Where Does Tulane's Defense Stand Through a Week of Padded Practices?

BY JAKE WEINSTOCK

After two days of unpadded practices to begin camp on August 5 and 6, the Green Wave have certainly upped the intensity in their preparations for the 2026 season, as the opener in Durham, North Carolina against the Duke Blue Devils is now just 21 days away. We expect projected starters to become even clearer next week, as Coach Will Hall has publicly confirmed the plan to name a starting quarterback by Saturday, August 22, and certainly NCAA rules mandate that a depth chart be released at some point.

Note: This was written prior to the team's scrimmage on Saturday, August 15. We hope to have more to share, thereafter.

Cornerbacks:

New arrivals Anthony Rogers (Nicholls State) and Macho Stevenson (Texas Tech) are pushing hard for playing time at both the field and boundary corner spots, though it would be a surprise to me if E'zaiah Shine, who started all 14 games for the Green Wave in 2025, isn't the starter at boundary corner. LJ Green, who transferred to Tulane prior to 2025 from Troy and played 210 snaps for the Green Wave has also had an impressive camp, thus far. At "spear," which is Tulane's term for slot corner, it appears likely that the competition will come down to a battle between returner TJ Smith (who has also spent a fair amount of time at safety, and more on that in a moment) and Kajuan Banks, an incoming transfer from USF. Both have had flashes of excellent play, to date. Given the embarrassment of riches that the Green Wave have at safety, I would expect Joshua Moore (6'2", 202 pounds) to get snaps at the spear position against run-heavy offenses or bigger personnel groupings.

Safeties:

With Jack Tchienchou, Kevin Adams, and Joshua Moore returning, there are not going to be many surprises with this group (or at linebacker, frankly). All three have looked great and Tchienchou is clearly 100% after recovering from an injury suffered in the Playoff Game in Oxford, that kept him out of spring practice. Third-year returner Chase Green made a case to be the next man up, it should be noted. His level of play has drastically changed from what we observed last August. Lastly, as mentioned above, TJ Smith has been spotted taking some reps at safety. Tulane defensive coordinator Tayler Polk wants to ensure flexibility and adaptability amongst his personnel, such that many players are cross-trained at several spots -- often injuries happen quickly, and during a game.

Linebackers:

The five veterans amongst the bunch have gobbled up the first and second team reps, as one would expect. Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers may both be on track to be All-Conference selections in 2026. Agu appears to be his old self, following the season-ending injury he suffered last September at Tulsa. More importantly than how he moves physically and how he looks, he is playing with confidence. There's no hesitation in his movements, something that can plague athletes coming off of such serious injuries. Makai Williams, Dalton Hughes (transfer from South Alabama), and Jean Claude Joseph III are capable, but clearly a level below the two starters that we are projecting.

Defensive Line:

Redshirt-freshman Josh Lewis and redshirt-freshman transfer Rashad Sterling are locked in a competitive battle for the field defensive end position. Lewis is home-grown, and was one of Tulane's most heralded recruits from the class of 2025. 247 Sports ranked him as the State of Louisiana's 23rd best player, that year. Sterling, coincidentally, was the 22nd highest ranked player in the State of Louisiana in the same class. Sterling, though he was highly sought after by the Green Wave, signed with Houston out of high school before transferring here in January of this year.

At nose tackle, Derrick Shepard, Jr., a fifth-year senior and redshirt-freshman PaLanding Drammeh are competing for the nose tackle job, each having taken a good number of reps with the first and second teams. Shepard transferred to Tulane from UAB following the 2024 season, and Drammeh is yet another member of the homegrown 2025 recruiting class that will be counted on to play, this season. Armondous Cooley is also in the mix at nose, to be sure.

At boundary defensive end, Ed Smith is very likely to be the starter, in my opinion. He has had a marvelous camp and was a strong addition via the portal this winter, from South Alabama. Working behind him and still playing well are true freshman Jordyn Crites and redshirt-sophomore Geordan Guidry have been stacking quality practices, too, as they vie for spots in the rotation.

At bandit, things appear very open, with Jah'rie Garner making a strong case to be the starter. Garner is a homegrown redshirt-junior who played 274 snaps in 2025. Warren Roberts, on the other hand, is a redshirt-freshman, who "might be the best pass rusher on the team," in the eyes of a staff member. Nik Alston, a redshirt-freshman, and Gerrod Henderson, a redshirt-senior, have transitioned to the Bandit position as well. Henderson is certainly one to keep an eye on, in particular.