Part of Tulane’s ascension last season was predicated on its defense.
The Green Wave showcased their offensive prowess in a Rose Bowl win over USC but paved their way to the 2022 AAC title by leaning heavily on their defense. Don’t get me wrong, the Tulane offense was great, but its defense was dominant and consistent all season long.
Tulane gave up more than 28 points just twice during the regular season and allowed more than 40 points just once in that 46-45 victory against USC. Owning one of the best defenses in the league set the Green Wave up to be the most balanced team in the best Group of Five conference.
Against the top two offensive teams in the AAC, the Green Wave held both SMU and Houston to 24 points. Thirteen points below the average for the Mustangs and 12 points below the Cougars’ average.
While Cincinnati’s defense was statistically better than Tulane’s last season, the Bearcats have moved on. Tulane now brings back the best scoring defense in the conference, which allowed just 22.2 PPG and surrendered just 360 total YPG.
A good thing for the Green Wave is that they’re returning five starters from last year’s defense. A bad thing for the Green Wave is they’ll have to replace their top five tacklers.
Linebackers Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams and nickelback Macon Clark are gone, who were three of the top four tacklers on the roster. Williams’ 9.4 tackles per game ranked second in the league and Anderson’s 8.1 were eighth. Tulane will also lose two key guys in the secondary in safeties Larry Brooks and Lummie Young IV.
With all of that production gone, it seems like there will be some rebuilding on the Tulane defense. True to some extent, but there’s a lot coming back to build on.
For starters, the Green Wave return their entire starting defensive line. At the joker spot will be Darius Hodges, who tied Williams for the team lead with five sacks. He tallied eight QB hits and eight tackles for loss while securing 37 tackles.
Tulane fans will be glad to get more of this:
Also returning alongside Hodges is Patrick Jenkins at defensive tackle and Eric Hicks at nose guard. Jenkins paced the team with nine tackles for loss while adding three sacks and also captured the only safety on the defense from last year. Hicks filled in with 28 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Adonis Friloux will also be in the mix on the line after returning from a torn ACL he suffered prior to the 2022 season opener. He’s likely to be a starter.
Willie Fritz’s defense also has some familiarity on the perimeter entering the fall. Jarius Monroe and Lance Robinson return as the starting cornerbacks from a defense that allowed the fourth fewest passing YPG in the AAC last season at 208 YPG.
Monroe was fourth in the league in passes defended and tied for second with three interceptions. Robinson finished with five pass breakups and also tallied 28 tackles.
There is also some production from last season’s backups that should have a big role as starters for Tulane this year. Among those are linebacker Jesus Machado and safety Bailey Despanie.
Machado was seventh on the team with 40 total tackles and was a quality, reliable guy that should continue to prove himself this season.
Angelo Anderson, Devean Deal, and Noah Taliancich are all guys on the line that saw action in 2022 and should have big roles this season.
All in all, the Tulane defense lost plenty of big-time players and leaders, but there are a lot of guys that should be able to step up and fill the lost production in a quest toward defending the AAC title.
