Rising Star Linebacker Earns Tulane On SI's Defensive Player of the Week
The Tulane Green Wave defense remained firm and stood tall to only allow six points from the Temple Owls on Saturday.
Leading the charge with his first career start in the Olive and Blue was sophomore linebacker Dickson Agu. The physical and gritty linebacker racked up two tackles (one solo) and one quarterback hurry in the dominant 52-6 victory over the Owls.
Not only did Agu step up in the absence of Sam Williams, he made a long-lasting impression by introducing everyone to what the young talent can bring to the table for the Green Wave linebacking corps sooner rather than later.
On the first series of the game, Agu displayed a knack for tracking down the ball and making plays everywhere on the gridiron. His innate speed and never-quit attitude allowed him to track down Temple's running back from behind with ease.
"It was great (getting) my first career start, it's nothing you take lightly," Agu said. "Sam (Williams) came down so it's next man up. For that play, I saw it and that's something we practiced all week. Just got to execute."
Before signing with Tulane, Agu was a standout linebacker at Dutchtown High School in Geismar where he was a two-time all-district selection. He recorded 97 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass breakups and one interception in his senior year.
Now, Agu is making big plays on the biggest stage in New Orleans. With just an hour separating his hometown from Tulane, getting his first career start on homecoming in front of the rowdy Green Wave fans seemed incredibly fitting.
Although the defense continues to rise to the occasion, there is still much work to do and improve upon to finish out the season strong and reach the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.
"That's what we've been preaching on this whole week. (We need) to play a complete game," Agu said. "We went out there and started hot and it carried over to the first, second and third quarters. Then, fourth quarter we got a little shaky but it's nothing we can't fix. We're going to have to fix it for the Navy game."
The game against the Midshipmen rapidly approaching this Saturday will be a determining factor in who participates in the conference championship. With a unique offense and electric firepower in a plethora of positions on that side of the ball, the Tulane defense must remain strong in its identity and continue to embrace the physical and gritty play the Green Wave has displayed all season on the gridiron.
"We're going to go into practice and see what we need to (and) see what we need to fix," Agu said. "(We'll) scheme up something, but at the end of the day it comes down to us running around, playing hard and living up to our standard and playing at our standard."
