When University of Toledo defensive line coach Larry Black returned to the Rockets this spring, he immediately realized how fortunate he is to be able to work with talented sophomore defensive end Jamal Hines.
The two grew up in Cincinnati and Black was involved in the recruiting process of Hines when he was a graduate assistant at Toledo two years ago.
“I’m very lucky to walk into a situation like that,” Black said. “He’s a Cincinnati guy and I’m a Cincinnati guy. Him being at Princeton [High School] and me being at Wyoming [High School], you hear about the good things he does. He’s just an awesome guy to coach. He’s in my office every day trying to get better and working to reach the highest level and it shows. He brings it every day. I consider him one of the better defensive linemen in our conference. I’m excited to work him and get rolling.”
Hines, a three-star prospect out of high school, started 10 games as a true freshman. He recorded three sacks, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, and was named to the Football Writers Association of America freshman All-American team.
“It starts off with good coaching,” Hines said. “I bought into the process and I believed in my coaching. I learned how to do my reads and I went off of that. I struggled at first with learning technique. Once I got the technique down, I worked it pretty well.”
Last season, Black was a graduate assistant at Notre Dame and didn’t get to see much of Hines. But he said when he sat down to view the tape when he returned to UT, Hines’ talent immediately popped.
“He stands out,” Black said. “When you look on film, you see a guy who plays violent and has heavy hands. He’s laying his hands on guys and setting the edge. You love to see coming in as a D-line coach that that guy is already in his mode and is a productive guy.”
Hines had Tuzar Skipper, a fellow defensive end, to learn from last season and will try to replace some of Skipper’s production, including his team-high 8½ sacks.
“Since he’s gone, there’s a really big job for me to step up and fill since I was here last year,” Hines said. “Those are some big shoes to fill, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity to fill those shoes and maybe bigger than that. I learned [from Skipper] that I have to get bigger — a lot bigger. I have to get more than one move off the edge. I have to work multiple moves to get to where I need to be.”
Hines knows the importance of the pass rush, and often that is how defensive ends are judged.
“Pass rush is really important because that’s how we get our money, our sacks, and our big highlights,” Hines said. “That is what everybody is looking for out of defensive ends when it gets to third-and-long and fourth-and-long.”
The next step for Hines is to hone in on consistency.
“He needs to continue to be a force on the edge in the pass rush,” Black said. “Then there is the daily improvement with knowing the assignments and being a leader. He needs to work to establish himself in our room as someone that young guys can come up to and he can bring up the young guys he is working with now.”
It appears there is a big opportunity in store for Hines. But right now, he is just focused on spring practices and improving his technique.
“That’s still a mystery right now,” Hines said. “I’m just buying in right now and when the season comes, we will see.”
First Published March 31, 2019, 5:36 p.m.
