Among the culprits for Syracuse football’s lackluster 2025 season was the defensive line. In part due to injuries, that unit struggled for much of the season, giving up chunk yards against the run and only totaling 20 sacks in 12 games. With a new defensive coordinator, a new defensive line coach, and a lot of new personnel, the Orange is more or less starting over with that position group. Since much of the season likely hinges on how Syracuse holds up in the trenches, the Orange need some answers along the defensive line. Let’s take a look at how this position group looks heading into the 2026 season.
The starters
One of the few returning players on the Syracuse defensive line is Rashard Perry. He was part of the team’s early-season success before suffering a season-ending injury. The Buffalo native is now a senior with 26 games of experience under his belt. That means Syracuse will be relying on him to help the defensive line and provide some consistency.
UNLV transfer Tunmise Adeleye is another projected starter. He has bounced around from Texas A&M to Michigan State to Texas State and finally to UNLV last season. By the second half of last year, Adeleye had worked his way into the starting lineup and earned All-Mountain West Honorable Mention recognition. With six sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss last season, Adeleye will hopefully improve the Syracuse pass rush.
The last projected starter is Maryland transfer Dillan Fontus. Originally from Queens, Fontus played 12 games in each of the last three seasons for the Terps, but never worked his way into the starting lineup or made a huge impact. Nevertheless, he does have experience playing in a power conference. Fontus also had offers from the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, and South Carolina in the transfer portal. At Syracuse, Fontus will have a chance to start and become a key figure on the defensive line.
The backups
There is one more transfer to mention among defensive linemen, and that’s Georgia State transfer Jartavius Flounoy. At 6’1’’, he’s a little undersized, which explains why he had limited options outside of Georgia State coming out of high school. But he was one of the top defensive linemen on the Panthers as a true freshman last season, finishing with six tackles for loss and three sacks, albeit on a team that went 1-11. Flounoy will now have a chance to prove himself in a power conference and should see plenty of playing time rotating behind the more experienced starters along the defensive line.
Syracuse is expected to hire Georgia State’s Jeremy Hawkins as defensive line coach, sources tell me, @BenMoore247 and @McAllisterMike1.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 10, 2025
In addition to being Georgia State’s DL coach, was also assistant head coach and ranked as the top recruiter in the Sun Belt last year. pic.twitter.com/LvJlntROm6
One more key reserve for the Orange defensive line is Isaiah Hastings, who should be a familiar name for Syracuse fans. After barely seeing the field in two years at Alabama, the Toronto native has appeared in every game for the Orange over the past two seasons. Hastings has been mostly a rotational player with few stats or highlights. But he looks the part and should be a regular part of the Syracuse rotation along the defensive line in 2026.
The rest
Syracuse will undoubtedly need more than five defensive linemen this season, and there is a long line of young players hoping to see regular action. Two players to watch are sophomores Nathan Nyandoro and Nissi Ogbebor. Nyandoro is a bit of a tweener in terms of being a defensive end or an interior tackle. But the Montreal native got onto the field in six games last year, making nine tackles. Ogebor has a little more size and saw action in seven games last season. He hails from Ottawa and, similar to Nyandoro, will be hoping to see an increased role in 2026.
In addition to Nyandoro and Ogbebor, there are some other class of 2025 players hoping to push their way into the defensive line rotation. Elijah Crawford and Jaylen Pray both redshirted last season but will get more consideration this year. Both played in just one game in 2025, so they don’t bring much experience to the table. However, both have the size to potentially earn some playing time.
Finally, Syracuse signed five defensive linemen as part of the 2026 recruiting class. Kamron Wilson is among the most exciting players in the freshman class. He might get a chance to play right away, although he could be more of a standing edge rusher than a defensive lineman. Fellow Floridian Jarius Rodgers is also a player to watch, as he has a similar profile and had big-time offers coming out of high school. Walt Frazier Jr., Alex Haskell, and Kordae Houston are all promising prospects as well and may have enough muscle to see the field right away.
The skinny
The defensive line is one of the biggest questions facing Syracuse this season, and for good reason. There is nobody on the roster who is a proven difference-maker at this level. That creates genuine concern over whether the Orange can hold their own in the trenches this season.
On the other hand, there are five players who do come with experience, including a couple of transfers who were productive in a mid-major conference last year. Those five players should be able to form a solid rotation that makes Syracuse reasonably competitive in the trenches. If one or two younger players emerge as viable options, that would certainly be a huge boost. But the bottom line is that Syracuse is a long way from having its defensive line be a bona fide strength of the team.
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