With players like Jaxon Player and Tyarise Stevenson wreaking havoc for the Golden Hurricane, Tulsa's defensive line should be a major strength in 2021.
Both Player and Stevenson have been gaining national attention with their style of play, which is not subtle, to say the least. Both hit opponents like a ton of bricks.
Player is already on the Preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award given to the nation's top defensive player. The Bednarik is one of the awards former Tulsa linebacker Zaven Collins won last season.
"Jaxon is so explosive," said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery. "He plays with a big chip on his shoulder. He's probably, pound for pound, the strongest guy on our football team."
That chip on his shoulder stems from Player not being recruited heavily despite tearing up Texas high school football opponents at Midway HS in Waco. Looking at his incredible high school highlight films made him the talk among diehard TU fans before he even got to campus.
Standing only 6-foot, Player doesn't have the prototypical height. But that didn't stop Player from living in opponents' backfields while earning first team All-AAC honors last season. And the lack of towering height didn't stop him from blocking two field goal attempts.
Overall, Player had nine tackles for losses, including three sacks among his 37 tackles. He led TU with five quarterback hits, and recovered a fumble in nine games for the 6-3 Golden Hurricane in 2020. In 2019, he had seven tackles for loss, and got extensive playing time as a true freshman in 2018.
"He's got a great first step. Great with his hands," Montgomery said of Player, a 290-pound senior with three years experience. "Jaxon had a tremendous year, and I think he can play even better. We expect a lot out of Jaxon. A great leader, and he anchors our defensive line."
Originally a nose guard, Player plays both nose guard and defensive tackle or end in Tulsa's 3-3-5 alignment. A big reason for the switch to starting defensive tackle is due to the play of Tyarise Stevenson.
Stevenson, at 6-3, 351-pounds, is a true nose guard that has the size and ability that NFL scouts covet at the position. Opposing offensive linemen can't move him, freeing up teammates to make plays.
Seemingly at TU forever, the sixth-year senior and already four-year letterman had 2.5 tackles for loss last season, including a sack.
"Tyarise Stevenson, Big Cat, he had a great year," Montgomery said. "Really was able to be a dominant force in the middle. People have got to double team him because they can't move him. He did a nice job of developing into a better pass rusher. He made big plays for us, but just a tremendous, tremendous player."
Anthony Goodlow had a breakout year at defensive end in 2020, tying Zaven Collins for the team lead in sacks with four, and had 5.5 tackles for loss among his 32 tackles. He started five games, filling in for Cullen Wick when Wick was injured.
"Anthony Goodlow played tremendously well as a young kid last year," Montgomery explained. "He's big, he can move. I think he has such an incredible future ahead of him."
The 6-5, 256-pound Goodlow came to TU from Del City where he was a much lighter player who played safety, linebacker and defensive end. He redshirted while playing two games in 2018, and played all 12 games in 2019 while playing mostly on special teams. He has the prototypical size and speed for a defensive end.
Goodlow will share time with Cullen Wick, who is listed ahead of Goodlow on the depth chart. The 6-4, 260-pound Wick is a three-year letterwinner out of Hallettsville, Texas after transferring from Blinn Junior College.
"Cullen Wick battled injury most of the year. We feel like this has got to be a big year for him," Montgomery said. "We were so excited because he was in such great shape but he never got over the injury part of it last year. We're ready to have him back and be a dominant player like we know he can be."
Wick started four of the six games he played in 2020 and is looking to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted due to Covid-19 and have an injury free senior season. Wick had 3.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks in 2020, and had two quarterback hits. He has 9.5 career tackles for loss and 4.5 career sacks.
In addition to Tulsa's top four defensive lineman, there is plenty of experienced talent who are expected to get playing time.
Deven Lamp is a 6-5, 260-pound junior defensive end from TU pipeline Cedar Hill, Texas who has shown flashes in past seasons to indicate that, if healthy, he can be a special player.
"Deven Lamp was another guy who fought the injury bug all year. It's going to be great to have Deven back," Montgomery said. "He's a big, older guy with experience. He's at that 6-5 to 6-6, 255 to 260 range, so he can really bring some good things to the table, so I'm excited about seeing Deven have a good year this year."
