Cal defensive tackle Ricky Correia chats about progress on the line

The Cal defensive line is looking to take a step forward in 2024

Ricky Correia chatted with the media after the conclusion of spring practice.

How would you rate today for the defense and your guys overall performance today?

I would say today was a good day for the defense, caused some big takeaways, some very big plays made, but still room to get better and still room toim prove. So he's got to focus on that. This spring has been good for us to build momentum on the whole.

On getting more into the backfield during the spring

Sometimes it's just a technique change. It's a little bit different, nothing to pick up. But it's been great for us so far. We made a lot of plays as a group, changing our mode of play a little bit and having more opportunities, be on the move and not just be a stationary target.

So it's been great to create havoc as a defensive line and that's what we want to do ultimately.

On why Cal will be fun to watch in 2024

I would say just be ready for exciting, big over the top plays. You know, we got an explosive offense and we're going to make some very big, explosive plays on defense. So just be ready for excitement all around.

On who to watch for on the line in 2024

I would say in our room, Akhili Calhoun, he's been a workhorse, even last fall, last spring, ever since he's been here, he's just had his head down grinding. So it's just been great to see him progress as a player and as a person.

On his physical conditional improvements

I feel like me being a little bit lighter has helped my reaction time to the box and just, overall allow me to play faster, be able to play more plays on the drive. Just just overall just feeling more nimble, you know. So that's been a good thing for me.

On what he’s learned about himself

I feel like for me as a player, I've learned that I got to learn how to trust the new guys around me and, you know, learn how they play. And also for some of those new guys, just learning a new style of defense and how to play together.

And it's as long as we mesh well as a defense, we're going to go out there and do big things. So that's just a thing during the fall. Just find each other's space, find each other's play style, and just play off each other and go, go hunt.

Defensive takeaways from spring showcase

I would say the DBs had a really good day, you know, taking the ball away and just overall we had some big plays I think we wanted to do. We want to, you know, be able to take the ball away at any time. So that's the thing that we've been focusing on to continue to focus on that.