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Defensive line talk with Randy Hart

Stanford defensive line coach Randy Hart is among the most experience line coaches in all of football, be it at the college or NFL level.
When Randy Hart speaks, everyone around him listens, which is why this Q&A is especially interesting. Hart took the time Tuesday to speak with Cardinal Sports Report about the individuals on Stanford's defensive line.
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DE Henry Anderson, 6-6, 278
Stats: 42 tackles, 11 TFL, 5.5 sacks
Hart: "Much improvement. Really grew throughout the summer camp. Got experience, worked hard. Had some tough times in our early games, but gained some good confidence because of his work ethic and became a very good football player."
DE Ben Gardner, 6-4, 275
Stats: 43 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 7.5 sacks
Hart: "Ben Gardner is a guy that enjoys playing football. Proably one of the smartest football players I've been around. He can diagnose a lot of what's going on on the field. He can not only tell the players on the field of what's going on, but can give us a pretty accurate description of what's going on when he comes off the field. He's a great coaches aide. He's a great competitor. He plays with a good toughness quotient in there that he likes to mix it up. He's not afraid of working."
DT Terrence Stephens, 6-2, 305
Stats: 10 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack
Hart: "Terrence is currently parked right now. He's doing a good job. He's done a great job throughout the season. We're happy to have him and he's had a doggone good career here at Stanford. He'll go on and do great at whatever he does, I can guarantee you that because he is a talented young man. Be it law school, whatever his chosen … I mention law school because I think that's what he's doing."
DE Charlie Hopkins, 6-6, 274
Stats: 2 tackles
Hart: "When he's been out there he's been fine, but he's been injured."
DE Josh Mauro, 6-6, 277
Stats: 11 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks
Hart: "Josh is a guy that started slow this year, but all of a sudden in the last four, five weeks, when the season has become challenged, he become challenged. He's accepted the challenge greatly and he's playing more and more football and he's playing great football right now. He gives great effort. He's a guy that because of his foot speed he can track people down and get to the football. He can find the football and get to the football."
DE J.B. Salem, 6-4, 266
Hart: "He is improving. Getting better in his low delivery, his last probably three, four weeks has been an improvement. As we've been playing tougher opponents, and we've played some doggone tough opponents, he's gotten better and better as the weeks go on from working against our offensive guys. He's going to be a guy that's interesting to see during the bowl practice."
DE Aziz Shittu, 6-3, 264
Stats: 5 games, 1 tackle
Hart: "Aziz we brought along early. He's a good athlete, we know that. His technique is not the best yet, but he's working on it and I think he's understanding the mental side of what it takes to be a good Division-I football defensive lineman. He's improving as we go, and again, the experience of the winter conditioning program, the bowl practice and additional spring practice, he's going to understand why we do what we do."
DT Lance Callihan, 6-3, 300
Hart: "Also in that mix of youngsters that has been around here for a year-and-a-half now that has gotten better. Looking forward to seeing what they do with Terrence Stephens graduating and not being around anymore. With David Parry and Anthony Hayes, it's going to be fun to watch them to watch them play at the nose position to see who will come out on top."
DT Anthony Hayes, 6-3, 298
Hart: "Like Lance Callihan, he's seen Parry and Stephens ahead of him and hopefully has learned a lot. We'll find out through bowl practice and spring practice. We'll find out who is going to be, I presume working with David Parry at the nose."
DT David Parry, 6-2, 300
Stats: 23 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks
Hart: "A competitor. A competitor, a tough guy. He's a guy with a great nose for the football, enjoys football, loves playing football. Great effort guy, great technician guy, only gotten better with experience. As a result, we're really happy to have him."
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DE Nate Lohn, 6-3, 273
Hart: "A youngster that has improved through the freshmen scrimmages, through the individual work and working against our offensive line. He too is learning how to get his pads down to deliver a blow and I'm excited to get all these freshmen guys into bowl practice because it is like having an additional spring practice."
DT/DE Ikenna Nwafor, 6-6, 308
Hart: "Big, raw freshman. 6-5, 6-6 guy, but does bend well. He's a Henry (Anderson) type guy. Is a good athlete and has all the tools that it takes to be a good defensive football player. Now it's going to be fun to watch him come along and watch him come along given the experience that he's got."
DT/DE Jordan Watkins, 6-5, 274
Hart: "In the same vein and Ikenna. Again, a big tall guy that loves to play football. From the same high school as Henry Anderson. A guy that has a tremendously bright future. He is a human sponge with football. He asks questions about everything we do and, again, he can tell you what we talked about the next day. He's a smart football player. He's going to learn a lot in spring practice and throughout the bowl season."
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