The Newest Rookie Rusher

DE Cliff Avril Learning Under Head Coach Rod Marinelli and the Tutelege of Lions' Vets
By Chrissie Wywrot
Detroitlions.com
June 6, 2008

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- One can only assume what it must feel like to be Head Coach Rod Marinelli’s personal project.

Regarded as the best defensive line coach in the league, Marinelli expects nothing short of excellence from his front men and isn’t afraid to let them know it.

Last year, Ikaika Alama-Francis was the lone rookie in Marinelli and Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen’s heralded position group. This year, the Lions have a pair of first-year, third-round defensive linemen: Andre Fluellen and Cliff Avril.

“It’s kind of crazy to have the head coach looking over you at all times,” said Avril. “But at the same time it’s a good thing because he likes the (defensive) line and he has a lot of good tips. He’s a real good coach.”

Avril came to Detroit out of Purdue, where he spent just a year-and-a-half as a defensive end. He began his collegiate career as an outside linebacker before his coaches moved him to the line.

“I moved mid-season my junior year to defensive end,” he said. “It was a good move because I probably wouldn’t be in the NFL if it wasn’t for that. I was definitely moved to D-end because of my speed. I think we needed more speed up front to help out Anthony Spencer, who’s with the Cowboys right now.

“They basically did it for the team.”

It’s the speed that had the Lions zoned in on him early in the scouting process.

Described as a ‘tweener’ heading into the NFL Draft, many thought Avril was too small to play defensive end at the professional level and projected him as a 3-4 outside linebacker. But Marinelli and the Lions’ coaching staff liked Avril’s speed around the edge and, in Detroit’s one-gap system, he is a great fit.

“We’ve had somewhat of a successful history of taking undersized, fast, tough guys and implementing them into our system,” said Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry. “They flourish. We feel that Cliff is in that mold. He’s about 6-3, 255 pounds and ran the fastest 40(-yard dash) of all the defensive linemen at the combine.

“He has explosive quickness and had a really good vertical and broad jump at the combine. Those are things that really jumped out at us.”

Avril actually has experience in this type of system from what he ran in college. When the coaching staff at Purdue moved him to defensive end it wasn’t due to a system change – it was because they thought he could best help the team as a defensive end.

He says he thinks about what it would have been like to have been drafted as an outside linebacker, but there is no going back – he’s a defensive end.

“I’ve thought about it but I’m a D-end and I just try to get better at that,” said Avril. “I can improve. I’m just trying to get better daily. I’m starting to realize more and more it’s a job – it’s not like college. But you have to always be on point and I’m just trying to get better every day.”

One of the ways he is trying to get better is by picking the brains of his veteran teammates.

“It’s always good to get tips from the vets, especially guys who have been here for awhile,” said Avril. “I talk to Dewayne (White) a lot, I talk to (Jared DeVries) a lot – (I talk to) all the D-linemen, actually. They’ve all got tips, they’ve all been here for awhile and I’m just trying to learn and get better.”

White plays on the same side of the line as Avril: right end.

Typically, the right end is the smaller, speed guy due to the reality that they are presented with more one-on-one match-ups. NFL offenses also tend to run to the offensive right (the defensive left) and set up the tight end on the right, so left defensive ends are usually double-teamed and have to play the run more often than the right ends.

“I give him pointers,” said White of Avril. “I’m trying to show him some of the pitfalls of this league and what not to do. I’m giving him some encouragement.

“He’s really talented. (He’s) a real quick guy and he just needs to be guided and coached. Coaches are helping him, but (there are) some things you can’t go to coaches for. So he asks me – he asks all the players.”

One thing Avril – and many of the other drafted rookies, for that matter – presents is humility.

He understands the reality that he hasn’t made the team yet, and knows he is fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster.

“(I’m) just looking to learn (and) looking to get a spot on the team,” said Avril of training camp, which will begin at the end of July. “Nobody has a guaranteed spot on the team so I’m definitely just trying to compete with the guys and hopefully can be a part of the squad and get better.”

Though the team is unable to conduct padded practices throughout the offseason, Avril already feels he is improving under Marinelli’s tutelage.

“My hand speed needs to get a little better compared to the vets, but it’s definitely getting better and better,” he said. “I’m learning a lot from (the) Coach(es); especially Marinelli. He knows what he’s talking about. He’s had quite a few D-linemen that have been real successful. I’m starting to see that it’s working for me, but I still have a long way to go.”

One defensive end Marinelli compares Avril with is Simeon Rice, who played under Marinelli in Tampa from 2001-06. Over that time period, Rice accumulated 69.5 sacks.

“(He shows me film of Rice) all the time,” said Avril. “He showed me film of him, actually, when I came to visit before the draft and he’s still showing me film on him to this day. I’m definitely trying to be like him – he’s a great pass-rusher.”

Comparing himself to defensive ends is a new thing for Avril, who spent the majority of his collegiate career believing he would enter the NFL as a linebacker.

“I used to watch Shaun Phillips from Purdue; Rosevelt Colvin,” said Avril. “But they (would) sometimes get in a three-point stance and stuff like that, so I used to watch them a lot. But now I try to pattern it behind all the good defensive ends like Simeon and a few other guys in the league.

“I’m just trying to get there (with) the lighter guys who are faster. Trying to get there.”