Georgia Southern defensive coordinator Lorenzo Costantini isn't letting statistics define success.

And he 's not going to let them dictate how he runs his system.

Costantini stood by that system during a pre-spring press conference on Wednesday, a day before the Eagles started spring practice.

It's the same system he and GS head coach Tyson Summers ran when they were at Central Florida. Summers was the defensive coordinator and Costantini the defensive line coach in 2014 when the Knights had the No. 3-ranked defense in the country.

"I believe in the system," Costantini said. "It's the same system; we're not changing it. As long as players play with speed in the system - it doesn't matter what scheme you run, it's the belief in the scheme that makes you win."

Wednesday was the first time Costantini answered questions raised by the performance of Georgia Southern's defensive line last season. The Eagles registered only 11 sacks on the season, which tied for 124th out of 128 FBS teams. With eight players who were juniors or seniors, the defensive line appeared to be one of the Eagles' strongest positions heading into the 2016 season.

But stats don't always tell the whole story, Costantini said.

"I don't base it on that," he said. "The game of football is not a statistical game.

"When Coach Summers and I were at UCF, we were No. 1 in sacks. The next season, we were not, and we won the conference again. I don't like to relate it to what statistics are, but I like to relate it to how hard our kids are playing within the defense."

In addition to calling the plays in 2017, Costantini also takes over coaching the defensive line, which has been his specialty since he started as a graduate assistant at UTEP. Jimmy Lindsey, who coached the Eagles' defensive line last season, left to take the same position at Western Kentucky.

Costantini said he only cares about disrupting the play of the quarterback, not necessarily whether the quarterback gets sacked.

"I like pressure," Costantini said. "Sacks are a bonus. I'd rather have 30 pressures and zero sacks. If I have 30 pressures, then that means there were 30 incomplete passes. We were 12th in the country on third down, so we were getting to the quarterback when we needed to."

Strong out of the gate

One of the new hires made by Summers that seems to be paying early dividends is the addition of strength and conditioning coach Dwayne Chandler, who came to Statesboro after working on the staff at Memphis the past two season. Chandler was also assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Denver Broncos from 2007-2008.

Early spring practices last season were known for going longer than scheduled, and Thursday's spring opener was no exception. Summers said he was impressed with the stamina shown by his players.

"For a first day, I thought they were in really good shape," Summers said on Thursday. "I give a lot of credit to Coach Chandler."

"I love Coach Chandler," added linebacker Chris DeLaRosa. "I think he's a great coach. I think the workouts are tough, but they're fair. Everyone is pushing themselves, and I think we've gotten a lot stronger. I think we're in a lot better shape coming into spring this year."

Working their way back

The Eagles will get back several players who were injured throughout last season or who missed the last few games, but maybe none more missed than Tommy Boynton, who took a medical redshirt because of a concussion he suffered last spring. Boynton looks to be the favorite to replace former All-Sun Belt first team Andy Kwon at center, though it might take some time to make the transition from right tackle, where he started all 13 games during the 2015-2016 season.

Several of Boynton's snaps on Thursday were low and skipped off the turf.

"Tommy's rusty, to say the least," Summers said. "He's out there with the first group today at center. We certainly feel like he's going to give us a great advantage at that position. Obviously, it's not a position he's played a lot at. He's going to have a lot of rust when it comes to snapping the ball."

DeLaRosa, who missed the last five games last season with a high ankle sprain, did not practice Thursday because of a bout with the flu, but the senior said he's ready to go.

"I feel good," he said. "I'm ready for the season, ready to get back out there and hit some people.

"We lost a lot of seniors, so we need to reload. Guys have to grow up fast. I want to establish myself as a leader. We've got a lot of young guys, but they're willing to learn and every single day come out with a great attitude and ready to play."

Summers also said he's looking forward to seeing safety RJ Murray, who became a campus hero with a blocked field goal in the third game of last season against Louisiana-Monroe, back in action.

Senior running back LA Ramsby will miss the spring season after undergoing surgery.