UCF defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin has a talented mix of experience and youth at his disposal this year.
The group is led by Ricky Barber, a senior with major NFL potential. Lee Hunter, a former transfer from Auburn, has generated considerable buzz for his offseason improvement. Matthew Alexander was UCF's highest-rated defensive player according to PFF last season. UCF also welcomes John Walker, one of the most anticipated recruits in school history.
UCFSports.com caught up with Martin recently to talk about his position group.
On Ricky Barber:
"Ricky is one of my day one guys. I recruited him out of high school when I was at Western Kentucky. He's such a comfort. He knoaws exactly what I teach. He's a coach on the field for me. We're going to be in stadiums with 60,000 people and I can't yell from the sideline. He can get guys lined up and help us out. Ricky is a blessing to have."
On Ricky Barber's NFL potential:
"I think he can get drafted. He's a draftable defensive tackle. I think he's one of the best in the country, especially as an interior pass rusher. I don't think there's anybody in the country that can pass rush better than him. On top of that, he put on more weight and got stronger. When it comes to the conversation of being one of the best defensive tackles in the country, it's going to be Ricky Barber."
On the key to Lee Hunter's improvement:
"Him being in shape. And that's important. The big boys up front, sometimes we won't be able to substitute you as much with all the hurry-up offenses that we go through. We challenged the young man to get in shape. When you're in shape, man, can't nobody block you. He's different. There's a reason why he was one of the best d-tackles coming out of high school and there's a reason he went to an SEC school. He's one of the best in the country now. Also with some maturity, he's grown. The game has slowed down for him. Him knowing the speed of the game, it's starting to slow down. Now he can recognize blocks and then take it to another level. I'm excited about Lee Hunter."
On what it took for Lee Hunter to get in shape:
It was just cardio. I'm not worried about the weight. There's a lot of big men in this country that can move around for a long time. And that's what I challenged him. I said, 'Man, you don't have to lose 30 pounds or nothing like that. Be your big self. Let's learn how to carry it."
What Matthew Alexander means to his group:
"Matthew is a really special football player. I'm blessed to have him. I call him Mr. Do It Right. Mr. Do It All. He always does the right thing. He has the perfect technique. He knows the playbook in and out. Matt Alexander, he's a quiet guy and kind of behind the scenes, but if you really look at the film and watch him, he's a dominant defensive tackle. We're blessed to have Matt Alexander on the roster."
On the early progress of freshman John Walker:
"The best thing that happened with John is he came in the spring. That was really important for him to get acclimated. It is extremely important because a guy like John is ready to play right away. We wanted to make sure that we didn't have to go over the hurdles of him catching up to the college speed, him learning the playbook. We went over the whole playbook probably twice already. Once in the spring, once in the summer. And now we're going over the third time just to get him acclimated to everything.
"It's starting to slow down. At first, he was like a deer in the headlights. Man, this is fast, but now it's starting to slow down for him. Now, you see his dominance that we saw in high school and it's starting to reflect in college. And that's the exciting thing. Sometimes you forget that he's a freshman, but he's a dominant football player."
On John Walker's outlook and how he'll manage his playing time:
"We'll take care of him and we'll put him in positions to be successful. One thing about defensive tackles, even Ricky, he can't play every snap of the game. I'm going to find a way to split those reps as much as possible... I got five or six guys that can really play. I'm going to rotate those guys and keep everybody fresh. Put (Walker's) feet in the water just a little bit and let him roll as he allows me to."
On the recent addition of Oklahoma transfer Derrick LeBlanc:
"It's awesome. First of all, I'm blessed to have Derrick here. He's a great kid, great family. Now he put on some weight. He looks phenomenal. He looks like an NFL d-tackle. 6-5, 295 right now. Even though he has to redshirt, he'll be able to learn our system, learn my techniques. I'll be able to groom him exactly what we need to do. And then next year, man, the future is bright. We lose Rick next year, but we have some extreme young talent here. I'm excited about that."
On the pivotal first season in the Big 12 for UCF:
"This is big for Orlando. UCF is Orlando's NFL team. We're excited about the Big 12. People ask, what are your goals? Our goals and our standard is to win the Big 12. We're not coming in just to see can we do this? No, we're coming in to compete right away. We're not a team that wants to come in there and say, let's try to get to a bowl game. No, we're going to come in there and show everybody that we belong in the Big 12."
