Tulane's pass rush was, in a word, disruptive, in 2023. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, all three of their most successful edge rushers moved on after the season. Darius Hodges, Devon Deal, and Keith Cooper had pressure rates of 21.3%, 16.3% and 9.5%, respectively. Heading into spring practice, there was a considerable amount of uncertainty at the position, but retaining Patrick Jenkins, Eric Hicks, Adonis Friloux and Kam Hamilton was an important development. In this article, you'll read about a few transfers in particular, two of whom are expected to start, tomorrow night. The expectation and hope is that they are true difference-makers, in the way that players like Tanzel Smart and Patrick Johnson and Cam Sample have been, in the past. Let's dive in.
Patrick Jenkins, #0, 3-Technique Defensive Tackle
One of the heroes of the Cotton Bowl, Jenkins enters his final season of eligibility and his third season at Tulane, after coming over from TCU following the 2021 season. Jenkins, quite frankly, could have chosen to enter the portal and transfer to any school of his heart's desire, but made a firm commitment after Jon Sumrall's hire to spend his last season with Tulane, before joining the NFL. Jenkins racked up 42 pressures in 2024, which included 6 sacks, 4 quarterback hits and 32 hurries. His pressure rate, from the interior, mind you, was an impressive 10.4%. He has been named to the Senior Bowl watch list and if Tulane is to make a run at another conference championship, and maybe more, he'll likely be a large reason why.
Eric Hicks, Jr., #94, Nose Tackle
Hicks, a redshirt-senior, enters his sixth (!) season at Tulane, after joining the program in 2019. He will likely start tomorrow night at nose tackle, and it's hard to say that he hasn't earned it. He topped 500 snaps in each of 2022 and 2023, and will cross the 2,000 threshold for his career, tomorrow evening. While he only generated 13 pressures last season, he has been invaluable in stopping the run and commanding multiple blockers, throughout his career. I expect a heavy rotation with Friloux and perhaps even Parker Peterson, especially early in the season, but Hicks will likely continue to see his name called, throughout.
Adin Huntington, #45, Defensive End
Huntington was as big of a spring portal commit/acquisition as you could imagine. The ULM transfer was one of the best interior defensive linemen in the country in 2023, and is expected to kick out to defensive end, for the Wave. Huntington had a pressure rate of 13.2%, a good bit of which came from the interior, in his final season in Monroe. That is very impressive, especially given the sample size: 48 pressures on 364 pass rushing snaps, per PFF. Huntington unquestionably found his footing and comfort level with the Warhawks, last season, after spending 2020-2022 at Kent State -- the bet from Tulane's staff is that his dominant play continues, and that together with the other names included in this piece, the Green Wave have the best front in all of the AAC. Huntington, like Jenkins, has been named to the Senior Bowl watchlist, deservedly so.
Terrell Allen, #9, Bandit (an edge rusher that operates as a hybrid between an defensive end and outside linebacker)
Allen, like Huntington, was a seriously exciting spring portal addition that appears to be in line to start for the Green Wave tomorrow night. The Allen and Huntington moves from Sumrall and General Manager Cole Heard took a position group with some question-marks to one that should be one of the strengths of the football team. Allen, playing for FCS Tennessee State in 2023, generated 50 pressures, which included 16 sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 22 hurries. He certainly was not handed the job, as he had to come in after spring practice and battle with a pair of talented younger players, Michael Lunz and Matthew Fobbs-White, both worthy holdovers from the prior regime. Allen is a senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, and spent his first two years at Austin Peay (2020-2021) before spending his most recent two at Tennessee State (2022-2023).
Matthew Fobbs-White, #35, Bandit
MFW is a sophomore that oozes potential and athleticism. He saw 63 snaps a year ago, with 22 coming in the Military Bowl against Virginia Tech. He did not appear overmatched in the slightest, in that game, coming up with 2 pressures and a sack, in those limited opportunities. According to 247, he was the 32nd best player in the state of Louisiana in the high school class of 2023, and chose Tulane over Baylor, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Louisiana Tech, among others. While Allen will likely draw the lion's share of reps, ahead of him, I think Fobbs-White will be a valued part of the rotation.
Kameron Hamilton, #70, 3-Technique Defensive Tackle
The junior from Zachary High School was perhaps the best player on the team that a casual fan may not have heard of, in 2023. Hopefully that changes this season, as he deserves the recognition. His 11.8% pressure rate last season was third on the team, behind only Deal and Hodges. In other words, he had a higher pressure rate than Patrick Jenkins, from the inside -- not an unimpressive accomplishment. While Hamilton did not draw a start in 2023, he was a consistently impactful rotational player, totaling 343 snaps on the season, primarily in passing situations. It would not be a surprise to see his role expand, even with other quality options for Defensive Coordinator Greg Gasparato to deploy.
Adnois Friloux, #95, Nose Tackle
Few have battled through a tougher run of injuries over the past two seasons than Friloux, and yet he continues to get back up. There may not have been a more high-impact player on Tulane's defense during their tough 2021 season that Friloux. And yet, that unfairly gets washed away to some degree because of the nature of 2-10 seasons and because of what success followed for the program in 2022 and 2023. Friloux was downright dominant in 2021, before an injury sidelined him for the entire 2022 campaign. He was making an impact as a rotational piece in 2023 until he was again lost for the season in September, due to another tough injury suffered in the UAB game. He will seek to find some of that magic, again, this fall, as he enters the season as an important depth piece at nose. As we all know, you cannot have enough quality defensive linemen to shuffle in, especially now that our September home games occur outdoors.
Angelo Anderson, #3, Defensive End
A veteran presence, Anderson has accumulated over 1,000 career snaps in his four seasons for the Green Wave. Now a senior, the John Curtis product is looking to improve his pass rushing ability under Gasparato and defensive line coach Landius Wilkerson. Anderson did a solid job of steadying the ship in last season's Military Bowl, which was played without Hodges, Deal and Cooper. He has objectively been a disruptor in the run game, but just needs to find another gear to get after AAC passers, this season.
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