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One-on-One with the
Pirates
Sunday,
August 12, 2010
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By Ron Cherubini
Staff Features
Writer |
By
Ron Cherubini
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East Carolina defensive coordinator Brian Mitchell, coming out of spring
camp in 2011, flat out said that Jeremy Grove had the very best camp on his
defense. He said to watch out for Grove. it was almost prophetic in
retrospect. All the redshirt freshman did was burst onto the scene as a
tackling machine, conjuring up some vivid memories of the likes of Chris
Moore, Robert Jones, Danny Kepley — the monsters of ECU defensive lore.
As a freshman, Grove finished the year among the nation’s tackle leaders and
garnered freshman All-America honors. Why is he so good? Two major
ingredients: First, he is a good tackler… he puts his man down. Second, he
understands his job. In the 3-4 defense, it is a linebacker’s dream job
description: “Kill the ball carrier.” Grove was as good as it gets in doing
his job within a system predicated on freeing up the linebackers,
particularly the Mikes, to make tackles.
What was critical a year ago for Grove is that his play opened the door for
his growth as a leader on a defensive unit that is a primary key for a
successful campaign in 2012. He is passionate, he has a motor that doesn’t
stop, and his play gets his teammates whipped into a frenzy. Expect more of
the same from Grove in 2012.
Jeremy was kind enough to sit down for a chat with Bonesville to share his
insights on the upcoming season.
Jeremy Grove in action
(ECU SID photo)
One-on-One with Jeremy Grove
Q: Wow! Could you have
written a better script for yourself in 2011? What
do you believe was the biggest thing that you
learned in 2011 to help you be a better linebacker
in 2012?
A: Last season was great
but it was last season, and even though I put up
those numbers, it was my role, my job on this
defense is to make tackles. So I have a lot of
little things… technique… that I must continue to
work on. Another thing is that I need to very much
aware of… I have to focus more on recognizing what
everyone else’s jobs are so that I can make sure
each of us is doing what we are supposed to be
doing. That is a part of the job I think I am
getting better at now.
Q: You missed spring
banged up a bit. You 100% now and ready for camp?
A: Oh yeah, I feel good.
The shoulder feels great. All set, ready to play.
Q: Last year, the
defense as a unit made an incredible turnaround to
gain a measure of respectability. Still, sack and
turnover production could be better. Why should fans
expect this defense to go from respectable to
feared?
A: It starts with the
fact that we have seven starters back and a lot of
other guys who have played a lot. We have more depth
than I can remember since I got here and all the
guys can play. We are two and three deep with
athletes and I think that will show this year. We
all intend to continue (the upward trend).
Q: Do the guys have a
noticeably better handle on the defensive
requirements of the 3-4?
A: Yes, we do. We area
all fine tuning it now. We’ve had the overall scheme
down coming in (to camp) and working on making sure
we do the little things perfectly.
Q: What is the defense’s
mantra this season and why?
A: I would say that all
of us on every snap are thinking, ‘Swarm to the
football, no matter what.’ This defense is athletic
and fast and we all get to the football. We all know
that if every guy gets to the football, good things
are going to happen for us. I think you will see
that is one of the (characteristics) of this team.
Q: What player on this
team do you most respect and why?
A: For me, Justin Hardy.
I think he is the best wide receiver in college
football. I work against him every day and it is a
job. I know that working to cover him makes me a lot
better every time out. My coverage skills have
improved a lot and I believe it is from having to
work against him in practice. He is good.
Q: Name a couple of
players on the defense that maybe we haven’t heard a
lot about yet, but will, come 2012?
A: I am going stay with
the linebackers on this question. We are incredibly
deep at inside linebacker. Ty (Holmes), (Zeek)
Bigger, (Daniel) Drake, (Kyle) Tudor — those are
guys who anyone of them could break out this season.
Also, then there are guys like Jake (Geary) who
makes plays. Desi (Brown) and Chip (Thompson) are
tough guys, too. But, thinking more about it, really
I think the guys who you are going to hear a lot
about are our corners, Jacobi Jenkins and Leonard
Paulk. We lost seniors on the corners last year, but
I think those two will break out big this season.
Q: Give me your thoughts
on the offensive line out there right now for the
Pirates?
A: I can say for sure
that Coach (Jeff) Connors has gotten them much
bigger and much stronger and they are all physical.
You put bigger, stronger guys in there who all know
the blocking schemes really well and they are going
to be good. Not just improved, but I think they
could be pretty great this season.
E-mail
Ron Cherubini
PAGE UPDATED
08/12/12 03:44 AM.
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