Pre-Spring 2024 Rundown: Defensive Line
With the dust settled on the 2024 class, I’m going to take some time to breakdown the additions by position group. The format will be similar to these position breakdowns I’ve done in the past: key losses, what is returning, new additions, and highlight an important storyline for each group. I’m going to start this series with the Defensive Line, which was a strength of the team last year and is positioned to be a strength of the team once again.
Key Departures
John McMullen - 51 tackles 22 TFL 12.5 sacks 6 hurries 3 FF - 1st Team All-GSC - GSC Defensive Player of the Year - Unanimous 1st Team All-American
Jacob Dorn - 30 tackles 3 TFL 1 PBU 7 hurries - 2nd Team All-GSC
Top Returning Players
RS Senior - Byron Puryear - 36 tackles 10 TFL 5 sacks 10 hurries 1 FF - 2nd Team All-GSC
RS Junior - Justice “Juice” Williams - 23 tackles 6 TFL 1.5 TFL 2 hurries 1 FF 1 blocked kick
Graduate - Aiden Swett - 4 tackles 3 TFL 2 sacks (only played 3 games)
RS Junior - C0llin Shaw - 14 tackles 4 TFL 2 sacks 4 hurries 1 FF
RS Junior - Joel Vargas - 13 tackles 2.5 TFL 1 sack 2 hurries
New Additions
Mid-Year Transfers
Senior - Shawan Lewis (6’1” 240) - Bowie State - 45 tackles 13 TFL 8.5 sacks 5 hurries 1 PBU - 2nd Team All-CIAA - CIAA Sacks Leader
RS Junior - Adam Aiken (6’3” 240) - St. Augustine - 60 tackles 18 TFL 7.5 sacks - 1st Team All-CIAA
Junior - Traevon Mitchell (6’ 280) - Chowan - 57 tackles 14 TFL 1 sack 6 hurries 1 FF 1 blocked kick - 1st Team All-GSC
Sophomore - Jaden Thompson (6’1” 300) - LA Valley (JUCO) - 32 tackles 9 TFL 2.5 sacks 1 FF
High School Signees
Kevin Roberts (6’2” 260) - Apopka - 13 tackles 5 TFL 5 sacks (only played 3 games)
Lorenzo Payne (6’1’ 230) - Apopka - 30 tackles 11.5 TFL 10.5 sacks 3 PBU 3 FF
Aaron Raebe (6’3” 230) - Bishop Moore - 81 tackles 25 TFL 14 sacks 1 FF 5 PBU
Lavarrius “RJ” McCollough (6’2” 295) - Wharton - 34 tackles 9 TFL 4 sacks
Tavarrius Powell (6’3” 220) - West Orange - 33 tackles 6 TFL 2 sacks 4 hurries
New Additions Primer
Defensive Line Coach Lucas Melo and Defensive Coordinator Kavell Conner did a bang up job with DL recruiting last year, bringing in three eventual All-GSC contributors (McMullen, Dorn, Puryear) as post spring transfers. They didn’t slow down at all this year., landing a trio of transfer DL who project to be among the top players in the conference once again in Bowie State’s Shawan Lewis, SAU’s Adam Aiken, and intra-conference transfer Traevon Mitchell of Chowan. All three players were honored as All-Conference performers at the D2 level last season and finished near the top of their conferences in TFL and/or sacks. Even better, these guys, along with productive JUCO addition Jaden Thompson, are mid year transfers who will be able to fully participate in winter workouts and Spring practices. In Coach Conner’s four man front, these four should provide immediate impact at all of the positions across the line.
Lewis, a multi-year starter for Bowie State, projects as John McMullen’s successor, a powerful, flexible DL who can play everywhere from stand-up Outside Linebacker to Nose Tackle, depending on the situation.
Coming off a productive two year playing stint with St. Augustine University, Aiken is a traditional three down DE who can stop the run and rush the passer with equal skill. Coach Melo described Aiken as unblockable in the CIAA and thinks he can be even better when combined with the rest of the Argonauts’ DL talent.
UWF added a familiar face in 1st Team All-GSC DL Traevon Mitchell, who was 3rd in the GSC in TFL last season at Chowan, a powerful run stuffer who’ll likely compete for the starting 3T spot this Spring. Mitchell had 6 tackles 1 TFL against the Argonauts last fall.
Finally Jaden Thompson, who has had just one semester of JUCO football, comes in from LA Valley in California, but the Georgia native camped and communicated with UWF last year as a 2023 high school prospect. With his size and strength, he should come in and provide immediate competition at both DT spots.
