(Photo: Hale McGranahan, 247Sports)
Shane Beamer on the defensive tackle room
"Certainly, that's one area that I'm really excited about. Knew we needed to attack that area with high school recruiting and the portal because of who we were losing off last year's team. But the guys that are now a year older have gotten better. The freshmen that have come in, like Noah, he's made an impact. And then, the portal guys we brought in. We're really excited about that group. There's size in that room, there's athleticism, there's experience. We need to be really good in the heart of the defense. We knew off last year's team, we were basically losing our tackles, bringing back our linebackers. Now, we've got our linebackers back, like I just said, and then we've really helped ourselves, I think, with what we've been able to do along the defensive line."
Clayton White on the defensive tackles
"The good thing about that room is those guys, they work together," White said on Monday. "They work very hard. Coach Robertson and coach J-Will have done a really good job of just developing, coaching, teaching. All of them are big. I like that part. They all can move. We have from 290 (pounds) to 350 and they all bring something different to the game. I think that's been my favorite part. There are some pass rushers in that room. There are some run stoppers. There's some combo guys. Some guys that are pluggers, guys that can plug and make plays. So, we kind of get to pick a little bit. I have to do a really good job as a coach, and then coach Robertson, working with him of who's in the game. That's going to depend on kind of the style of play that we play up front. If we have 345 pounds out there, we'll probably play more of a plug defense. It's really good to have those options. They are doing a really good job of working hard, and they're learning the playbook very well."
Travian Robertson on the transfer additions
"I think that we hand-picked our d-lineman that we got with Jordan, Kelby and Tomi, and so far, those guys been great. They are adjusting real well. They're doing a really good job with nutrition. They're doing a really good job in the weight room. Now, we are practicing on the field. I've seen a lot of good things out of them so far. Really like them. Obviously, they still adjusting to playbooks and stuff. But so far, it's been good with those guys."
Robertson on Aiden Harris, Noah Clark
"Those guys have been working hard. Like I said, they wanted to be here. We've been recruiting Aiden and Noah for a long time now. It wasn't really hard battle with them because they wanted to be here. They weren't chasing anything but development. It was chasing relationships. So that made it easy for us to recruit them. Now, we are coaching them. Obviously, they make freshman mistakes. But they are good guys that are showing up on time and doing what they supposed to do. They've been a sponge. They just soaking everything in right now."
Beamer on Noah Clark's spring performance
"We knew Noah was a great young man, awesome family. Big young man, size-wise. Probably underestimated just his overall athleticism. He's a big guy that can move. He's not a big defensive tackle that just takes up space that you got to take off the field on third down. He's got the athleticism to just command double teams, but then be able to rush the passer in passing situations, too. So, for him to be able to come in and do that as a true freshman that should still be in high school right now, is really impressive."