South Alabama Jaguars: 2026 defense preview — position by position

Todd Orlando and a near-complete staff overhaul bring a new defensive identity to a unit that was last in the Sun Belt in red zone defense and generated one sack per game.

Analysis reflects preseason roster evaluation and early fall camp reporting. Position battles are ongoing. Check back for updates as camp continues.

Conference: Sun Belt (West Division)

Head coach: Major Applewhite (Year 3)

Defensive coordinator: Todd Orlando (Year 1)

2025 record: 4-8

Key 2025 defensive numbers: 30.4 ppg allowed (10th SBC), 382.8 ypg allowed (5th SBC), 1.0 sack per game, worst red zone defense in SBC

THE PICTURE

South Alabama went 4-8 in 2025, and the defense was the primary reason.

The Jaguars allowed 30.4 points per game — 10th in the Sun Belt — and had the worst red zone defense in the conference. They generated one sack per game, 4.7 tackles for loss per game and intercepted six passes all season. Defensive coordinator Will Windham left for Texas State after the year. Defensive line coach Jerone Steckel took a job at Southern Mississippi. Inside linebacker coach Cameron Cleminson left for an analyst role at Alabama. Then six defensive linemen left through the transfer portal, gutting the position group heading into 2026.

What happened next required some luck.

As Jags Jungle on 247Sports reported, South Florida head coach Alex Golesh was hired to lead Auburn, but the job came with a condition: defensive coordinator DJ Durkin must be retained. That meant Todd Orlando, USF's defensive coordinator for the previous two seasons, would not be following his boss. Applewhite and Orlando were coordinators together at Houston. The fit was immediate.

Orlando's USF numbers are the blueprint for what he wants this defense to become. In 2025, his Bulls averaged 2.5 sacks and 6.4 tackles for loss per game, produced 14 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries, held opponents to 3.7 yards per carry and allowed 23.38 points per game. The stark difference between Orlando's defense and what South Alabama produced last year is the reason Applewhite sought out Orlando when the coordinator position opened.

The staff overhaul extends beyond Orlando. Chris Achuff, a former Power 4 and NFL defensive line coach, takes over up front. Tyson Kee, who was on Orlando's staff at USF, coaches the safeties. Tommy Perry — who coached running backs and special teams for Joey Jones in the program's early years — returns to coach special teams after four seasons at Colorado State. Returning coaches Jason Washington (co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks) and Tre' Williams, who moved full-time to outside linebackers after previously splitting duties with special teams, provide continuity.

When fall camp opened, Orlando was characteristically blunt about day one.

"It's good, but it's flag football to be honest with you. We come back and we put the shoulder pads on in day three and get a little bit more." — Todd Orlando at fall camp

His priorities are clear.

"The first thing we got to get changed is the run game. For people to be able to take the ball and just run it on us — you're not going to win a lot of ball games that way. So establish the fundamentals and technical part of it. Toughen up, that's the big part. And then play explosive on defense. Creating negatives, creating sacks, turnovers — those are all the things that help us offensively. We can flip the field and give them the ball to be set up." — Todd Orlando at fall camp

DEFENSIVE LINE

What we know:

Six defensive linemen left through the transfer portal during the offseason. The departures gutted the rotation, but three players who saw significant playing time in 2025 return.

Waller is the most experienced defensive end in the room. He appeared in all 12 games and posted 14 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. Johnson, who came to South Alabama via Auburn and McNeese, is the prototypical nose tackle at 6-3, 310 and contributed 15 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss across 12 games. Smiley played all 12 games as a true freshman and showed enough — 15 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble — to earn staff confidence heading into his sophomore year.

The addition that changes the math is Lewis. The McNeese transfer posted 23 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 11 games in 2025. Doug Konkel of Jags Jungle reported that Lewis "gave notice in the spring that he was one to watch." Carter, a former highly-rated recruit who has dealt with injuries, and Hines, an Eastern Kentucky transfer, provide additional depth. Tre Brown, a former Texas Tech player who transferred in two years ago but has yet to see the field, is also in the mix. JUCO transfers Andrew Washburn (Southwest Mississippi CC) and Rodney Hunter (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC) will be counted on to fill the rotation. True freshmen Brayden Hurst and Tyler Wiley could also factor in.

