Sorry for the one-week delay, guys. I had somewhat of a health crisis late last week when my blood pressure spiked to above 170 and I started feeling shortness of breath and chest pains. I've been on medication for hypertension for a couple of months that was supposed to bring the blood pressure down and it was going the opposite way, so I had a battery of tests done Friday and Monday, and although the blood pressure remains too high, the tests showed no other issues and I actually passed them with flying colors. I don't know. Maybe thinking about Ed Daniels passing away from a heart attack gave me some type of panic attack, though that's not my nature. But now instead of taking one prescribed medication, I am taking three daily plus aspirin.
At the same time, and presumably unrelated, I woke up Thursday morning with unbelievable shooting pain in my elbow that radiated down to my wrist off and on and was present more than 50 percent of the time. The symptoms are classic tennis elbow, but I have not played tennis since 2023 because of having no cartilage in my right knee, with the bone on bone friction causing too much pain to enjoy the game. The elbow got so bad Sunday and Monday that I had a hard time thinking about anything but the pain. When I did the EKG stress test for the heart/blood pressure issue on a treadmill at Ochsner yesterday, I had to hold on with only my left hand. I finally saw someone in orthopedics today and they are treating it as a severe case of tennis elbow with physical therapy starting next week. The elbow feels better and hopefully the pain will run its course soon, although I was not exactly encouraged when the nurse practitioner told me he had a case of tennis elbow in the past that lasted nine months.
Anyway, here, finally, is my defensive analysis. I know somebody who thinks this may turn out to be the best defense in Tulane history, and while that seems a tad overboard and is impossible to judge in the spring because you never know how much of it is suspect offense, I am high on the group, particularly up front.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE/NOSE GUARD
Defensive tackle
1) Santana Hopper
2) Derrick Shepard
Nose guard
1) Tre'Von McAlpine
2) Elijah Champaigne
3) Eliyt Nairne
Analysis: Hopper is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Teammates rave about his ability to shed blockers and get to the ball, and while the other guys in the middle are not as dominant, all of them can play well at a position that requires frequent substitution to stay fresh. It still is not totally clear how these guys will mesh when the games start, but they dominated most of the spring and should be significantly better than last year's group even though Patrick Jenkins is gone. McAlpine, a Texas Tech transfer, can be a big-time player. Nairne was more inconsistent, which is why I have him third behind the more reliable Champaigne, but that's a pretty talented depth chart. The coaches liked Adonis Friloux's commitment to losing weight at the beginning of spring, but he has not been very productive since his knee injury in August of 2022 and would have been a backup rotational player if he had not entered the portal.
DEFENSIVE END/BANDIT
Defensive end
1) Kam Hamilton
2) Gerrod Henderson
3) Jordan Norman
Bandit
1) Mo Westmoreland
2) Jah'rie Garner
3) Harvey Dyson
Analysis: I'm not confident this will be the order at bandit once the season starts, with all three guys capable of starting, but Westmoreland earned the most praise from the coaches and teammates. Whatever the order, Tulane should get more production here than it did from Adin Huntington, whose performance was decent but did not match his reputation coming in. Garner has been set back by injuries in the past but is ready to make an impact. Dyson, from Texas Tech, can play, too. Look for Kam Hamilton to have his best year after the coaches realized midway through last season he was more comfortable at end than he was inside. Henderson was the most surprising player on defense a year ago and should be better with the experience he gained.
LINEBACKER
Starters: Sam Howard and Dickson Agu
Top backup: Chris Rodgers
Next: Makai Williams
Analysis: It will be hard to keep Rodgers out of the starting lineup the way he played in the spring, although Agu is quite good, too. Look for them to rotate pretty much 50-50 until one outplays the other. Both are nice complements to the steady, heady Howard, who is not an elite athlete but makes plays and will be on the field most of the time. Sumrall raved about Williams' development at the end of the spring. I can't say I noticed it as much as he did, but I'll take his word for it. If that's the case, Tulane will have better depth that a year ago, when Rodgers was not ready at the beginning of the year but came on at the end of the year to provide a fourth solid player behind Howard, Tyler Grubbs and Agu. Grubbs will be missed a lot for sure, but he and Howard were similar type players. The athleticism will be a little better this time with either Agu or Rodgers on the field.
CORNERBACK
Starters: LJ Green and Jahiem Johnson
Backups: Armani Cargo and E'Zaiah Shine
Analysis: Tulane shored up its biggest potential weakness on defense with this week's addition of Green, who started every game at Troy last year as a redshirt freshman and had six breakups, two interceptions and 27 tackles. He definitely will start at a spot that had zero proven players, with former backkup Johnson and redshirt freshman Armani Cargo working with the first team in the spring. Johnson was impressive--far better than last spring, when he was outplayed by Rishi Rattan--but he has little experience. Cargo and Shine have zero experience. A good transfer portal addition was a must, and from all indications, Green will at least be at the level of Micah Robinson and Johnathan Edwards a year ago. Wofford transfer Isaiah Wadsworth showed some potential in the spring, too.
NICKELBACK
1) Javion White
2) Jayden Lewis
3) Tavare Smith
Analysis: White had an excellent spring. I know the coaches loved Caleb Ransaw, and so did the Jacksonville Jaguars, but I feel like White can be better in coverage. Lewis is versatile and could end up playing corner. Smith flashed at times but made some mistakes.
SAFETY
Strong safety
1) Bailey Despanie
2) Kevin Adams
Free safety
1) Jack Tchienchou
2) Joshua Moore
Analysis: I loved Tchienchou last year and was surprised he did not start in front of Jalen Geiger, and he has only gotten better since then. He will be a playmaker at the back end. Despanie provides experience, while Adams came on in the spring and should get significant time. This is a solid group with more experience at Tulane than any other spot on defense.
