Exclusive: Tulane Defensive Star Displays Confidence in His Player-Led Team
The Tulane Green Wave want to reach the conference championship this season, and the path to success is through a player-led team.
That’s how they pulled off the greatest single-season turnaround in college football history, going from 2-10 to 12-2.
Defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins is one of those critical leaders. Jenkins sat down with Tulane on Sports Illustrated in Arlington, Texas, to discuss the importance of that role and how he’s seen that trait in both veterans and newcomers.
For the past two seasons, Jenkins has been one of the team's two representatives at American Conference media days. Last year he was alongside Michael Pratt. This time, grad transfer Vincent Murphy from Kentucky, the presumed starting center, joined him. Despite all the turnover, Jenkins doesn’t feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.
“I don’t feel any pressure or anything,” Jenkins told me at American Conference media days. “The guys that have been here, like Slim (Bailey Despanie), Josh Remetich, and Shadre Hurst, they're all helping keep the standard held, and keep the winning culture going. I feel like that's the reason why we're adjusting so well, because we have a lot of great leaders on the team.”
The last time Tulane Green Wave defensive tackle Patrick Jenkins was in Arlington, his player-led team won the Cotton Bowl. Though his safety played a critical component, he credits the leadership of the team – something he’s seen already from this year’s team.
“I feel like it's going to be a very player-led team,” Jenkins said. “Like I told you before, we have a lot of leaders. There's a lot of us. I can't even name all the guys. There's so many, so I feel like we have a good player-led team.”
Chemistry has to come together, and Tulane’s work in both portal windows produced a lot of newcomers. Jenkins is excited more than anything at the potential he sees in the entire team, but particularly his unit.
“Man, it's going to be a very fun year with our defensive line,” he said through a smile. “Landius Wilkerson, our new coach, he's a very good coach. It's going to be a good year for our d-line.”
Jenkins expects to stay at the interior role he’s come to love. It's natural for him to play inside, telling me that it best suits his body type and attributes. But he has the versatility to do some work on the edge, and the willingness to roll with how his coaches want to use him.
The energy in this new era is palpable, and Jenkins is thrilled to enter it under coach Jon Sumrall.
“He's a younger coach, so he brings a lot of energy,” Jenkins explained. “He's running around at practice, talking stuff, having fun.”
Jenkins’ goal is simple: win a conference championship. His confidence stems from what he sees in summer workouts. Both veterans and transfers have stepped up to make Tulane a player-led team.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com