Preseason Position Previews - Defensive Line
After an unexpected break with July baseball content, it's back to position previews with ACC Media Day just a few days away and camp not far behind.
Time to hit the defensive side of the ball, so we'll start with the big boys up front. With Marcus Valdez and Chibueze Onwuka now gone, there's still some veterans here that are going to need to step up into a leadership role and I think they can. Coach Vince is a fantastic motivator and as ugly as last year was, the defense was the reason the team was in some of those games and didn't get blown out with more regularity, especially against NC State.
The first guys that come to mind for me in terms of needing big production for that side of the ball to be successful are Khris Banks, Cam Horsley, Shitta Sillah (I giggle like a child and feel like I'm going to get in trouble every time I write his name) and of course, Donovan Ezeiruaku.
All four of these guys are veterans in every sense of the word and all of them need to get to the QB, or at least make life miserable for them consistently, while also stopping the run. Banks looked bigger in April (listed at 301lbs, I think he's more like 310 by the time we hit camp) and as I've said countless times, Ezeriuaku is just a moose. He also exploded onto the scene last year and (hopefully) builds off the great campaign he had (All-ACC 2nd team). If Sillah can stay healthy he can be a disruptive force and good run stuffer while Horsley just needs to keep doing what he's doing after a 30-tackle season a year ago with 5.5 TFL's.
There's a second tier of guys just below them that should have a bigger impact this year too. Neto Okpala leads that tier for me after he had 29 tackles in 12 games during the 2022 season, adding a few sacks and a fumble recovery. Now as a junior, he should get even more chances to make plays.
With bodies in and out last year, Kwan Williams was forced to play 11 games as a freshman and he showed he can hang with 11 tackles. He'll have every opportunity in camp to build off it.
Nigel Tate is an interesting guy to keep an eye on too. He's easily the biggest defensive player BC has at 334lbs and has been in the system since 2021. He played three games as a freshman and then red-shirted last year. Gotta believe they can find a way to use that size in the middle if he shows he deserves the opportunities in camp.
A "sleeper" that might not even be a sleeper for early-impact guy is Josiah Griffin. Having covered him a bunch in high school and knowing how good that program is, if he can bulk up just a bit more I think he might force Hafley to play him early. He's just extremely athletic and with this team needing as much play-making ability as possible from it's second and third guys on the depth chart if they're going to go anywhere, he could make a little noise.
Owen Stoudmire (eight tackles in nine games last year), Ty Clemons (appeared in 10 games since 2021, made four tackles in six games last season) and Edwin Kolenge (made six tackles the final three games of the year while still keeping redshirt eligibility) are capable of earning a spot in the rotation as well.
Josh Hardy (RF), Clive Wilson (RF), Regen Terry (RJ), George Rooks (RS), Gilbert Tongrongou (RF) are all unknowns for now.
This is easily one of the deepest groups on the team and as long as health doesn't ravage them like it did the O-line last year, there's no reason they can't be consistently disruptive and in the top half of the ACC.