faring
“Bubba is up and down; he has good days, he has bad days. I think he had a good day today, he just needs to be more consistent and that’s going to come with playing.”
--on the competition at weakside (inside) linebacker
“John (Houston) started almost every game for us last year and I thought he really played well down the stretch. We’re working Levi in there a lot and also working Levi as an edge rusher on third down, so we’re trying to find a way to get Levi on the field so at times we can have our best 11 out there because he is clearly one of the most athletic guys that we have.”
--on who has been a vocal leader for the defense this spring
“Cam Smith has really taken on that leadership role, I think Iman Marshall has taken more of a leadership role and what he’s done, now that he’s a senior he kind of fills that. Porter, he leads by example, but you hear him more and Marvell has really stepped up his game from that standpoint.”
--on Marshall’s progress
“He really has, we’ve had some really good conversations since the season ended. I think he knows he needs to practice better. Some of his practice habits were based on injury and fighting through things, but he has got to continue to practice at a high level so he can play at a high level and if you look at the way he played against Ohio State, he practiced really well in the preparation for that bowl game and I think he was able to feel that difference because we really pushed him and he knows he has to do that to have the type of year that he wants to have and that we need to have as a defense out of him.”
--on which of the true freshman have stood out
“Talanoa has done a very nice job at the safety position. I would say Kana’i (Mauga) has done the best job of any of the young guys.”
--on what’s impressed him about Mauga
“Kana’i is very consistent; he’s a conscientious player. He does things the right way most of the time and if he makes a mistake, he recognizes it. He plays with really good pad level and has really good foot quickness. He’s a good enough athlete to play behind the ball or up on the line of scrimmage, so he gives us flexibility. We have to leave him in one spot right now, but I think as you see his career progress, he has got the talent to play as a stack linebacker and that’s a unique ability to have to be able to do both; but I think he has that ability.”
--on if he liked what he got out of Jordan Iosefa this spring while he was available
“Most definitely. I think he’s suited once again to be one of our top 11 guys, so we go to find a way to get him on the field. He’s probably more of a natural stack inside linebacker, but he can play outside and he’s got a really good knack for what we’re doing defensively so that’s probably where he will play most of his snaps next year.”
--on whether Mauga or Hufanga has surprised him
“Kana’i, definitely, just because we had very limited tape on him and we really got to look at him in camp and that’s where coach Nansen brought him to us and brought us to the attention of his ability. But I would say he would be the most (surprising). It’s a good young group, a guy like Jay Tufele, who redshirted last year, has probably made more progress than anybody even though he’s been here for a year, he is a freshman. So it’s a fun group to work with.”
--on Tufele’s improvement
“Jay is a disruptive force and he is a guy that a lot of people are going to hear about this year, I believe. I’ve seen a big jump in his technique, I’ve seen a big jump in him knowing what we’re doing defensively. He’s playing at a very fast pace right now. He’s not having to think very much. There’s very few mental errors. So he’s been very active for us. He’s gotten more reps because (Brandon) Pili’s been injured the last couple practices, so that’s really benefited him and benefited us as a defense, to get him out there. He’s a 300-pound kid that could really move. He’s got a big motor and (he’s) very strong.”
--on Christian Rector moving from Predator to a down lineman
“He’s got unique ability; he does a really nice job of feeling blocks. He’s slippery inside, he played outside this week for us in some situations but once again he’s going to give us that flexibility where we can use him in some speed rush packages on third down when we want to get our fast guys out there and also inside and outside. He’s kind of a jack of all trades for us.”
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--on what he’s seen from Talanoa Hufanga
“He’s been very active, he’s getting a real feel for what we’re trying to do defensively. We want to keep focusing on continuing to get him to communicate better, but I’m glad he’s here and getting this spring ball in, for sure.”
--on whether his early success is more the result of his natural playmaking or him already grasping the defense
“It’s a combination of both. I think he’s feeling his way somewhat, but if you look at his tape from high school, he had a really good nose for the football, played with really good instincts and you see it showing up now. We just got to get him saying the correct things when he’s out there, but he does play sideline to sideline.”
--on if Hufanga is further along than a typical freshman
“He is. We’re trying to narrow down hopefully between now and fall camp who we’re going to have next to Marvell. It’s important that that piece plays together, those two safeties and maybe the safety with the combination of the nickel back all playing together, but obviously we’re going to let It play itself out.”
