The Utes DE group is deep and there 'isn't much of a drop off'

Question: How are things going?

Lewis Powell: "It's going well. We have a good group of defensive ends and there's a lot of competition. They understand the bar was set pretty high with Mika [Tafua] and they all understand that they have some big shoes to fill. But we do have guys that we feel like we can rely on, come in, do a good job and they've all been doing pretty good thus far. I feel like we're on track to be ready here in a couple of weeks and a great group, excited."

Question: What have you seen from Gabe Reid and what are your expectations for him?

Lewis Powell: "It's been good. He's a good addition. He comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience and we like him, we love him. He's an awesome addition and he picked up our our scheme pretty easy and just understanding how he fits in. It's been awesome to have a good leader and he is doing an awesome job."

Question: How much has Van Fillinger grown up and what does he have to do to take another step forward?

Lewis Powell: "Van continues to be a sponge and a student of the game. He is understanding more about defense, more and more every single year. He is coming in as one of our most experienced guys that's returning and getting a little bit more of a leadership ship role out of him this year and it's been good. He's on pace to do some really good things and his game has changed. He's stayed solid in some areas where he was pretty good at and also evolved as a pass rusher. Just understanding and having a good game plan and he's worked on things that he needed to get better and he is good. He's been healthy and doing really well."

Question: What is it about Connor O'Toole that made you so interested in bringing him into your defensive end group?

Lewis Powell: "First of all, Connor is a hard working, tough kid and he has done everything we asked him to do. He's a big, physical, tough kid, ran a ten-eight or ten-seven in high school, and he's gained a bunch of weight. He's at 245 now, close to 250. And I feel like he hasn't skipped a beat with his athleticism and speed. With him and Jonah, two really athletic guys, they bring a different dynamic to the position and and he has been doing really well. Connor has been taking a bunch of reps and he's one of the guys didn't have any experience, or little experience, but he hit the ground running this this spring and this fall and we're excited for him."

Question: What does the diversity in the room provide for you?

Lewis Powell: "That means more people playing and it's good. We have two guys with Van and Miki where those guys are pretty stout and strong right in the run game. Then we can rotate and put in Jonah, Connor, and those guys are really athletic and we could do different things with those two. It's been an awesome fall camp, and it's been good to watch these guys develop and grow throughout the last from spring and carrying on to fall.

Question: For the group as a whole, where do you feel like they can really excel this season?

Lewis Powell: We have a group that can stop the run and also get after the pass pressure. I know we're missing Mika, he led the conference in sacks and hopefully we can duplicate that. But I feel like we have potentially guys that could fill his role and not only that, we have some good depth. We have about six or seven guys that we have competing right now to travel with those four, including Chase Kennedy, Gavin Nawahine, and Tyler Wegis. We have a really deep group and I think that's the first fall camp where we have a bunch of guys that we feel comfortable with and we feel like there isn't as much of a drop off. I feel like it's going to be a group that's pretty stout and able to do what we're asking them to do. It'll be a group by committee, depends on what we're seeing and who we're going to put out there, personnel that we're seeing. I'm excited, we're on track to make some noise and do well this year."

Question: What are you seeing from Chase Kennedy?

Lewis Powell: "[He's] explosive. His raw talent and he's getting a bunch of reps. We're trying to see what we could do, how he could fit and mold him to fit our scheme. But he has a bright future."

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