Tulane Looks to Solidify Their Pass Rush Off the Edge
The Tulane Green Wave will be evaluating a lot of different roles in their season opener, and the defensive line coming together as a pass rush unit will be critical to watch.
Tulane plays with a three-man front, and they have veteran experience on the interior line. It’s the edge roles that have question marks, particularly at Bandit. Patrick Jenkins returns at defensive tackle alongside Eric Hicks at nose. Transfer Adin Huntington from ULM is a ferocious rusher who will slot in at defensive end.
These players are proven. As were the players at Bandit last season, Devean Deal and Darius Hodges. Deal had 25 solo tackles, 43 total tackles, 13 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles, and an interception and a fumble recovery. Hodges had 20 solo tackles, 25 total tackles, 9.5 TFL, and 7.5 sacks.
They also had size that the Green Wave will miss at the role. Deal is 6-foot-4, 245 pounds, and Darius Hodges is 6-foot-2, 280 pounds. The player who’s had the most snaps with the starters at Bandit through fall camp is transfer Terrell Allen from Tennessee State.
Allen is listed on their website at 6-foot, 275, and doesn’t have standout athletic traits, like Deal's good length. Tulane managed to find incredibly well-sized players from FCS programs in the transfer portal at cornerback and linebacker. Micah Robinson and Johnathan Edwards stand tall in the secondary, and Sam Howard looks about the same size as Dorian Williams when he was with the program.
Allen comes from an FCS program but isn’t an exceptionally sized player like those three. It doesn’t always come down to physical traits – just look at Nick Anderson and his time at Tulane. The other players in the mix at the role are Matthew Fobbs-White and Michael Lunz, with some packages for other pieces.
Fobbs-White is less proven than Allen, though it’ll be important to assess how Allen fares against Power-4 competition in the upcoming weeks for Tulane. That can matter in developing players from FCS schools. Fobbs-White got some time in the Military Bowl and flashed accordingly. He didn’t catch my eye much in spring, but he’s shown potential in the fall.
What Tulane needs from the Bandit role is a player who can take advantage of the one-on-one matchups the rest of the defensive line’s play will provide. Adin Huntington on the opposite edge at defensive end is going to command double teams often; his film against Ole Miss last season gave their offensive line fits.
Much like Huntington, Jenkins was a nightmare for the trenches in last year's loss to Ole Miss. Teams will have to focus on both sides of the line with the spacing of Jenkins and Huntington – which also opens the lane for Hicks.
That gives the Bandits good opportunities to rush the passer. And that's probably the most impossible trait to assess in training camp.
WWL’s Mike Detillier once referred to the trenches play as “pajamas and slippers” in a practice setting, and that sums it up well. Much like it made the running back competition difficult to evaluate last year before the opener against South Alabama, the defensive line only has the opportunity to show so much without full tackling and ability to hit the quarterback.
Devean Deal is a perfect example of a player who came out of nowhere in a game setting. When Tulane played Houston in 2022, I recall being impressed by Deal in limited snaps, where he recorded a tackle for loss. The following week against ECU, he had a pass deflection. I hadn’t noticed him much if at all prior to that stretch of games. He was one of the most productive players last season for the Wave.
Players have stepped up at every hole on the roster, and the last step is putting it all together on the field and working in concert. Coach Landius Wilkerson has shown the ability to develop quickly with players like Gerrod Henderson and Deshaun Batiste making splashes in practice with little to no game experience. Thursday's season opener will be the true debut for that pass rush unit.
MADDY HUDAK