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Reggie Johnson has a lot of moving parts at his position.

So the defensive line coach is experimenting this spring, moving players inside and out — mainly Gelen Robinson and Anthony Watts — to see where they might best fit in the fall.

Wednesday, we talked to the first-year assistant about his position group.

Gold and Black: What do you like about your group?

Johnson: “Is that a trick question? (laughs) Nah, I’m pleased with how they work. They’re eager learners. They want to be good, so what I like about them is their work ethic and willingness to come to work and be sponges. I’ve just got to get them cleaned up and get them in the right position and hopefully we can make some progress.”

Gold and Black: What do you need out of your front, particularly in Nick Holt’s defense where he wants the linebackers to be active? What does that mean for your guys?

Johnson: “We have to have great get-off. We have to create a new line-of-scrimmage, so I have to have guys who are powerful guys who are running off the ball, knocking the O-linemen back and are making it easier for those guys (at linebacker) to play downhill.

“If I’ve got guys who can force double-teams, that’s even better. And if they aren’t doubling, my guys need to be making plays in the backfield. So we need guys who are powerful and athletic and take on blocks and make plays. That’s what we’re looking for and expecting of those guys, and we may have a couple, we may have a couple who can do that.”

Gold and Black: You answered the follow-up: How many you got?

Johnson: “You know, for the most part, I have some veteran guys, guys who have played a lot, with Gelen (Robinson) and Eddy (Wilson) and Antoine (Miles) and (Austin) Larkin. … I have some guys who have played a lot of ball. And so they’ve been in those battles, so I’m excited for those guys. They want to be good and have the ability. We’ve just got to put them in the right position to be successful.”

Q. Is Robinson one of those guys you think you have in the right position?

Johnson: “He’s playing some tackle for us right now, even though he was an end a year ago. But we will still use him as an end. I can’t talk about some things (injuries), but we had to put him there for this spring, and it’s been a great experience for him, because the more you can do, the more valuable you are as a player. So now, we have the ability to play him inside, we also have the ability to play him as an edge guy as well.”

Gold and Black: This defense seems to favor taller defensive ends. Why?

Johnson: “We like longer guys in the boundary, for the most part, because we do drop those guys. They’re a hybrid outside 'backer body types, so they give you some flexibility in terms of what you can do coverage-wise, obviously rushing the passer with longer limbs, lankier, rangier bodies. Slipperier. But those guys we do like.

“If we have a guy who is 280, like Gelen, he can play a strong end. We basically have a strong end and a hybrid, drop, rush end in the defense. That’s why you may see some body types or some guys who are a little longer, rangier.”

Gold and Black: How are they adjusting to your coaching style? It seems you bring a little humor but demand certain things as well.

Johnson: “Well, I guess they’re OK with it. I really don’t give a damn. (laughter) You may have to edit that.

“But I tell them this: I’m going to coach you a certain way. I expect you to respond. If you can’t respond to what it is that I’m asking you to do, or what Coach (Jeff) Brohm and the program he’s trying to put in place. If you can’t repond to those things, then you might need to consider something else, basically, because we’re here to win. We’re here to create a winning culture. That’s why we’re here. Coach Brohm has done a great job the places he’s been. We believe in what he’s doing.

“I’ve played with him. He’s a former teammate of mine collegiately, and I’ve worked as a colleague with him. And now he’s the head guy and I believe in what he’s doing. We all do. And so there are certain things we ask these guys to do and they … ‘Hey, come on, hop on the train’ and let's ride this thing and see what happens.”

Q. What have you seen from Kai Higgins?

Johnson:“I like his energy. He’s taken a boat-load of reps and doesn’t get tired, it seems that way at least. He wants an opportunity to show that he can play big-time football. So his motor runs constantly and that’s a big part of why you’re seeing him around so much.”

Gold and Black: Is Anthony Watts an end or tackle?

Johnson: “He does both. The more you can do, the more valuable you are to the defense. We’ll line him up. When you get into the league, I’m pretty sure they play with bigger-bodied dudes and multiple tight ends, things like that. We’re going to need to be able to match bigger bodies with bigger bodies. So you might not see my longer, rangier bodies when they are going big. When they go big, I’m going to have to play maybe Anthony at an end or Gelen, play my bigger bodies to match their bigger bodies. That’s why you see him get reps both inside and outside.

“Same thing with Gelen, both inside and outside.”

Gold and Black: And because you bring a linebacker up sometimes, you can afford to put a bigger guy on that edge?

Johnson: “That’s true.”

Gold and Black: How does Wilson take the next step, in becoming a disciplined player who can regularly make plays?

Johnson: “I think, again I’m pleased with how Eddy is working. He wants to be and sees himself as an All-Big Ten-type of player. So now the expectation is that you practice that way, that you go about your business that way. If he does that, I think he does have the ability to be a pretty doggone good player in this league. It starts with how he comes to meetings, how he goes about his business when he’s not with him. Going to class, and we check that by the way, and he is. But that’s where it starts. Make sure he does everything right off the field, make sure he’s doing everything right in the meetings, and then it carries over to the practice field and we’ll get him going in the right direction.”

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