Football season is around the corner. To get you ready for week one vs. UIW we will be previewing position groups leading up to game week. Today we look at the defensive ends.
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DEFENSIVE ENDS - 10 scholarships used
SR - Jarrod Carter-McLin, Eric Banks
JR - Lorenzo Dantzler, DeQuarius Henry, Solomon Wise, Clarence Hicks
SO - Robert Fuentes
FR - Peter Gray, Trumane Bell, Zachary Gilson
Analysis: If you want to be excited about any unit on this team this is probably it. Now, there is not a Marcus Davenport type edge rusher on this team, but what this unit does have is depth. A ton of it. There does have to be improvements from last season in terms of development. Frank Wilson is still waiting for certain guys to take the coveted "next step", but overall things look really good. They will likely go three deep at both spots without much drop off in talent. Production is another issue, and there is where the whole development things comes in. If guys can step up their production this season this could be the best defensive line in the conference.
Jarrod Carter-McLin - has been one of the more consistent pieces of this defensive line. He is not going to put up crazy sack numbers. What McLin does really well is stuffing the run. He has the highest PFF run defense grade out of all the defensive ends. Frank Wilson needs more of the same from McLin this season.
Eric Banks - is candidate for a breakout season. It seems like we have been waiting for his breakout season since he was sophomore, but it hasn't quite gotten there. Not to say Banks has been a bad players on this team because he hasn't, but I think fans imagined him to have a more prominent role on this defense. For Banks the time is now.
Lorenzo Dantzler - was UTSA's most explosive pass rusher last season as a sophomore. He has the potential to be one of the better pass rushers in Conference USA if things go well this fall camp. If he can build on last season he will likely be one of the most impactful players on this defense.
DeQuarius Henry - his emergence was one of the bigger surprises last season. He had a huge jump when you look at his PFF grades from 2017 to 2018. If he continues his development he could become that second prolific pass rusher UTSA needs this season. There was some speculation this offseason that he might transfer, but I did not see anything to substantiate it.
Solomon Wise - he is someone to really monitor this fall camp. He seemed to have a really solid and spring and is a breakout candidate this season after dealing with injuries most of 2018. He comes from a football family so there is no doubt the potential is there. Wise is another weapon to an already loaded gun rack.
Clarence Hicks - is a welcomed surprise for this defense. He put up some really good numbers at Hutchinson C.C racking up 39 tackles, and 14 sacks last year. With a solid fall camp Hicks could easily be part of the rotation.
Robert Fuentes - has been a staple on special teams early on in his career. If he can continue to develop his skill set and his body this fall camp you will likely see him on the field this season.
Peter Gray - is one of the up and coming defensive ends on this team. It will be tough for him to break the rotation this season with the amount of upperclassmen above him. What he could do is play a big role on special teams this season. Fall camp will very important for his development as he will likely play a big role in 2020.
Trumane Bell - dealt with injuries last season preventing him from playing any kind of role during his freshman campaign. He is transitioning from linebacker to defensive end so a redshirt season was probably a good thing for him. I don't know if he will have a role this season aside from special teams.
Zachary Gilson - the third of the young defensive ends on this defense. Much like the other two, Gilson's role will likely be limited to special teams. But again this is still an important year for him and the other two. All three will have to be ready for 2020.
Prediction: You really can't go wrong when trying to predict who the starters could be. There is about three or four combinations that would make a ton of sense. I think ultimately I think it comes to experience and production. I think you will see senior Jarrod Cater-McLin at one side and junior Lorenzo Dantzler on the other. This of course will probably change throughout the season. Guys like Eric Banks, DeQuarius Henry, Solomon Wise, and Clarence Hicks will get into the rotation as well.
2020 Commits:
2020 Targets:
FORUMS: UTSA Boulevard | Roadrunner Way
