When Brent Pry was promoted from linebacker coach to defensive coordinator, he inherited a defensive line that saw three of four starters move on to the ranks of the NFL.
If you go back and watch the game tape from last season Gerritt Sickels, the only returning starter, was usually a step behind Carl Nassib, Anthony Zettel or Austin Johnson when it came to a big play.
Not any more. Both Pry and Sickels believe he’s closed that gap this year. One only needs to look at the Ohio State game when he had two and a half sacks in a single half.
But for the Group called the Wild Dogs, finding success in 2016 also meant finding some young Lions to step up.
“Robert Windsor, Kevin Givens, Shareef Miller, you’re talking about a bunch of redshirt freshmen that as the year went on, they got more comfortable,” said Brent Pry.
“We got comfortable doing more with them. They allowed us to take the handcuffs off a little bit. Some times in the first half, I was probably a little conservative letting the guys get their feet wet see how we’re doing.”
When it comes to the young defensive linemen Kevin Givens leads the way with four and a half sacks this season.
