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Myles Nash taking advantage of his upgraded role

Rutgers fourth-year junior Myles Nash is getting his share of reps this season and has been steadily progressing as part of the defensive end rotation. Nash has taken advantage of the fresh opportunities afforded to him by the new RU coaching staff.

“The change in the coaching staff definitely helped. I am not going to be a guy who sits here and makes excuses," Nash said. "My relationship with previous staff members is not as strong as it is now. I think you look at [Head] Coach [Chris] Ash and the staff we have now, they are so connected with everyone. Before, there were people on the staff you never had conversations with.

“Now, everyone is so connected. When we are eating meals for pre-game, Coach Ash makes different coaches sit with different position groups so we can all get connected. I think that is important when you are building a team.”

On the field, Nash has been making use of his reps as the first defensive end to enter the game behind starters Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Darnell Davis.

“I feel like from the beginning of the season until now, I am definitely more comfortable,” Nash said. “I was more tentative the first two games. Now, I am not worried about the reps. I know they are going to come. I just have to keep practicing hard. I feel like I have the high level of confidence that I had in high school.”

Nash was one of the state’s most explosive defensive ends coming out of Timber Creek High School in the class of 2013, although he played at just 189 pounds.

“In high school, I was in a two-point stance. I could be more explosive because I was already upright,” Nash said. “Now, I also have a lot more weight. I am 260 [pounds]. You have to get used to the weight. When I first added it, I would lose a step. But it would start to come back once I got used to running at a higher weight.

“I feel like I am getting my speed back. I am not as fast as I was in high school, but I feel like I am more explosive and way stronger. With the little bit of speed that I lost, I gained strength, so I am okay with that.”

Nash still has one more year of eligibility remaining and will be in line to assume the role of a starter in 2017.

He credited the coaching staff with not only helping him along, but changing the entire culture of the program.

“They have been phenomenal. It is depressing to see people outside the program who don’t really understand the things they did to enhance our experience here. But it falls down on us. We are the ones that go out and compete every day and they are putting us in the best possible position to succeed; game plan wise, mentally, physically, the way they are training and feeding us. The amount of hours they put in for us needs to be reciprocated. If we are not competing the way they are teaching us to compete, then it falls on us. They are doing all they can do.”

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