After losing every starter, Tulane turns to transfers and young talent to rebuild its defensive front.
New Orleans, La. – If a team has any hope of being competitive, it’ll come down to their play on the defensive line, and the Tulane Green Wave certainly had a lot of turnover at that spot this offseason.
They lost every starter from last season and will now look forward with some guys who have been here developing and others who came in to fill key roles like defensive tackle Ed Smith from the South Alabama Jaguars.
It will come down to not only their talent on the field, but also how much of an impact they can make off of it.
Free safety Jack Tchienchou talked about player leadership at American Conference media days last month and mentioned how he led his group while linebacker Chris Rodgers took care of the second level.
Newcomer Smith, per Tchienchou, stepped into that role with the defensive line, and it’s something Smith has naturally enjoyed.
“They call me the uncle of the group, so I kind of got over and just embraced that role,” Smith explained. “It takes time to understand who to talk to and how to talk to them. And I just feel like I can connect to all the D linemen in a way to where they can understand and they can go out there and execute.”
For the Green Wave, losing their starters isn’t as painful as some other programs when it comes to how much depth they have on that line.
Early on in camp, we’ve seen transfer Reshad Sterling line up as starting defensive end as well as Josh Lewis, who Smith also mentioned as a critical leader who he often turns some guys towards.
PaLanding Drammeh is another redshirt freshman like Lewis who has taken first team reps alongside Derrick Shepard Jr. at nose tackle.
Smith has consistently been on first team at d-tackle, but freshman Jordyn Crites, who stands at a formidable 6-foot-7, 274 pounds, has seen some snaps behind him. Smith is probably the most regular first teamer in the group.
At Bandit, which has been a pain point at times for Tulane in the past, has been anchored by Warren Roberts Jr. and Jah’rie Garner, who saw a bit of time last year.
It didn’t necessarily see the biggest group of transfers, but that group more than any will be a sign of the Green Wave’s ability to develop players from the ground up.
It’s a group that finally got to show a bit of what they were made of in pads on Day 3 of camp, and they gave the quarterbacks in the competition a bit of pressure and duress to work under.
They’ll get a real chance in the first scrimmage to show off their ability to pass rush and stop the run, the latter of which is no small task against the crowded running back room that Tulane is touting.