--on how Ykili Ross has performed
“He’s done a nice job, he’s playing two positions, the nickel back and the safety. He’s made a lot of progress. I think there’s certain things he needs to continue to get better on and I think these last few practices, he’s really going to focus on those things. We had a good conversation earlier today about the things he needed to work on and I’m excited to see how he’s going to do finishing up spring.”
--on what Ross needs to work on
“I think to fill in that role, we need somebody to fill in with Marvell or he can get comfortable playing with that guy on more of a consistent basis. But you talk about YK, you talk about Bubba (Bolden), you talk about Isaiah (Pola-Mao) who is doing a nice job. Isaiah just can’t do everything because he’s coming off shoulder surgery, but in terms of his assignments and his communication when he’s in there, he’s pretty spot on.”
--on how Bolden is faring
“Bubba is up and down; he has good days, he has bad days. I think he had a good day today, he just needs to be more consistent and that’s going to come with playing.”
--on the competition at weakside (inside) linebacker
“John (Houston) started almost every game for us last year and I thought he really played well down the stretch. We’re working Levi in there a lot and also working Levi as an edge rusher on third down, so we’re trying to find a way to get Levi on the field so at times we can have our best 11 out there because he is clearly one of the most athletic guys that we have.”
--on who has been a vocal leader for the defense this spring
“Cam Smith has really taken on that leadership role, I think Iman Marshall has taken more of a leadership role and what he’s done, now that he’s a senior he kind of fills that. Porter, he leads by example, but you hear him more and Marvell has really stepped up his game from that standpoint.”
--on Marshall’s progress
“He really has, we’ve had some really good conversations since the season ended. I think he knows he needs to practice better. Some of his practice habits were based on injury and fighting through things, but he has got to continue to practice at a high level so he can play at a high level and if you look at the way he played against Ohio State, he practiced really well in the preparation for that bowl game and I think he was able to feel that difference because we really pushed him and he knows he has to do that to have the type of year that he wants to have and that we need to have as a defense out of him.”
--on which of the true freshman have stood out
“Talanoa has done a very nice job at the safety position. I would say Kana’i (Mauga) has done the best job of any of the young guys.”
--on what’s impressed him about Mauga
“Kana’i is very consistent; he’s a conscientious player. He does things the right way most of the time and if he makes a mistake, he recognizes it. He plays with really good pad level and has really good foot quickness. He’s a good enough athlete to play behind the ball or up on the line of scrimmage, so he gives us flexibility. We have to leave him in one spot right now, but I think as you see his career progress, he has got the talent to play as a stack linebacker and that’s a unique ability to have to be able to do both; but I think he has that ability.”
--on if he liked what he got out of Jordan Iosefa this spring while he was available
“Most definitely. I think he’s suited once again to be one of our top 11 guys, so we go to find a way to get him on the field. He’s probably more of a natural stack inside linebacker, but he can play outside and he’s got a really good knack for what we’re doing defensively so that’s probably where he will play most of his snaps next year.”
--on whether Mauga or Hufanga has surprised him
“Kana’i, definitely, just because we had very limited tape on him and we really got to look at him in camp and that’s where coach Nansen brought him to us and brought us to the attention of his ability. But I would say he would be the most (surprising). It’s a good young group, a guy like Jay Tufele, who redshirted last year, has probably made more progress than anybody even though he’s been here for a year, he is a freshman. So it’s a fun group to work with.”
--on Tufele’s improvement
“Jay is a disruptive force and he is a guy that a lot of people are going to hear about this year, I believe. I’ve seen a big jump in his technique, I’ve seen a big jump in him knowing what we’re doing defensively. He’s playing at a very fast pace right now. He’s not having to think very much. There’s very few mental errors. So he’s been very active for us. He’s gotten more reps because (Brandon) Pili’s been injured the last couple practices, so that’s really benefited him and benefited us as a defense, to get him out there. He’s a 300-pound kid that could really move. He’s got a big motor and (he’s) very strong.”
--on Christian Rector moving from Predator to a down lineman
“He’s got unique ability; he does a really nice job of feeling blocks. He’s slippery inside, he played outside this week for us in some situations but once again he’s going to give us that flexibility where we can use him in some speed rush packages on third down when we want to get our fast guys out there and also inside and outside. He’s kind of a jack of all trades for us.”
Continued below...
