Tulane Green Wave Coach Confident in Depth of Defensive Unit

The Tulane Green Wave defense is deep and talented, providing optimism for the coaching staff heading into the season.

Dec 23, 2023; Birmingham, AL, USA; Troy Trojans interim head coach Greg Gasparato watches during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at Protective Stadium. / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The progress that the Tulane Green Wave’s defense has made during the offseason has been noticeable. Defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato has been impressed with his unit, who most recently dominated scrimmages against the offense.

Last week, the defense nearly shut out the offense through 11 possessions. The only score came on a 44-yard play by Khai Prean against mostly walk-ons and freshmen. However, when taking a deeper look into the scrimmage, there are still some areas of concern.

The first drive of the scrimmage was a long one, spanning 13 plays. The offense was a Mario Williams drop away from a score. Chunk yardage was gained on another drive, with three plays going for 11+ yards before running back Jamauri McClure fumbled.

Gasparato knows to keep expectations in check, no matter how good or bad things may seem in practice. He commented on the near shutout, emphasizing the need to play hard at all times during the game.

“It’s never as good as you think and never as bad as you think,” Gasparato said. “There’s some mistakes we have to clean up, but effort covers up for a lot. If you play harder than the other team, you are going to have a chance to win every game.”

Effort is something that every player can bring to the field regardless of skill level. One hustle play can be the difference between a victory or a loss in a game that can have hundreds of snaps.

However, Gasparato knows that it is unrealistic to expect guys to give maximum effort every snap and survive the season. That is where depth comes into play, and it is something that Tulane has in spades.

“We’re going to put guys in when they’re ready to go, but you can’t play 75 snaps in a game and expect to be the same at the end of the season,” Gasparato said. “When you take some reps off your legs, you only get better.”

Depth is present across the positional groups on defense. Patrick Jenkins leads the defensive line, but Gasparato believes that in the trenches he can go three deep without seeing a significant drop off in production.

At linebacker, Makai Williams, who has drawn praise during the offseason, worked with the scout team over the weekend, per Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. Tyler Grubbs and Sam Howard were on the first team, with Chris Rodgers and Dickson Agu next up.

In the secondary, Gasparato has at least five safeties he has trust in, led by holdover Bailey Despanie. Jalen Geiger, like Howard, transferred from Troy, following Gasparato and head coach Jon Sumrall this offseason.