Said they just wrapped up practice and it's gone well this week. Anxious to be back in Kinnick again this Saturday.
Asked about Colorado State and their run game and the DL competing against them...compared to other Big Ten teams
Niemann said it is certainly different than what they have seen in the first three weeks of the season. Said they are built for it, but they haven't been in a game situation this year. Guys are prepared. Talked about guys being young, so it will be a challenge to learn it in a game.
On getting out and being able to evaluate prospects
Said it has been great. Nothing like a live evaluation of a player. Refreshing to being out with the fans at high school games. Said they are making the rounds and getting out to see as many players as they can.
Asked about Kyler Schott and Logan Lee watching film together. How often does that happen?
Said it happens informal. Actually didn't know it was happening. Common for guys to meet outside our positional meetings and you can't really put a value on what you can get from those opportunities. Thinks it's healthy and you can learn from each other because they are going up against each other.
Asked about Logan Jones?
Transitioned back to practice last week. Actually doing pretty much everything this week in practice. Has some rust to knock off, but he's doing well and doing everything the other guys are doing.
Asked about Hurkett and who will get those reps?
Said he was doing a really nice job. .15-20 snaps. Five guy rotation now going to four guy rotation, but some scout guys who are repping in. Said they moved Van Ness to DE for some reps this weeks.
Asked about replacing guys, what is the process of building guys up who were younger?
day to day process that started in the spring. Have to build a fundamental base. Have to correct them and explain it to them to help them be successful.
Asked about Lukas Van Ness
Unique size and good explosiveness. Really moves well for a guy his size. Said once he builds himself up more, he's going to to hard to move. Said he has a good pass rush and has made that work so far. Coming along with the run game.
Asked about Logan Lee and Yahya Black and his progress?
Logan has gotten off to a good start. Pleasant surprise given his injury issues in the past. Been good to see him get out there and get those reps and stack them without being sidelined. Said Black has had some injuries in camp and he wasn't fully ready. Now he is catching up and doing a good job. has to keep working on this little things. High ceiling for Black.
Sons in the NFL
Really unique for sure. He said this weekend he will just cheer for the defense. Said he won't be able to go to the game because it's a short week, but his wife will be there. Been a lot of fun to see them get going and play in the NFL.
On the rotation along the DL?
Said they would like to play as many as possible as long as they get the job done. Need to keep putting out fresh bodies and situational guys really help the reps too.
On the defense and how they have developed
Said it's a close group. Have to evolve as a group and build it starting in January. Have a great group of competitors and leaders on defense. They have great chemistry out there.
What has been your assessment of the DL and how they have held up over the first three weeks?
Happy with the progress. Still mistakes and corrections that need to be made and that's an every day process. Hopefully we will be happy with the end result. We are just three weeks in and every year is different because you don't know how good your opponents are until you see the end result. Basically, it's still early, but happy with what they have done and have more to accomplish. Try to reset the focus each week.
Asked about undersized DT's...is that an advantage?
Never going to be the biggest team on either line, but we have guys that bend a bit better and move better. If you can play with good fundementals and leverage then you can be pretty good and that's why we work on those things all the time. Pad level and hand placement are key.
On Joe Evans
He has turned himself into a three down guy now. He is now rotating on all downs and not just third down specialist. He has become a good run stopper. He has done well and happy with his performance and that just increases his playing time. He has worked really hard at it and I am really happy for him.
That's it for Jay Niemann today.
Asked about Colorado State and their run game and the DL competing against them...compared to other Big Ten teams
Niemann said it is certainly different than what they have seen in the first three weeks of the season. Said they are built for it, but they haven't been in a game situation this year. Guys are prepared. Talked about guys being young, so it will be a challenge to learn it in a game.
On getting out and being able to evaluate prospects
Said it has been great. Nothing like a live evaluation of a player. Refreshing to being out with the fans at high school games. Said they are making the rounds and getting out to see as many players as they can.
Asked about Kyler Schott and Logan Lee watching film together. How often does that happen?
Said it happens informal. Actually didn't know it was happening. Common for guys to meet outside our positional meetings and you can't really put a value on what you can get from those opportunities. Thinks it's healthy and you can learn from each other because they are going up against each other.
Asked about Logan Jones?
Transitioned back to practice last week. Actually doing pretty much everything this week in practice. Has some rust to knock off, but he's doing well and doing everything the other guys are doing.
Asked about Hurkett and who will get those reps?
Said he was doing a really nice job. .15-20 snaps. Five guy rotation now going to four guy rotation, but some scout guys who are repping in. Said they moved Van Ness to DE for some reps this weeks.
Asked about replacing guys, what is the process of building guys up who were younger?
day to day process that started in the spring. Have to build a fundamental base. Have to correct them and explain it to them to help them be successful.
Asked about Lukas Van Ness
Unique size and good explosiveness. Really moves well for a guy his size. Said once he builds himself up more, he's going to to hard to move. Said he has a good pass rush and has made that work so far. Coming along with the run game.
Asked about Logan Lee and Yahya Black and his progress?
Logan has gotten off to a good start. Pleasant surprise given his injury issues in the past. Been good to see him get out there and get those reps and stack them without being sidelined. Said Black has had some injuries in camp and he wasn't fully ready. Now he is catching up and doing a good job. has to keep working on this little things. High ceiling for Black.
Sons in the NFL
Really unique for sure. He said this weekend he will just cheer for the defense. Said he won't be able to go to the game because it's a short week, but his wife will be there. Been a lot of fun to see them get going and play in the NFL.
On the rotation along the DL?
Said they would like to play as many as possible as long as they get the job done. Need to keep putting out fresh bodies and situational guys really help the reps too.
On the defense and how they have developed
Said it's a close group. Have to evolve as a group and build it starting in January. Have a great group of competitors and leaders on defense. They have great chemistry out there.
What has been your assessment of the DL and how they have held up over the first three weeks?
Happy with the progress. Still mistakes and corrections that need to be made and that's an every day process. Hopefully we will be happy with the end result. We are just three weeks in and every year is different because you don't know how good your opponents are until you see the end result. Basically, it's still early, but happy with what they have done and have more to accomplish. Try to reset the focus each week.
Asked about undersized DT's...is that an advantage?
Never going to be the biggest team on either line, but we have guys that bend a bit better and move better. If you can play with good fundementals and leverage then you can be pretty good and that's why we work on those things all the time. Pad level and hand placement are key.
On Joe Evans
He has turned himself into a three down guy now. He is now rotating on all downs and not just third down specialist. He has become a good run stopper. He has done well and happy with his performance and that just increases his playing time. He has worked really hard at it and I am really happy for him.
That's it for Jay Niemann today.
