A couple weeks into camp and defensive line coach Brady Hoke said that he wanted to rotate about 10 defensive linemen in throughout games this season.

That now seems unlikely.

The defensive line has had players step up and continue to improve, but after five weeks, it doesn’t look like he will have 10 lineman rotating week one vs Georgia Tech.

“The great thing is we’ve got a lot of competition still,” Hoke said.

Georgia Tech is known for their heavy dosage of run plays. Last season, Georgia Tech ran the ball on 77% of their plays. Only four teams in division l football ran the ball more last season.

That heavy reliance on the run is tough to play against because it makes defensive lineman tired throughout a game, which is why depth is important.

At defensive end, there seems to be a consensus that at least four will be a part of that rotation. Darrell Taylor, Kyle Phillips, Jonathan Kongbo and Deandre Johnson have all received raving reviews throughout camp.

“I met with the four ends who have got the most work,” Hoke said. “I can’t tell you who the starters are at that group yet. That’s a good thing.”

The defensive tackle position may be a little harder to gauge.

Behind expected starters Kahlil McKenzie and Kendal Vickers, there’s a big question mark on who could get the next reps and spot on the depth.

“Inside, we are still trying to build it [depth],” Hoke said.

Shy Tuttle was a player who was poised for a good season last year, but injuries derailed his season early. Tuttle is still recovering, but he could be a guy expected to help out against the Yellow Jackets triple option.

“I think he’s made great purges the last two weeks,” Hoke said. “We got him in some real team stuff yesterday against the offense. I think he felt real good.”

As a defensive lineman, one of the biggest challenges Georgia Tech will present is their offensive line’s cut-blocking technique. This is a completely different blocking scheme from what players will see all season, which means they have to prepare differently for it.

Cut blocking is when a player is trying to knock down an opposing player by hitting his knees.

“We know we’re going to get cut, but I think we are well prepared for it,” defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo said.

Brady Hoke is no stranger to the triple option. He has seen it several times in his career, including matching up against Georgia Tech’s head coach Paul Johnson while Johnson was at Navy.

With Hoke’s experience, the players are being prepared in every way possible to take on the cut blocks.

“Coach has always been preaching it’s all about eye discipline,” Kongbo said. “Hand violence, eye discipline, being able to see it.”

With 10 days left until the opener, the depth chart is starting to form, but Hoke doesn’t have his 10-man rotation that he wants just yet.

Along with Tuttle, a few other defensive linemen are battling the injury bug as well, and this could be hampering their chances at cracking the rotation.

Even as this worries and concerns many fans, Hoke doesn’t seem to be worried about rotational depth.

“I don’t know if we will be there [10-Man rotation] on that first week, but I think as we continue to develop some of the younger guys,” Hoke said. “I believe we will.”