2026 DL Preview

[catdaddyp]

With the Hustle Belt going under and not much news coming out about the football program, I figured I’d fire up the position previews again. I stopped updating them before because it got to be too much balancing a full-time job, writing for Rivals, and trying to keep up with the insane amount of portal movement. I’m going with a slightly different format this time around. Now that I’ve got a bit more free time, I’ve gone back and watched full games of our portal and JUCO additions to get a better feel beyond just their highlight reels. If anyone was at the spring game or has anything else to add, feel free to jump in.

 

New Additions:

The new additions will provide depth, and a few of them might end up entering the starting rotation at different points during the season. That said, I’m not seeing any clear all-conference type additions right now.

 

If injuries don’t become a factor, the starting DL feels fairly predictable: Hull at one DT spot and Durham holding down one end. They are the two most likely all-conference candidates along the DL.

 

@Captain Kangaroo mentioned D. Frazier as a starter at DE during his spring visit, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that sticks heading into the season. Based on one of the photos, Frazier looks like he’s added some bulk. He was an explosive player coming out of high school as a linebacker, so this might be the year where the move to DE starts to pay off and he takes that next step.

 

The real question mark is the other defensive tackle spot. At this point, I’d lean toward Mixon holding onto it. I just haven’t seen anything on film from the incoming group that suggests someone is clearly better right now.

 

 

Potential Starter:

I originally expected V. Highland to start alongside Hull, and that still could end up being the case. But the staff may lean towards rotating Hull and Highland to keep both fresh, which could give us very little drop-off at that DT spot.

 

Highland graded out as the highest-rated defender on Arkansas Pine-Bluff last season per PFF, but it’s worth noting his snap count was under 400. For comparison, Laventure logged over 650 snaps and Hull was north of 550, so there’s a difference in workload.

 

Either way, Highland is going to play a lot this year. Whether he’s technically listed as a starter or comes in as part of a rotation, he should see significant snaps.

 

 

The X-Factors:

K. Waye and JD Williams bring the kind of size, length, and athleticism you just can’t teach — Waye at 6’4”, 240 and Williams at 6’6”, 340 really stand out. That said, both look a bit raw and are making the jump from DII, so there’s naturally going to be some projection involved.

 

If I’m not mistaken, they each only have one year of eligibility left, which makes it tougher to bank on major development in a short window. I’d be a lot more intrigued if they had two years in the program with the staff having more time to refine things.

 

It sounds like Waye was backing up D. Frazier during the spring, which at least provides a pretty athletic rotation at that end spot. Williams, on the other hand, wasn’t on campus for spring ball, so he may need a little more time to get up to speed.

 

If one (or both) hit, it could really elevate the ceiling of this defensive front.

 

 

Depth:

JUCO DT Ross-Graves looks a bit smaller on film than what he’s listed at, but he plays with a relentless motor. That alone should give him a chance to push Mixon on the interior. At minimum, he feels like a solid backup option.

 

DE J. Ridley is another JUCO addition with a similar high-effort profile. In the game I watched, he was in more of a 3-4 alignment and spent a lot of time lined up inside the tackles - almost like a DT - and held his gap pretty well against that level of competition.

 

B. Tobias is more of a longer-term addition. He has excellent size at 6’5”, 240 and comes over from Western Kentucky, but I’m not expecting much from him this season.

 

Overall, I’d still be surprised if any of these guys provide more than depth right away, but that was clearly a need after the portal losses and graduation. 

 

 

What about the rest of the returners?

Not to be forgotten, D. Frazier’s brother, J. Frazier, should continue backing up Durham at DE, just like we saw at the end of 2025.

 

There’s definitely some potential with the younger group. At defensive tackle, E. Davis (R. So.) and Brown-Demery (R. Fr.) could start working their way into the rotation. At defensive end, redshirt freshmen T. Watkins and V. Kavals may not quite be ready to make an impact yet, although it sounds like Kavals could be growing into more of a tackle role. 
 

Duncan is also listed at DE, but it sounds like he may have been moved over to linebacker.

 

Overall, there’s some intriguing upside in this group, even if it doesn’t show up in a major way this season

 

 

What’s next?

The staff may not be finished adding to the defensive line if they feel there’s someone out there who can come in and contribute right away. As it stands, there’s a solid mix of older players and younger developmental guys.

 

This unit certainly wouldn’t be mistaken for the best DL in the MAC, and I don’t think it matches the overall talent level of last year’s group. But there does seem to be enough depth here for the unit to be productive and, at the very least, not a liability for the defense.

 

 

Projected Depth Chart:

DE:

D. Frazier

Waye

 

DE:

Durham

J. Frazier

 

DT:

Hull

Highland

 

DT:

Mixon

Ross-Graves

 

 

Returners:

DE - Duncan (R. Sr.) (Might be a LB now)*

DE - Durham (R. Jr.)

DE - D Frazier (R. So.)

DE - J. Frazier (R. So.)

DE - Kavals (R. Fr.)

DE - Watkins (R. Fr.)

 

DT - Mixon (R. Jr.)

DT - Hull (Jr.)

DT - E. Davis (R. So.)

DT - Brown-Demery (R. Fr.)

 

In:

DE - Waye (Sr.) (DII)

DE - Ridley (Jr.) (JUCO)

DE - Tobias (R. So.) (Western Kentucky)

 

DT - Highland (R. Sr.) (Arkansas Pine Bluff)

DT - Williams (R. Sr.) (DII)

DT - Ross-Graves (Jr.) (JUCO)

 

 

Out:

DE - Dall (All-MAC) = UCF

DE - Cheatom = Robert Morris

DE - Brown = Graduation

 

DT - Laventure (All-MAC) = Texas Tech

DT - Murphy = Western Kentucky 

DT - Vega = Portland State

DT - Madden = Graduation

DT - Musika = Portal 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 8 hours ago by catdaddyp

[LZIp]

Thanks for these @catdaddyp! My sleeper on the DL this year is Brown-Demery. I remember the staff talking him up last year and some posters who have seen practice doing the same. Unfortunately probably a one and done for us.