Projecting the Defense's Two-Deep Depth Chart, Before Pads Come On

BY JAKE WEINSTOCK

On Tuesday, we posted Part 1 of this series, with my attempt to predict the Two-Deep depth chart on offense, before camp opened. At the time of this writing, the Wave have had one practice, without pads.

Safety: Bailey Despaine and Jack Tchienchou followed by Kevin Adams, III and Joshua Moore

With a lot of turnover on both sides of the ball, safety, with the exception of Jalen Geiger, is a position where the Green Wave have some continuity. Despite the loss of Geiger's 406 snaps in 2024, Tulane returns both Despanie (504 snaps) and Tchienchou (439 snaps). The most interesting question to me is not which two will "start" as Greg Gasparato prefers a healthy rotation on the backend, as you'll remember that Kevin Adams III also saw 383 snaps last season, but whether we will see any three-safety packages this fall, with Despanie, Adams, and Tchienchou on the field at the same time, especially following the loss of elite slot corner Caleb Ransaw. Joshua Moore has been developing in the wings for several years, and should have plenty of chances throughout August to earn a role that sees him top 300 snaps, this season. Chase Green is not to be forgotten, and could easily wind up in this mix, too.

Slot Cornerback "Spear": Javion White followed by Tavare Smith, Jr.

I suppose I already gave my thoughts on the three corner spots away, last week (read about that, here:

https://www.fearthewavecollective.com/post/how-has-tulane-s-reloaded-cornerback-room-taken-shape

At slot/nickel/spear, my thoughts are still very much the same. It appears to be Javion White's job to lose, heading into camp, after his terrific showings in the absence of Ransaw, last season. Remember, he was a true freshman, and has now had a full offseason in a college weight and conditioning program, and looks primed to take the next step in his young career. Smith comes to the Wave from Division II East Central University, where he played in all 23 of the team's games over the past two seasons. Last year, he generated 10 pass breakups, 5 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and a sack.

Boundary Cornerback: Jahiem "Joker" Johnson, followed by Isaiah Wadsworth

Johnson was one of the stars of spring practices and did not slow down, over the summer. He plays with a physicality and aggressiveness that Tulane has not had on the outside, in my opinion, since Jarius Monroe's departure. Will that lead to some DPIs and holding calls? Probably. But is it a net positive? Absolutely. With boundary and field corners, you always would rather say "Whoa!" than "Go!". It would be a surprise, in my view, if he's not the starter come August 30. Wadsworth and KC Eziomume should be nipping at Johnson's heels throughout camp, and it certainly wouldn't be unheard of for a player to come out of nowhere to win a position battle (see Mensah, Darian).

Field Cornerback: LJ Green, followed by Jayden Lewis

While I have Jayden Lewis as the backup field corner, here, it's important to note that he's expected to be in the mix at all three spots, and has been cross-trained as an inside corner and outside corner in this defense. Heading into the meat of camp, I give the early edge to LJ Green, primarily because he has played at a high level in the Sun Belt, which some would argue is just as good of a league, top-to-bottom, as the AAC was last year. As mentioned in the above-referenced article from last week regarding the cornerback position, redshirt freshman E'zaiah Shine should be in this three-way dogfight for the starting spot.

Off-Ball Linebacker: Sam Howard and Dickson Agu, followed by Makai Williams and Chris Rodgers

Howard is an obvious starter and leader of the defense. I would expect he'll wear the "green dot" helmet for the defense, and it's well-deserved. He is one of the most accomplished returners from the 2024 roster on the entire team. In my mind, at this point, it's probably a toss up between Agu, Rodgers, and Dallas Winner-Johnson for the other spot. Rodgers probably has the most raw athletic ability and highest ceiling, but Agu has just been a more consistent player when given opportunities here both in games and from what I observed this spring. Special teams ace Makai Williams and newcomer Dallas Winner-Johnson, a transfer from Missouri State, where he was a FCS Freshman All-American, should be in play for the spot alongside Howard.

Bandit: Harvey Dyson, followed by Mo Westmoreland OR Jordan Norman

Okay so I finally used the "OR" trick that will appear across many positions, I'm sure, in the initial two-deep depth chart for every team in America, before week one. Before we get to that, I keep hearing nothing but praise for Harvey Dyson, as camp gets underway and the offseason program winds down. Dyson transferred to Tulane after logging 367 snaps and 6 starts for Texas Tech, last season. Mo Westmoreland has been a superstar at UTEP, where he posted 38 pressures and 8 sacks, last season, but he's going to have his hands full winning the starting job, here. Jordan Norman started 9 games for South Alabama last season, totaling 393 snaps and 25 pressures. From what I am hearing, this could be the deepest, best Tulane defensive line in my lifetime (b. 1990), despite losing 8 of the 10 highest snap-count holders from last season's team, including Patrick Jenkins, Matthew Fobbs-White and Adin Huntington.

Defensive End: Kameron Hamilton followed Gerrod Henderson

Returner Kameron Hamilton needs little introduction, even though he has probably been the most underrated player on each of the 2023 and 2024 Tulane teams. Hamilton has totaled 8 sacks and 41 pressures over the past two seasons. He finally should have a chance to demonstrate what he can do as a full-time player, having seen the field for 343 snaps in 2023 and 353 in 2024. Henderson is another returner that has spent several years waiting for his chance to play more, and enters camp with a chance to earn a more sizable role. Jah'rie Garner, who suffered a season-ending injury during 2024 spring practices, could work his way into the competition at defensive end or Bandit, as he has recovered nicely from surgery.

Interior Defensive Line: Tre'Von McAlpine and Santana Hopper followed by Derrick Shepard, Jr. and Armondous Cooley

Regardless of who "starts" at nose tackle and three-technique ("defensive tackle"), there is going to be a healthy rotation at these posts, as well, because of the depth of talent that Tulane has been able to accumulate. McAlpine gets the slight edge over Shepard for me at nose tackle, but this should be a 50-50 timeshare or perhaps 60-40 one way or the other. McAlpine, like Harvey Dyson, transferred in from Texas Tech, where he made a pair of starts in 2024. Shepard on the other hand started all 12 games for UAB, though never topped 50 snaps in a single game, to my point about timeshares. Santana Hopper is another name that I could not stop hearing throughout the offseason, after he accumulated 755 snaps over the past two seasons at App State. During those two years he totaled 47 pressures and 11 sacks, but could be in line for a bigger role at Tulane, as he did not eclipse 400 snaps in either season, despite starting 10 games last year and the final 6 games of the 2023 season. Health is the big question for Armondous Cooley who was a full-time player at Southern Miss in 2022 before missing the entire 2023 campaign with a foot injury. In 2024, he played in the team's first 3 games, but then was out for the ensuing 8 weeks, not returning until week 11.