Third-year sophomore Ahmad Moten is a pivotal player on this year’s defensive line. He met with reporters to discuss his team’s chemistry, talking smack with Cam Ward and other topics:
On his role with the team: I feel like we're just working. My role in this team is to make sure everybody is better. To make sure myself is better, make sure the D-line is better, the O-line is better, the quarterbacks and the wide receivers are better. Just go out there and grind every day. Dropping weight was a big thing for me. I did that. So just getting in shape, getting all the guys in shape. It was a hot practice today. I feel like my role is just to help any way I can. That's the main thing.
On the importance of a rotation: It helps us out a lot when you’ve got young guys like Justin Scott, who can come in with the ones and help us catch a breather for a few plays. We’re doing extra work together. We’re watching film together. When all of us are on the same page, there are no starters. It's just all of us going out there and competing. That's what it's all about.
Our group is a special group of guys. I don't think there's nothing like it. We all just click together. We're brothers. There’s no slack off when it's the ones or twos or threes. Anybody can go out there and play. There won't be any drop off.
On internal competition: It helps us a lot. It’s iron sharpening iron. If somebody is having a good day, and then Justin Scott, the freshman, has a good day, then Simeon [Barrow] is going to have a good day. With our group, everybody's competing. That's gonna stick with us. We're gonna roll.
On anybody on the offensive line sticking out to him: I can't really pick out one. I’ll probably say a young guy like, let's see, Bruno [Kinsler]. I feel like we have one of the best O-lines in the country, and we got one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. Every day we’re going out there competing, we’re going to talk this smack, and then after that, after practicing with our brothers, we're going to help each other out. “How can I beat you on this move, Coop?” Or Jalen Rivers will ask somebody on his long arm, “Where are you going to put your hands at?” So I know how to select from different opponents. We all bought in. We’re all doing it together.
On the trash talk at camp: I've seen Cam Ward call the play before the play even goes. There was one practice where he was like, “Hey Meesh, we’re throwing it at you.” Sure enough, X caught the ball, and he threw it right at Meesh.
Stuff like that just helps us compete. We love that from a quarterback. We all just love talking smack. We’re just having fun with it. That’s the main thing.
What I hate about Cam Ward is that when he has a good play or a good day, we’re going to hear it all the way to the locker room. We’re going to hear it all the way to team meetings, to dinner. So I don't like when he makes plays because he's going to talk about the whole day.
On his role with the team: I feel like we're just working. My role in this team is to make sure everybody is better. To make sure myself is better, make sure the D-line is better, the O-line is better, the quarterbacks and the wide receivers are better. Just go out there and grind every day. Dropping weight was a big thing for me. I did that. So just getting in shape, getting all the guys in shape. It was a hot practice today. I feel like my role is just to help any way I can. That's the main thing.
On the importance of a rotation: It helps us out a lot when you’ve got young guys like Justin Scott, who can come in with the ones and help us catch a breather for a few plays. We’re doing extra work together. We’re watching film together. When all of us are on the same page, there are no starters. It's just all of us going out there and competing. That's what it's all about.
Our group is a special group of guys. I don't think there's nothing like it. We all just click together. We're brothers. There’s no slack off when it's the ones or twos or threes. Anybody can go out there and play. There won't be any drop off.
On internal competition: It helps us a lot. It’s iron sharpening iron. If somebody is having a good day, and then Justin Scott, the freshman, has a good day, then Simeon [Barrow] is going to have a good day. With our group, everybody's competing. That's gonna stick with us. We're gonna roll.
On anybody on the offensive line sticking out to him: I can't really pick out one. I’ll probably say a young guy like, let's see, Bruno [Kinsler]. I feel like we have one of the best O-lines in the country, and we got one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. Every day we’re going out there competing, we’re going to talk this smack, and then after that, after practicing with our brothers, we're going to help each other out. “How can I beat you on this move, Coop?” Or Jalen Rivers will ask somebody on his long arm, “Where are you going to put your hands at?” So I know how to select from different opponents. We all bought in. We’re all doing it together.
On the trash talk at camp: I've seen Cam Ward call the play before the play even goes. There was one practice where he was like, “Hey Meesh, we’re throwing it at you.” Sure enough, X caught the ball, and he threw it right at Meesh.
Stuff like that just helps us compete. We love that from a quarterback. We all just love talking smack. We’re just having fun with it. That’s the main thing.
What I hate about Cam Ward is that when he has a good play or a good day, we’re going to hear it all the way to the locker room. We’re going to hear it all the way to team meetings, to dinner. So I don't like when he makes plays because he's going to talk about the whole day.
