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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 41 f us is a fumble recovery drill, if a ball is on the ground, run over and bend over and pick it up. Scoop and score with it. You would see incomplete passes and see four or five guys yelling 'ball.' Something as simple as that gives you an opportunity to practice getting the ball back." Gold and Black: Was it hard to evaluate your line considering some of the struggles the offensive line had protecting the quarterback with non-experi- enced players? Hudson: "No. That's not our fault. We were looking at stance, C.A.S.K.R., we were looking at take-off. If Ryan Russell is fast enough to run around a guy because he's not as good, then he better run around him every single time. Or if we're going to face that situation on game day and it's a guy who is not as good, well, you're not going to get a one-on-one block. What are you going to do when they bring a tight end in motion and a running back over there and they double team you? Don't leave that guy in that situation to lose one-on-one. But there's enough protections that we were challenged. There were enough one-on-one blocks that we did not win to make us discouraged of where we need to get to in our pass rush." Gold and Black: We've heard a lot about accen- tuating talents. Freeman specifically said it took some time to evaluate guys, find out where they fit. Do you think it did take time to get to know this personnel and now you have a good grasp on that? Hudson: "Not only do you have to see what their tal- ent is, you have to see if they're maximizing their talent and playing to their level of their capabilities and are they in enough situations? God love him, he had a very good spring, (but) the book is out on Joe Gilliam. For one reason: Joe was out of fall camp with a thumb injury and missed part of spring with a hamstring. He may play like Ray Lewis, but if you're standing on the sideline … Joe was a non-factor in August last year. We went into the first game, I didn't know if he could tie his shoes. "This is a productivity game, but this is a developmen- tal game. You can't show us everything on Saturdays. I'm more worried about Tuesday and Wednesday. When the guys say, 'Well, I can get ready for the scrimmage,' how can you scrimmage safely if you haven't prepared? We needed more practice reps. Then the jersey scrim- mage, the spring game, the live situations are when (we see) how you going to really react when your girlfriend and your family is sitting in the stands in The Furnace. That is so different from being on a practice field. Anx- iety, that's why (you) see hamstrings all of a sudden in Day 1." Gold and Black: Who stuck out to you this spring? Hudson: "Guys that got better. Jimmy Herman. We put him in a position that equates to Jimmy, which al- lowed him to play to the abilities he has. We were able to see a different side of Jimmy Herman. Not only did he improve his play, Jimmy improved from a physical stand- point because we asked him to do things from one side of the defense. He didn't have to do them in the mid- dle to go to both sides. That's a major improvement. We made the kid better by moving him 6 feet to the right. That is coaching. We're eliminating a problem before it happens. We gave Jimmy a chance to be a decathalete." Gold and Black: Robert Gregory certainly made some noise playing safety for the first time. It's pretty clear he still has a lot to learn, but do you think he has potential to play for you there? Hudson: "Absolutely. We'll take all the Robert Greg- ory's we can get at that safety position. The strong and the free are different, but we'll take all the guys abili- ty-wise of his ability that we can get. He learned a lot better than I anticipated. He can absolutely be a smart enough football player (to compete at this level). A lot of it is going to be up to him. He's got to challenge himself to learn everything. That position, those safeties posi- tions, are probably the toughest mentally. There's a lot going on there. Those guys are quarterback. … That's a tough spot to just jump into. He's got the prototype body and ability. That's what you want." Gold and Black: What was the message to your guys heading into the offseason? Hudson: "Let's get closer as a unit. Everybody gets hung up on the Xs and Os. We're not going to play good Xs and Os if we're not together. I said it right in front of the group, 'If you've got a problem with somebody on this defense, you better fix it. We don't have to love each other all the time, but when cross that white line we do.' Just (improving) our togetherness and our toughness. You'd be amazed in football what you can accomplish with those two things." j