Defensive Line Interviews

The 2022 season was a difficult one for the Michigan State defensive line room. By the end of the season, a combination of injuries and suspensions reduced the depth to virtually zero, resulting in far too many snaps for the players who remained.

But the situation coming into the 2023 season is completely different. The returning players are healthy and the coaching staff added a significant amount of talent to the defensive line room through both the high school ranks and the transfer portal.

During the media availability period this week, Spartans Illustrated had the chance to talk to defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton, defensive line coach Diron Reynolds, and several players including redshirt sophomores Derrick Harmon and Texas A&M transfer Tunmise Adeleye. 

Both players had a lot to say about the improved depth and leadership in the defensive trenches, what Spartan fans can expect to see this fall, and from Adeleye, how his transition from the SEC to the Big Ten is going.

Leadership and Depth

One topic that came up several times on Wednesday was that the depth problems on the defensive line in 2022 resulted in players pacing themselves and not going hard 100% of the time. Coach Hazelton admitted this, as did the players, but 2023 looks brighter already.

"There's nobody that's really injured right now," Adeleye said (although the status linebacker Darius Snow is still largely uncertain). That improved health is already paying dividends.

"Everybody's going to have to give everything on the field because we know we have somebody coming behind us that's going to do the same thing," Harmon said. "We can we can play fast. We can run fast, and we can do our job quicker. The we don't have to hold nothing back, which I feel like we was doing last year."

This improved depth has also resulted improved chemistry and competition, even though some of the players in the room are recent additions from the transfer portal.

"Everybody is pushing each other in (the defensive line) room," Harmon explained. "(Everybody) is learning from each other. I'm learning from an older guys like Sami (sixth year graduate transfer Jalen Sami from Colorado) and J.J. (sixth-year graduate transfer Jarrett Jackson from Florida State). So everybody's learning and everybody's teaching in there. It's a big difference."

But Harmon is not only learning. He is also starting to do some teaching. Despite the fact that Harmon is just a redshirt sophomore, he is beginning to take on more of a leadership role. Although at first it felt "weird" to be taking on this new responsibility, Harmon seems to be getting used the idea of the younger players coming to him for advice.

"I didn't notice it at first, but the young guys are looking up to me more," Harmon said, "This year I feel like I need to step into that 'older guy' role, It was a bit of a transition for me, but I'm getting the hang of it and I'm trying to be a leader for the young guys."

As for Adeleye, despite the fact that he arrived in East Lansing this spring after two years at Texas A&M, the former five-star prospect already has some advice for the younger members of his position group. On many fronts, Adeleye appears to be wise beyond his years.

"(The young guys) have a lot of talent, but they have to learn how to take risks at the right time and to do their risk within the confines of the system," Tunmise said. "You might think that you're ready to get on the field immediately, but Coach has a bigger and better vision for you and knows what's best for you.

"So just trust the coach," Adeleye continued, "Sometimes you just have to humble yourself and know that it's best to really focus on your technique and (on learning) the playbook."

Humility, and the hunger that comes with it, was also clearly evident from Hanson.

"I ain't really done nothing yet," Hanson said. "What did I do? Last year was my first year just getting onto the field. I didn't do nothing yet. That's how I am looking at it."

Goals Upfront for the 2023 Season

With the improvement in depth and talent upfront, fans should expect to see a clear different in performance in the trenches. From where Harman lines up at the defensive tackle position, the mission inside is clear

"We're stopping the run this year," Harmon said. "No doubt about it. We're going to get it done...We have to stop the run. You can't rush (the quarterback) if we don't stop the run. So that's our main goal."

As for Adeleye, he has the physical tools to be the most versatile member of the defensive line in 2023. He told the media that he has lined up in every position on the defensive line "from the nine to the zero." In other words, he taken snaps everywhere from outside of the tight end ("nine-technique") to face-to-face with the center ("zero-technique").

Adeleye is thought to be a natural edge rusher, but this spring he seems to have picked some additional skills such as dropping back into shallow coverage, and the area where he feels like he has experience the most growth: rushing up the middle as a part of the third-down package.

"The biggest growth in my game has been rushing from the interior," he said. "At (Texas) A&M, I rushed from the interior a little bit, but it wasn't something I heavily focused on. Here they have a heavy focus on me rushing from the interior."

When it comes to the games this each player is looking the most forward to this fall, Harmon and Adeleye both gave interesting answers.

Naturally, Harmon mentioned the Michigan game first, and he did it with a cold look of steely determination in his eyes. But his second choice, somewhat surprisingly, was the Washington Huskies, who will visit East Lansing in the third week of the season this fall.

"I don't think that we played our best ball that day," Harmon said of last year's loss in Seattle. It was clear that this game is circled on his calendar as well.

As for Adeleye, he still may have a little to learn about the rivalry with the maize and blue school to the south east. 

"Who's Michigan?" Adeleye joked, "Is that the school down the road?

Adeleye had a more specific reason for the other Big Ten team on the top of his 2023 bucket list.

"I'm looking forward to playing Ohio State," he said "I have some friends that I played little league with: Donovan Jackson (the Buckeye's projected starting left guard). If I'm able to get into the dime package, I'd like to rush him just like old times sake and beat him a couple of times."

Making the Transition to from Texas A&M to Michigan State

While Derrick Harmon was recruited by the Spartans out of high school from the Detroit area, Tunmise Adeleye is new to the state after living in state of Texas for the last several years. The transition to the Big Ten and the upper Midwest seems to be going well.

Adeleye did comment that the winter was cold and that the culture was a bit different, but from a football perspective he made a surprising observation about Big Ten football.

"I didn't think that the O-line would be as big as it is," he said. "The (offensive) linemen are big and the d-lineman here are big too."

He want on the explain that the lineman in the SEC have a well-earned reputation for being big and strong as well, but "I'm surprised at how big guys are here. It's pleasantly surprising."

Adeleye also noticed a major difference in the coaching philosophy between the Texas A&M and Michigan State staffs. It seems that the SEC coaches used a bit more colorful language as a part of their motivational approach.

"I'm used to getting 'MFed' all the time," Adeleye said. "When I came here it is more direct: 'This is what's needs to happen. This is what needs to occur,' and it's either a one or a zero. You either did it or you didn't do it."

Adeleye was quick to say that he does not prefer one style of coaching over the other. "Coaching is coaching," he said. But a few words later he admitted that he found the approach used by the Michigan State staff to be "refreshing."

He also shared that the Michigan State coaching staff brought in former members of the military to speak to the team during the summer about some of the shared themes between combat and football, such as communication and teamwork that reemphasized this "one or zero" coaching philosophy.

"There's no feelings within this," Adeleye said, "It's all just a standard that has to be met and if that standard isn't being met and then it's an opportunity for, in their case, death, but in our case, a loss."

The comparison to the military resonated strongly with Adeleye, who also shared that he has long had an interest in military service, stretching back to his childhood when his father purchased Call of Duty Black Ops for Christmas. He recalled that he originally wanted to be a Navy Seal, but over the years his plans have shifted.

As a five-star high school prospect, it became clear that Adeleye has a realistic chance to play in the NFL. For now, that is the immediate goal that he is working towards. But he has also put a lot of thought into other career options beyond football.

"I'm an Economics major," he said. "It depends on how everything shakes out... but I'm definitely going to finish my bachelor's (degree) one way or another. I want to get a master's in Finance, if that's possible, and then I'll probably go and be a commissioned officer. I haven't decided whether I want to be a Marine Raider or Green Berets, but that's the final goal."

One thing is clear: Tunmise Adeleye is a man with a plan, both for this year and for many years to come.