A lot of consternation was made over the offensive line and how it would need to be rebuilt for the 2024 season. I’ve always held the belief that the offensive line had strong depth and blogged about my expectations for the boys up front next season.
The other side of the trenches is another story. The defensive line lost serious production, and there is a not lot of proven depth pieces to fill their shoes. The departing group at EDGE includes Darius “the 🛩️” Hodges (NFL), Devean Deal (TCU) and Keith Cooper (Houston). Not a lot of good things to remember from that SMU game, but Deal’s opening strip sack was certainly one of them.
Those three contributed 16.5 sacks to the 2023 team. The rest of the team had 18.5 combined and the men responsible for 6 of those have also left Tulane. Sumrall and his staff seem acutely aware of the lack of pass rush depth. Tulane has offered almost 10 high school edge rushers in the last few days.
The majority of that 18.5 came from the interior lineman and thankfully that group is completely intact for 2024. As incredible as all the off-season additions have been, few were more important than the retention of Patrick Jenkins. Shout out the Fear The Wave collective. Michael Arata and Jimmy Ordeneaux are doing amazing work. Support them and our team if you can spare the cash.
The D line goes as #0 goes. Patrick Jenkins is a man who needs no introduction. Cotton Bowl legend. 2023 College football network first team All-American. If Sincere was the heart of the O, Jenkins is his counterpart across the line of scrimmage.
Building on the safety heard around the world, big number Zero checked in with 5.5 sacks in 2023 despite being constantly double teamed. In addition to his pass rush prowess, Jenkins anchored a Tulane run D that was top 10 in the country for the entirety of the regular season. If the question is ever asked where Quinshon Judkins had the worst game of his career, you all know the answer.
Jenkins will be a Tulane hall of famer one day and his coming back gives this line true star power, but he’s going to need help.
In addition to our all-American in the middle, one of the best story’s of the 2023 season returns. If you you’ve watched Welcome to Uptown on ESPN+, you know all about Kam Hamilton. He had 3 sacks in the first two games of last season. A beast on the field who has potential to make a big jump next year. He just so happens to also be legally deaf. His story is further detailed below.
Between Hamilton and Jenkins the defensive tackle position should be covered. They will be supported in the middle by Eric Hicks, Jr. and Adonis Friloux at the nose tackle spot. Two multi year veterans that should keep the run Defense a strength of this team.
A wealth of experience on the interior should help against the run, but run stopping can only go so far with no pass rush. When people think of game changing defenders, they frequently think of edge rushers. In fact, the last two NFL defensive players of the year were on the edge and if you widen that scope to all pass rushers, you’ll end up with 8 of the last 9 DPOYs. The question becomes who will step up and be that game changer for Tulane?
Matthew Fobbs-White EDGE #35
Matthew Fobbs-White was the highest rated recruit in Tulane’s 2023 Class. The 6’3 235 pound Monroe, Louisiana product secured District 2-4A Defensive MVP honors as a Senior after collecting 40 tackles, 19 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 25 hurries.
He recorded a sack and forced fumble in the military bowl vs Virginia Tech. I refuse to post any footage from that game so you’ll have to settle for the below. Looks pretty darn similar to a former #1 overall picks most famous highlight.
If there’s a name besides Jenkins to bet on to lead this team in sacks, it’s MFW. Expect Sumrall to roll with a 4-2-5 featuring MFW at the Bandit position. The majority of his snaps will be pass rush snaps, but he will occasionally drop into coverage to give the opposing QB a different look.
Fobbs-White has tremendous potential, and I expect him to be the day one starter at Bandit. If there is a breakout candidate on this D Line it’s him.
MFW is exciting but not a sure thing, and his fellow defensive end is likely the biggest question mark on the whole team. The 3 departing edge rushers left Tulane with the following names to potentially replace them along with their 2023 stats.
Angelo Anderson (14 tackles 0 sacks)
Aj Thomas (freshman, no sacks)
Austin Sybrandt (1 tackle, 0 sacks)
DeShaun Batiste (Troy Transfer) (8 tackles 0 sacks)
If you’re wondering why many on Tulane Twitter are hoping to see Romello Height uptown next year, this is why.
I expect Angelo Anderson to get the first crack at starting on the edge opposite MFW. The local New Orleans product was a highly touted recruit out of John Curtis. He has consistently appeared in games for Tulane since arriving on campus in 2020. He appeared in every game in 2022 and on the stat sheet 6 times in 2023.
I expect Batiste and Thomas to push for playing time with Sybrandt as my dark horse pick for snaps. Expect Defensive Line Coach Landius Wilkerson to make up his mind quickly on whether or not we need another EDGE. Coach Wilk was top recruiter in the Sun Belt last season before Sumrall lured him to New Orleans. If we need a pass rusher, expect him to go get one in the spring portal.
All this is to say the middle of the D line may be ready for prime time, but the Edges provide more questions than answers. The pass rush enters 2024 as Tulanes biggest question mark and as such the most important position to watch.
Tulane Football Blog 
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