Konkel noted that while the group lacks excess size, "Orlando has been known to get good results with active, undersized players in the past."

Achuff takes over a room that has lacked coaching continuity. Whether he can build something lasting from a group of returning players and lower-division transfers is the most important structural question for this defense.

The question: Can Lewis's proven pass-rush production and Achuff's development pedigree compensate for a room that lost six players to the portal?

LINEBACKER

What we know:

The outside linebacker spot — known as the B-Backer in Orlando's scheme — is the primary edge-rush weapon in a defense built on pressure. Tirrell Johnson is the defense's best player at that position. He led the team with 54 tackles, added 5.0 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and two forced fumbles in 11 games in 2025. The problem: he missed the entire spring recovering from surgery.

As fall camp opened, Applewhite was measured about Johnson's timeline — and Dozier's.

"I don't have any real hard report from those guys. They're continuing to rehab and getting better every day. When they come back is obviously up to doctors and their rehab." — Major Applewhite at fall camp

Dozier, a Georgia Tech transfer, was having a productive season at inside linebacker — 40 tackles and three quarterback hurries in eight games — before he was injured. Those are the two most impactful players in the room, and neither was a full participant in spring practice.

Tre' Williams coaches the B-Backers, while Orlando is coaching the inside linebackers himself in addition to coordinating the defense. Behind Johnson at B-Backer, Tre'Mon Henry — a Southern Miss transfer — returns as the top reserve. The transfer portal produced two contenders for edge playing time in Chiedo (Furman — 24 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks) and Christian Ross (Holy Cross — started all 12 games, 37 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks). Ross, in particular, brings a production record that could earn immediate snaps.

Parker Shattuck is the steadiest option at inside linebacker. Orlando praised him at fall camp.

"Super smart. He's a grown person. ... He's been in a whole bunch of systems, so he knows ball. You tell him one time, he executes it. Extremely reliable. That position he's playing is a lot of communication. The coordinator kind of flows through that position and the free safety position. You can do a whole bunch of stuff as long as that guy has an understanding — and that's what he helps me a lot of defensively." — Todd Orlando at fall camp

Seidrion Langston transferred in from Sun Belt rival ULM, where he recorded 37 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. William Felton IV provides veteran depth. JUCO transfer Kaydon Degraffenreid (Garden City CC) was a late addition. The signing class included four linebackers — Anderson, Zechariah Hall, Tyray Darensburg and Demetress Mosley — who could see the field this year.

The departure of Blayne Myrick compounds the depth challenge at the position.

The question: Will Johnson and Dozier be healthy enough to contribute early, or will Orlando be leaning on transfers and freshmen at the most important positions in his scheme through September?

SAFETY

What we know:

Henderson is the clear leader of this defense — and the most significant position switch on the roster. Orlando moved him from cornerback to the nickel, a safety/hybrid role that values his instincts and tackling ability closer to the line of scrimmage. Konkel wrote that Henderson's "ball skills and toughness will translate well." He posted 26 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 12 games in 2025.

At Sun Belt Media Days, Henderson was direct about Orlando's impact.

"Coach Orlando, he's been a really good coach for us coming in with — as a guy that has had a lot of experience being a defensive coordinator coming from, like you said, Houston, South Florida, and having a lot of success. So, as a defense, we really trust him." — Jayvon Henderson at Sun Belt Media Days

He also described the defensive standard for 2026.

"Defense, we always stressed on being multiple to the ball and never flinching when things go wrong. So that's I would say our biggest move from last year to this year." — Jayvon Henderson at Sun Belt Media Days

The other two starting safety spots will likely go to veteran backups Dallas Young and Cole Blaylock. Young, an Arkansas transfer, appeared in all 12 games and posted 17 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Blaylock appeared in all 12 games with 12 tackles, an interception, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. DJ Moore, a Georgia Tech transfer who appeared in two games for the Yellow Jackets in 2025, arrived in the spring. Kam Robinson, a JUCO transfer from Holmes CC, posted 55 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception in nine games and could push for a role. Kohl Bradley was in line for playing time last season before suffering a preseason knee injury.

