Tulane's Pass Rush Could Be Elite With Their Two Edge Rusher Transfer Additions
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This offseason, Tulane acquired two proven and elite edge rushers in the transfer portal; Mo Westmoreland and Santana Hopper.
Both players are more than capable of getting to the quarterback at a high volume.
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Westmoreland transferred in from UTEP where he recorded 45 tackles and 7.5 sacks last year.
Even in the 2023 season, Westmoreland still had 7.5. sacks and 37 tackles for the Miners.
In addition to his prowess in sacking quarterbacks, he had a combined 20 tackles for loss in his last two campaigns. Westmoreland proved he could take over a game on multiple occasions, having two isntances where he sacked the opposing quarterback more than once.
Essentially, Westmoreland lives in the opposing team's backfield, something the Green Wave will be relying on to continue in 2025.
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After an impressive sophomore season at Appalachian State, Hopper also decided to join the Wave.
Hopper recorded 36 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles and 8.5 tackles for loss last year with the Mountaineers. The season before he had 34 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss.
Hopper was particularly effective in Appalachian State's win over Georgia State, a game in which he managed to sack the Panthers' quarterback twice.
He is a proven talent who will look to wreak havoc on the edge.
Their additions are particularly important considering the Green Wave lost three out of their top four leaders in sacks from last year -- Kameron Hamilton is the only one who remains.
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However, none of those players had more than 4.5 sacks last season.
With Westmoreland and Hopper jumping on board, Tulane has the potential to get to the quarterback even more than they did last year.
Tulane has recorded 35 sacks in two consecutive campaigns.
This season the Green Wave hope that already respectable total grows.
In short, Westmoreland and Hopper are established pass rushing threats should become impact players for this Tulane defense and become key pieces in the trenches.
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Austin Levin is a rising Junior and English Major at Tulane University. Austin was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He has experience writing for Tulane's baseball twitter and articles for basketball and golf for his high school's Sports Information Department. He won the Voice of the Saints Award in high school for his work in their Sports Information Department, was awarded the Hampden-Sydney Book Award for his outstanding effort in high school, and has made the Dean's List twice. Austin is a Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Falcons fan. His favorite athletes are Julio Jones, Donovan Mitchell, and Rory Mcilroy.