With John Chavis now running the defensive show at Texas A&M, all of the holdovers from last year are adjusting. That goes for coaches and for players, almost all of whom are finding themselves dealing with new techniques and responsibilities.

Always vital in a Chavis defense is the play of the cornerbacks and defensive ends. The Aggies are a work in progress at the corner positions, but they have plenty of firepower at defensive end. The question is how all of the talent will fit within the new scheme.

A difference between Mark Snyder’s defensive system and the one the Aggies will run under Chavis is the responsibilities those defensive ends will have. According to defensive ends coach Terry Price, Chavis will rely on both ends to generate pressure, whereas under Snyder there was generally just one DE was relied on to generate pressure.

That will be an interesting adjustment for one player in particular, senior Julien Obioha. It’s something Price noted in his media availability last week.

“He’s worked at it. I don’t think he’s blessed with the skill set that some of those other (defensive ends) have, speed, quickness, initial first step. What he lacks there he makes up for in technique,” Price said of Obioha.

Price was quick to praise Myles Garrett, Daeshon Hall and Qualen Cunningham, younger players with explosive talent, although he had areas all of them can improve, from technique to effort to strength. All three of them are natural pass rushers, whereas Obioha has been more focused on stopping the run for the first three years of his career.

Obioha has been one of the few consistent players in Texas A&M’s defensive front over the last few seasons, but now his role is in question. He’s the most experienced player the Aggies have on the defense, with 36 starts to his name in his three years. Despite that experience, Obioha knows that he’s starting fresh with Chavis, just like the rest of his teammates.

“Everybody gets a clean slate. All spots are open,” Obioha told the media after practice last week. “You got to make your claim to a spot. You know it doesn’t matter if you started two or three years, or are a returning starter, it doesn’t really matter. A new scheme, all the spots are open, so you just got to study your playbook like you’re a freshman.”

That clean slate could work against Obioha as much as anyone on the defense. While Price said that Obioha has worked hard to improve upon his technical skills, even his position coach admits he’s not as natural of a fit as a pass rusher as his position group mates.

Obioha’s experience is invaluable, but it sure sounds like he’s going to have to prove he can adapt to a new scheme if he wants to contribute on the field like he has the last three seasons.