The Tulane Green Wave lost a lot of leaders on their defensive line, but their lessons have had a massive trickle down effect on the next man up.
New Orleans, La. -- The Tulane Green Wave defensive line is testing the value of recruitment and development when it comes to their best starting four out there on the field.
Rather than amass a bunch of mercenaries in the transfer portal, the Green Wave are leaning on the guys who came up in their system and are ready for their time.
The line has some veteran experience on the interior with transfer Ed Smith at defensive tackle next to Derrick Shepard Jr. at nose.
On the outside, it’s a bit more unproven, but loaded with potential.
There’s some experience at defensive end with Reshad Stirling transferring in, but redshirt freshman Josh Lewis has started to take over there a bit.
At bandit, Jah’rie Garner is poised for a big year after seeing the field a bit last season and spending 2024 sidelined with an ACL injury. He’s alongside a former teammate from the local St. Augustine High School in Warren Roberts Jr., who is another redshirt freshman.
They are all set to replace a bunch of experienced starters who either transferred out or graduated. But the lessons they learned from last season in that room are essential.
Garner really took in all he could from former bandits Harvey Dyson and Mo Westmoreland that he’s ready to take to the field.
“Harvey was a guy that you wanted to be like, but it was hard to be that,” Garner said. “He had that aura on him. You wanted to learn from him. And Mo, man, he was like a good uncle. He was a grandfather almost. He was someone you want to learn from. Both of those guys poured into the room. They didn't come from Tulane, but they became Tulane guys. So being around them was amazing. They always held us accountable, held us to the standard, and pushed us to be our best selves.”
Then there’s Lewis over at defensive end, who learned behind a very important player in Tulane history in Kam Hamilton.
“Me and him spent a lot of time together,” Lewis said. “I still keep in touch with him now. Just learning some of the techniques that he used and because he'd been here his whole career.”
It’s clear that the two formed a real bond that has taught Lewis how to grow up in the system and all Hamilton learned up to the time he was a vet.
Hamilton is also legally deaf and has to play the game of football in a completely different way. Lewis has learned a lot from Hamilton’s teachings on how to play the game from a unique perspective.
“I think a lot of that helps," Lewis said. "Learning a lot of cues on the O-linemen, their eyes, reading the knees, the keys, all of that helped me for this year and with that small stuff. So now I don't have to worry so much about that and I can just work on more of being confident in my game and going out there to play the best I can.”
Gamble isn’t the right word to use to describe either last year’s strategy or this year’s, but there’s certainly a risk to loading up with guys who are either on their last year of eligibility or who might look to transfer out the year after coming in.
But to load up on that level of experience and hope that it translates and trickles down can really pay off in spades this season.
If all of that can soak in and stick with the youngers guys who are ready to be the next man up, the pay off in the trenches could be this defense’s difference maker.
