Shane Burnham

Rutgers defensive line coach Shane Burnham (John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

PISCATAWAY -- Rutgers held its sixth practice of the spring on Tuesday morning. The session was closed to the media, but defensive line coach Shane Burnham and some of the top players at that position spoke with reporters after practice.

Here are the key developments from the day:

The Headline

Just two weeks into spring practice, a clear pecking order has been established on the defensive line. Seniors Julian Pinnix-Odrick and Quanzell Lambert are locked into the starting defensive end spots, while senior Darius Hamilton and junior Sebastian Joseph are the starting defensive tackles.

"All four of those guys have played a lot of ball," Burnham said. "You can see it. It shows up. The younger guys it's a work in progress. You can see that there is a pretty big drop as far as experienced depth, but I've been pleased with the attitude and the effort we get every day."

it's not a surprise that Pinnix-Odrick and Lambert have seized starting jobs, while Hamilton has reclaimed his starting defensive tackle job after missing most of last season with a knee injury. The only mild surprise is that Joseph, who started every game last season, is well ahead of sophomore Kevin Wilkins, who came on strong late last season.

"Sebastian I think right now has a firm grip on it, to be honest with you," Burnham said. "Kevin Wilkins, who played a little last year as a redshirt freshman, is backing him up. I'd like to see Kevin a little more consistent in a lot of the things he's doing. Until he gets there, he won't challenge Sebastian. Right now, Sebastian's kind of got a death grip on that and has done a good job running with it."

3 Takeaways

*Defensive end Kemoko Turay remains sidelined as he recovers from offseason shoulder injury, so Burnham has hadn't much of an opportunity to assess the physically gifted pass-rusher.

"I hope that mentally he's tuned-in in the meetings. He's certainly not given me any reason to believe he's not," Burnham said. "We know what he can do physically when he's engaged and playing well. He's explosive off the ball. So hopefully this package is multiple and will give him a chance to bring him off the edge some and drop him and use some of those abilities. But I don't know anything on Kemoko other than, 'Hey, he's been attentive in meetings.' "

*Rutgers could feature a pass-rushing front with four defensive ends this season. It's a package that head coach Chris Ash used last season as the defensive coordinator at Ohio State, moving star Joey Bosa inside on passing downs. Pinnix-Odrick's versatiltity -- he played defensive tackle last season -- would facilitate the package.

"We have to get the best guys on the field and get those slugs off the field -- eating gaps and pushing the middle," Burnham said. "Get free of a block and pressure the quarterback. Certainly we have to build that for third down, whether that's a three-man front or a four-man front, getting defensive ends in across the board. Not that inside guys can't rush. We have to build for situational football."

*Pinnix-Odrick, Joseph, defensive tackle Eric Wiafe and defensive end Darnell Davis were selected for the Champions Club at the end of the winter conditioning program. The club recognizes players who excelled during the conditioning program and members receive perks, such as better meals and apparel.

"I think we had half our D-line make the Champions Club," Hamilton said. "It was Sebastian, Wiafe, Darnell and Julian. I think that was the most at any position. That just shows you how hard these guys work -- younger guys, older guys -- and how much we've really got the same goal in mind. I love practicing with these guys. It's been a lot of fun. I'm sure it will continue to be a lot of fun."

Quote of the Day

Darius Hamilton on adjusting to the new coaching staff:

"I'm sure people would like to hear me say it's difficult, but these are people who love football. When you get around people who love football and have the same core values and beliefs as you, it's very simple to share similarities and things like that. They're a great staff. Coach Ash is a fiery coach, a defensive coach who cares about how we do on defense. I was real close with Coach (Jim) Panagos; Coach Burnham is probably as passionate as Coach Panagos was. Attention to detail like never before. I'm really excited. I'm getting excited about coaches I don't even play for, like Coach (A.J.) Blazek, I was watching him work with the offensive line guys. It's great to see the kind of staff that (Ash has) brought in, how young, fiery and energetic that they are. That's what we said he was going to bring and that's what he's brought. It's been really exciting to watch, it's been really exciting to work with and I know we can only go up from here."

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*Rutgers linemen get up to speed in new offense

*Rutgers hosting coaches clinic this weekend

*Recapping Big Ten recruiting in March

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Rutgers WR Leonte Carroo going through a workout in the bubble right now for the #Titans. — Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) April 5, 2016

Highlights

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