Incoming freshmen Deon Callins, Tomareo Johnson Jr., Camen Upshaw and Teryn Green will also get looks.

The question: Can Henderson's move to nickel stabilize a secondary that lost its most experienced players, and can Young and Blaylock step from veteran backup roles into starting-caliber production?

CORNERBACK

What we know:

This is the thinnest position on the roster.

The loss of Nehemiah Chandler was significant but not surprising. Konkel described it as "a big, but expected, blow." With Henderson now at nickel, Damyrion Darby is the most experienced corner remaining — and his 10 tackles and one pass breakup in 10 games tell you where the depth stands.

Behind Darby, the room is a patchwork of transfers still learning the system. Moson arrived via Furman and Utah, appearing in one game for the Utes in 2025. Webb and Colby Williams are JUCO arrivals from Copiah-Lincoln CC and Snow College. Vance spent last year learning the position after playing quarterback in high school. Cube Gurley has been in the program but has no recorded stats.

Incoming freshman TJ Collier, per Konkel, "finds himself in a very favorable situation to find some playing time." Whether that reflects his talent or the lack of proven options behind him is a fair question — probably both.

Jason Washington, the co-defensive coordinator who coaches the corners, is one of two returning defensive coaches along with Williams on a staff that otherwise turned over almost entirely.

The question: Can a group of JUCO transfers, a Utah portal arrival and a converted quarterback hold up at the most exposed position in a blitz-heavy scheme?

SPECIAL TEAMS

What we know:

Pulkkinen, the Helsinki, Finland, native, has a big leg — he averaged 40.39 yards on 49 punts in 2025, boomed 14 punts of 50-plus yards and hit a long of 59. But his lack of football experience growing up in Finland shows at times with inconsistency. In his fourth season and with Perry coaching special teams, more consistency is the expectation.

Kicking is a concern. South Alabama's kickers combined for seven field goals on 10 attempts and hit 33 of 37 extra-point attempts in 2025 — numbers that left points on the field. Little made his only field goal attempt (23 yards) and was 13-of-15 on extra points in five games. Dylan Freebury, a sophomore transfer from Colorado State, Argent, a transfer from South Carolina, and Max Roth, a transfer from Lincoln, are all competing for the job.

Tommy Perry returns to the South Alabama coaching staff to oversee special teams exclusively. Perry coached running backs and special teams for Joey Jones in the program's early years and spent the last four seasons coaching special teams at Colorado State.

Turner handled long-snapping duties on field goals and extra points in 2025 and returns. Grant Rountree is expected to snap on punts.

The question: Can the kicking competition produce a reliable option, or will missed field goals and extra points continue to leave points on the board?

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY

Orlando's installation represents the most significant defensive schematic shift since South Alabama joined the Sun Belt. Multiple fronts, heavy blitzing, a philosophy built on disruption — the logic tracks. When you cannot win with talent alone, you shorten the game by getting to the quarterback.

"Todd helps me because there's familiarity. I've seen the work in person up close and personal at Houston. Worked with him on the other side of the ball. A tremendous amount of confidence not only in the production level, but the connection with the players and our defense playing with the intangibles, meaning the speed, the physicality that we want." — Major Applewhite at Sun Belt Media Days

Breakout pick: Mase Lewis, DL. The McNeese transfer posted 4.5 sacks in 2025 and was a spring standout. In a defense desperate for pass-rush production — one sack per game a year ago — Lewis is the most likely new face to make an immediate impact.

The bottom line: South Alabama's defense is a bet on coaching over talent. Orlando, Achuff and Kee bring the credentials. Henderson brings the leadership. Johnson and Dozier bring the production — when healthy. But a defensive line rebuilt from transfers and young players, a cornerback room with no proven starter and two key players rehabbing injuries at the most important positions in the scheme leave almost no margin for error. If Johnson and Dozier return healthy and Orlando's blitz packages generate early pressure, this unit could be competitive. If the injuries linger and the corners cannot cover, the Jaguars will be chasing scores again.