While those four come in to shore up the DL right away, UWF also stacked talent for the future on NSD. Coaches Conner and Melo stayed in state, landing five high quality DL prospects, the Apopka duo of Kevin Roberts and Lorenzo Payne, hyperproductive Bishop Moore EDGE Aaron Raebe, explosive, versatile front seven defender Tavarrius Powell from West Orange, and battle tested Tampa big man RJ McCollough out of Wharton. There are a good blend of skillsets with this group, Powell and Raebe were rangy hybrid types at the HS level who will likely be putting their hand in the dirt going forward, McCollough possesses college ready size on the interior, and Roberts could be a physical SDE or could be an explosive 3T. Four of the five held D1 offers, a significant coup for the defensive staff.
Roberts is probably a case of bad injury luck away from being a high priority target for D1 schools. He was limited to a combined six games over the last two seasons, but the heavyweight weightlifter made the most of those few games compiling 5 TFL and 5 sacks in three games as a Senior. At 6’2” and around 260 pounds, he could be a DE, he could be a DT, but he is explosive for his size.
UWF added a commitment from Payne on NSD and he is someone the coaching staff believes could be an early contributor due to his explosiveness. Not often do you see guys this physical, with the ability to play stand up OLB, and running sub 11 second 100M. Combine that athleticism with nearly 20 sacks over the last two seasons, playing some of the best competition in Central Florida, and UWF might have gotten a steal.
High upside pass rusher Aaron Raebe committed to UWF in January following his official visit to Pensacola. The two sport standout, Raebe hit 0.389 last year with 11 RBIs and threw 27.2 innings with 2.72 ERA, had a breakout season on the gridiron improving from 6 to 25 TFL and 3 to 14 sacks. He comes from a high level HS program in Bishop Moore, and his best football is certainly ahead of him.
Tavarrius Powell is a guy who could play just about anywhere in the front seven, but the coaching staff sees him as an EDGE in the future. The West Orange standout was maybe the most highly recruited player the Argonauts signed this fall with a bunch of FBS and FCS offers on the table. While it may take him a year to get used to his new position, he’s an explosive player who can run like the wind and hit like a truck.
UWF needed to add some size along the line as well, after signing no HS DL last year, they got that in RJ McCollough. He may not see much action this fall, but has a bright future as a physical Nose who can make plays behind the line. This was another player with multiple D1 offers who chose the Argonauts in the end. McCollough has played almost 40 games of varsity football between two years at Tampa Jesuit and two years at Wharton.
Spring Storyline: Deep Room but Lots of New Faces
UWF brings back a considerable number of contributors from last year including two players I’d peg as likely starters come the start of fall, EDGE Byron Puryear, who I believe will be the breakout star of the 2024 UWF defense, and fourth year DT Juice Williams. With those two and the return of the long tenured UWF DE Aiden Swett, the defensive staff could have been content with the group they had returning. Instead they added the single biggest infusion of talent of any position group, and I think the big story will be how do we use all of these players effectively. The good news is guys like Shawan Lewis and Aiden Swett give you good positional flexibility for sub packages on passing downs. The idea of putting Puryear, Swett, Lewis, and Aiken on the field in passing downs is downright mouthwatering.
It will also be very interesting to watch how this unit stacks up against last year’s group. McMullen is one of the best players UWF has ever had, regardless of position, and Jake Dorn, while not a gaudy stat stuffer, was an elite GSC DL who brought a ton of physicality and experience to the line. The idea that this unit could be as good or possibly better than last year is a sentiment that has been going through my head since the mid-year transfers came into focus, and something echoed by Coach Melo. He really emphasizes the impact of all these returning players in the second year of this new defensive system, five players who started multiple games, six returning players who tallied multiple sacks, coupled with the experience, depth, and talent of the mid-year additions. Replacing McMullen and Dorn is a tall task, but with this group it doesn’t seem so far fetched.
Pre-Spring Projected DL Depth Chart
Position: 1st String / 2nd String
Strong Defensive End: Aiden Swett / Adam Aiken
3T Defensive Tackle: Traevon Mitchell / Jaden Thompson
1T Defensive Tackle: Justice Williams / Kenneth Martin
EDGE Defensive End: Byron Puryear or Shawan Lewis / Joel Vargas
*Due to the sheer number of talented players in this position group, it is hard to project who is going to “start” over who, but as we saw last year the coaching staff would love a deep rotation at DL. They’re probably going to get as many variations of Puryear, Swett, Lewis, Aiken, and/or Mitchell on the field at the same time as they can, but you cant rule out returning contributors like Williams, Vargas, Shaw, and Martin from having increased roles from 2023.
