Let’s look at the rest of the defensive line
On Saturday, Akshay did a great job of breaking down the players who will primarily be lining up at the EDGE position for Tech. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the other three spots along the line: the base end, the defensive tackle, and the nose guard. Like Akshay did, I’d highly recommend checking out Nishant’s article from earlier this offseason about defensive position responsibilities.
Base Defensive End
The base defensive end (BDE) lines up opposite of the line from the EDGE in the base defense. In nickel and dime packages, you can also opt to use to EDGE rushers in place of the base end.
Already on the Roster
Georgia Tech doesn’t have much in terms of depth across its defensive line, but the one place it does is at the BDE position, with four guys returning who could all see time there, not to mention a handful more joining in.
Of those coming back, Antwan Owens has seen the most game action, appearing in all 13 games last season. He made the most of his time in the primary rotation, collecting 21 tackles.
Joining Owens will be Luke Johns, Justice Dingle and Kelton Dawson, none of which have really done much in terms of accumulating stats. Dawson and Dingle saw a good bit of playing time during the spring game this year. Each finished with three tackles, and Dawson added a sack.
Newcomers
A couple of these guys were already mentioned in Akshay’s article, but there’s a decent chance they could play at the BDE. Those would be Florida transfer Antonneous Clayton and Belgian transplant Sylvain Youndjouen. Of the two, I think Clayton is the more likely to play this year, as Yondjouen is still pretty raw.
The Yellow Jackets also brought in D’Quan Douse and Mike Lockhart in this previous recruiting class. Lockhart has a chance to be pretty good this year. As an incoming freshman, I think Lockhart is a bit more polished than Douse, but both are strong and disruptive.
Defensive Tackle/Nose Guard
Geoff Collins’ defense will feature both a 3-tech defensive tackle and a 1-tech nose guard. I’m combining the section, though, because there is not a ton of depth here, so there are a handful of guys who could be playing in either slot. In addition to balancing guys between these two positions, they could also borrow a guy or two from the BDE, with Owens being the most likely candidate.
Already on the Roster
At the 3-tech spot, Owens is one of the likely candidates to see playing time. Joining him is Ja’Quon Griffin and Jahaziel Lee, who played here in the spring. T.K. Chimedza will primarily be at the 1-tech. Chris Martin and Brentavious Glanton have the ability to balance between the two positions. Chimedza had a pretty solid spring game, with four tackles. Lee also added in a sack.
Newcomers
Jamal Camp is the lone newcomer at defensive tackle and fits in pretty well in the 3-tech spot.
Projected Depth
Base End
- Antonneous Clayton (if he’s eligible)
- Antwan Owens
- Kelton Dawson
- Justice Dingle
LINE
- Luke Johns
- D’Quan Douse
- Mike Lockhart
- Sylvain Yondjouen
Defensive Tackle/Nose Guard
- Antwan Owens (3T)
- TK Chimedza (1T)
- Brentavious Glanton
- Chris Martin
LINE
- Ja’Quon Griffin
- Jahaziel Lee
- Jamal Camp
This will be an interesting group to watch this season. I think we will see a lot of shuffling in this group throughout the first part of the season. This group was projected to be better before the unfortunate passing of Brandon Adams. But with that, it is forcing some younger players, like Chimedza, to step up into these starting roles.
What do you think the rest of the defensive line looks like this year?
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