Despite being a veteran on the defensive line, this spring was about both adjustments and improvement for redshirt senior Hammond Russell.
Russell played a total of 325 snaps last season but had to adjust to a new defensive scheme as well as the constant fast-paced tempo that the West Virginia offense is utilizing. That meant making sure you get the calls, get aligned and understand your responsibility in short order.
That communication is critical because it keeps the unit on the same page and moving quickly.
“I do think I also had to get used to the new techniques that I had to use,” he said.
On the defensive line, Russell had to adjust to a more attack-the-block scheme rather than reading and reacting.
Throw on top of that a defense that featured a ton of new faces and it took some time for not only Hammond but the entire unit to get to the point where they were confident in what they were doing.
“Everyone started to learn how everyone plays. And I think that the defense came together really good and everyone started to make plays fairly quickly,” he said.
For Russell, it doesn’t seem like he’s one of the older players on the defense, but time can go by quickly at the college level and admittedly, that’s a different feeling for him. But while he was going through his own adjustment process, Russell still accepted a leadership role.
“I try to help out the freshmen as much as I can. Because it was new for the whole coaching staff thing was new for everybody. So I learned it quicker than a freshman would, because they're still young. But once I learned it, I started to help the freshmen out,” he said.
One area on the defense that does return a lot of experience is on the defensive line where not only Russell returns but other experienced options such as Edward Vesterinen and Asani Redwood.
Now, with spring in the rear-view, the focus for Russell is to continue to get stronger and in even better shape to be able to handle the role that is going to be thrust upon him. He also plans on learning the playbook even better and putting himself in position to take an even bigger leap forward.
That includes playing with an edge at all times.
“You've got to be willing to dominate your opponent every play, and play harder than your opponent every play. We're going to attack you. I will say, we're going to attack you every play, no matter what,” Russell said.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan, @wesleyshoe
