D-linemen hammer home their rise
and I'm pushing him every day and he's pushing me.
“And not only us, but everybody else on the D-line ... I'm pushing them to be their best and they're all pushing me to be my best, as well.”
Florida State defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi enters his senior season anchoring an experienced and speedy unit alongside defensive ends Josh Sweat and Brian Burns, tackle Demarcus Christmas and highly recruited five-star freshman Marvin Wilson.
They hope to help the Seminoles replace the loss of NFL third-round defensive end DeMarcus Walker, who had 16.5 sacks, the second-most in the nation last season.
“The trenches: It’s not for the faint of heart,” an encouraged Nnadi said. “You’ve got to get in the mud. You’ve got to put your face right in the mud, and keep digging, and keep digging. Honestly, it’s a man’s game and you have to do what you have to do.”
Miami believes it could have the best defensive line in the nation behind defensive ends Joe Jackson and Chad Thomas, who combined for 13 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss last year with defensive tackles Kendrick Norton and R.J. McIntosh clogging the middle.
Boston College defensive end Harold Landry, who led the nation with 16.5 sacks, believes his team’s defense can have a special season, while NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb, who had 10 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss, hopes his team is feared.
“We just want to be that team that you don't want to play because you know we're going to hit you hard in the mouth,” Chubb said of N.C. State, which hopes to get past teams like FSU and Clemson this season.
Florida State is the preseason favorite to win the ACC this season, and beat Miami in the league championship game, with teams like Clemson, Louisville and NC State not far behind in preseason voting by ACC media.