With every starter gone from last year's defensive line, Shepard steps up as a proven returner under new position coach Eric McDaniel this season.
The Tulane Green Wave football team is looking to continue their run of success with another contending college football season, and there are certainly going to be a few questions on the roster and about the coaching turnover.
The Green Wave will enter next season under a new head coach, though they retain a considerable number of position group coaches.
There wasn’t as much roster turnover as one would necessarily expect with the departure of a head coach either.
There was much more of a roster exodus when Willie Fritz left versus Jon Sumrall.
Much of that has to do with what has been built by Fritz and since he left to make it a desirable destination to stick with new coaching changes through.
So, the number of returning players for Tulane is impressive, especially when thinking about NIL and the transfer portal.
Some of the position groups were hit harder than others by departures in the portal, and the defensive line certainly sticks out as every starter from the line last season is gone, and many of their backups.
One of the returning players is the final player rounding out the Athlon Sports 2026 Preseason American All-Conference Selections on the Fourth Team.
That would be defensive lineman Derrick Shepard Jr., a redshirt defensive lineman who is sticking through both a head coach and position group change with Landius Wilkerson leaving as defensive line coach.
Shepard will now be coached by new defensive line coach Eric McDaniel.
Shepard was backup to Tre’Von McAlpine, who transferred to the Kansas Jayhawks.
He played in all 14 games for the Wave last season with two starts in his one season with the program and totaled six tackles with one tackle for loss in the 2025 season.
He’ll look to make a jump for the program this season.
It’s an important unit for the program to receive preseason accolades for, as defensive lines can be the end all be all of defenses and, frankly, teams.
He is also alongside Ed Smith IV, transfer defensive lineman from the South Alabama Jaguars, who made Third Time on the Athlon Sports list.
Those two will be important players to watch as key members of a line that doesn’t have many answers but plenty of potential ahead of the season.
Shepard rounds out the 10th total selection on the Athlon Sports list, with more preseason hype to come as the Wave gear up for training camp.
