Five transfers who will impact the Tennessee State football defense
With Tennessee State football's defensive personnel numbers in better shape, the hope for the 2022 season is the points the Tigers surrender to opponents will be down.
Defensive coordinator Brandon Fisher has gone from struggling to come up with 11 players worthy of putting on the field to narrowing down a much larger group of candidates.
"At any point last year we felt there were maybe 13 or 14 guys we were comfortable putting in the game; guys we viewed as starters," Fisher said. "Now I feel like we're close to two-deep. We're probably at 18 to 20 guys when we're healthy."
Second-year coach Eddie George brought in several transfers to bolster the defense. Along with the players Fisher and his staff developed last year, the defense could make significant improvement.
Here are five defensive newcomers to keep an eye on:
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1. K'Vaughan Pope, linebacker/Ohio State
An already solid linebacker corps could be better with the addition of Pope, a transfer from Ohio State. He played in 33 games over three seasons with the Buckeyes and quickly found his way into the playing rotation in the preseason at TSU. Pope, who is explosive with good lateral movement, is expected to start in the season-opener Sept. 3 at Eastern Washington.
2. Jashon Watkins, cornerback/Memphis
Watkins' size is unique for his position. At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, the lanky Memphis transfer from East Nashville Magnet will remind TSU fans of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who played 11 seasons in the NFL. Watkins will share time with Bryce Phillips, a transfer from Santa Ana College; Darius Harper, a transfer from Campbellsville; and sophomore Jalen McClendon at the two cornerback positions.
3. Terrell Allen, defensive end/Austin Peay
TSU got a good look at Allen last season when he played at Ausitn Peay. He made a season-high five tackles against TSU on Oct. 2. He is a very active player who made the All-OVC second team after finishing tied for the conference lead with 11 tackles for loss and third in sacks with five.
4.Gleson Sprewell, safety/Houston
Sprewell, a graduate student, earned a starting assignment as a freshman at Houston. His speed and quickness could help the defense come up with more turnovers. Sprewell had six interceptions at Houston, including two in back-to-back games in 2021. He returned the second 44 yards against Memphis.
5. Cory Gross, safety/Buffalo
Gross, Sprewell and returning junior Josh Green will rotate at the two safety positions. Gross was the second-leading tackler at Buffalo last season (68). He was a two-year starter, who also received offers from Southern Illinois, North Dakota State, Georgia Southern, Akron and Eastern Kentucky after entering the transfer portal.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State football: Five transfers who will impact the defense
