By Will Vandervort.

When he looks across the room at his defensive ends, Clemson’s Marion Hobby likes who he sees looking back at him.

Of course he has All-American Vic Beasley under his tutelage as well as Corey Crawford, who has All-American potential. Then there is Shaq Lawson, an up-and-coming superstar in his own right, and senior Tavaris Barnes – probably the most improved player on the team.

“I will tell you what, I’m really blessed as a coach,” said Hobby. “Those guys have great work ethic and I never get any trouble out of any of them.”

A lot of that credit goes to the guy who is coaching them. Hobby develops his players as well as anybody in the country. A three-year starter at Tennessee, Hobby earned All-SEC honors as a defensive end and played for three seasons in the NFL.

Not only is he a good coach, but he understands the position and he knows what it takes to get his players where they want to be. He has played a big role in why Beasley has become one of the best defensive ends in the country and why Clemson led the nation in tackles for loss in 2013.

His latest two projects are Ebenezer Ogundeko and Martin Aiken. Ogundeko, otherwise known as Ebo, was redshirted last year, while Aiken was a reserve who mostly played on special teams.

Ogundeko (6-foot-2, 255) enrolled at Clemson in January of 2013 and participated in spring drills that year, but he had issues trying to get around guys like Brandon Thomas and Isaiah Battle in practice.

“It was better that he redshirt because he struggled against Brandon Thomas and there are a lot of Brandon Thomas in the world,” Hobby said.

The Brooklyn, N.Y. native also needed to bring his weight up and get a little stronger. He has since gained 25 pounds. But with guys like Beasley, Crawford, Barnes and Lawson on the two-deep roster, don’t expect to see too much of Ogundeko on the field this season. According to Hobby, he still has some work to do.

“I talked to Ebo this spring and told him he had to help us on special teams as well,” Hobby said. “His turn will come, but my job is to make sure he is ready when it is his time. When it is his turn, he will be ready to play.”

It’s not Aiken’s turn to play right now, either. The redshirt sophomore from Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School in Bamberg, S.C., was in the same situation last year as Ogundeko is this year. Aiken, however, could see a little more action on the field in 2014 just simply because of his experience. He will also continue to help on special teams.

It also has helped that Aiken came into the spring with the right attitude and has continued to work hard.

“Martin Aiken’s attitude in the spring was totally different. He did not put so much pressure on himself,” Hobby said. “Martin has a lot of pride. He comes from a good Bamberg program that has a lot of pride.”

Last year, Aiken (6-foot-2, 230) played in 12 games—mostly on special teams—and record eight tackles, including one tackle for loss. Three of his eight tackles came at Syracuse when he only took six snaps.

As camp approaches next Friday, Hobby is excited to see how both guys will fit into his position room. Do they come in as the wide-eyed freshmen they once were, amazed by all the talent in the room or do they blend in as part of that talent, which makes the defensive ends position at Clemson so strong.

“As they become older, the weight will come, the playing time will come and they will become better players,” Hobby said.