Tag: defensive lineman

Broncos expected to sign UFL defensive lineman Dondrea Tillman

The Broncos are expected to sign DL Dondrea Tillman. He totaled 92 tackles and 8.5 sacks and won three championships with the Stallions.

Story update: Dondrea Tillman will arrive in Denver in the late afternoon/early evening on Tuesday and will work out for the team and take a physical exam on Wednesday, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. See our original post below. 

The Denver Broncos are bringing in Birmingham Stallions defensive lineman Dondrea Tillman for a workout on Tuesday and the 26-year-old defender is “expected to sign,” according to KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson.

Wilson later tweeted late Monday evening that Tillman’s signing will become official on Tuesday. Denver will have to make a corresponding move to make room for Tillman on the 90-man offseason roster.

Tillman (6-3, 270 pounds) played one season in The Spring League in 2021 after graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2019. He was drafted by the Stallions in the third round of the 2022 USFL draft.

Tillman spent the last three years in Birmingham, winning three straight championships. Following the merger of the USFL and XFL, Tillman totaled 26 tackles and three sacks in the newly-formed UFL this spring. He recorded 92 tackles and 8.5 sacks over the last three seasons.

Tillman will join a defensive line room in Denver that already features Zach Allen, John Franklin-Myers, D.J. Jones and Malcolm Roach.

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Alabama lands commitment from 2025 3-star DL London Simmons

Kalen DeBoer continues to impress on the recruiting trail!

The Alabama Crimson Tide had 10 official visitors on campus this weekend. One of those official visitors was 2025 three-star defensive lineman London Simmons. On Sunday evening, Simmons announced his commitment to Alabama.

Simmons committed to the Crimson Tide over North Carolina State and the Arkansas Razorbacks. He plays for Hartfield Academy in Flowood, Mississippi. Simmons is listed at 6-foot-3 and 310 pounds.

The Alabama coaching staff extended an offer to Simmons several weeks ago following an impressive camp performance. Over the weekend, Simmons was in Tuscaloosa for an official visit.

Simmons is the second defensive lineman to commit to the Crimson Tide as a part of the 2025 recruiting class. The other is four-star Antonio Coleman.

As a junior, Simmons recorded 78 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks. It will be interesting to see how Simmons performs during his senior season for the Hawks.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its efforts on the recruiting trail.

Wisconsin football receives Rivals forecast to land 2025 three-star DL

Wisconsin football receives Rivals forecast to land 2025 three-star DL

Wisconsin football received a Rivals’ FutureCast prediction to land class of 2025 three-star defensive lineman Drayden Pavey on Sunday.

The prediction comes from Wisconsin insider Jon McNamaraon on the heels of Pavey’s June 14 official visit with the Badgers. The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder included UW, Purdue and Indiana in his top three in early May.

Pavey became the second Badgers target to receive a prediction to land in Madison on Sunday, joining fellow three-star DL Wilnerson Telemaque.

Pavey is 247Sports’ No. 102 defensive lineman in the class of 2025 and No. 43 recruit from his home state of Ohio. Wisconsin extended its offer to the three-star on April 21, and the rising senior has received 22 in total.

Rivals currently has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 6 in the nation. The group has 19 commitments and eight since official visits began in June. Pavey would be the second defensive lineman to join the group after the Badgers flipped Minnesota commit Torin Pettaway.

Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart this fall includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

Pavey, alongside three-star defensive linemen Telemaque and Kyler Garcia, are among Wisconsin’s main defensive priorities during a month littered with official visits for some of the most talented recruits in the nation.

Wisconsin receives On3 prediction to land top class of 2025 defensive lineman

Wisconsin receives On3 prediction to land top class of 2025 defensive lineman

Wisconsin football received an On3 commitment prediction to land class of 2025 defensive lineman Wilnerson Telemaque on Sunday.

The prediction comes from Steve Wiltfong, On3’s vice president of recruiting and transfer portal. Wiltfong has forecast nearly 92% of his 2025 picks. So it appears the Badgers have emerged as the prohibitive favorite to land the three-star lineman.

The crystal ball arrives one week after Telemaque’s official visit to Madison on June 7. The 6-foot-6, 257-pounder was one of the several top 2025 players the Badgers hosted during the second official visit weekend of the year.

The rising senior recently listed Wisconsin, Florida, West Virginia and Georgia Tech as his final four schools. He went to Atlanta for a visit with the Yellow Jackets this past weekend.

The three-star defensive lineman is 247Sports’ No. 719 player in the class of 2025, No. 73 defensive lineman and No. 95 recruit from the state of Florida.

Rivals has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 6 in the nation. The group has 19 commitments and eight since official visits began in June. Telemaque would be the second defensive lineman to join the group after the Badgers flipped Minnesota commit Torin Pettaway.

Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart this fall includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

UW will also focus on DL target Kyler Garcia, a late addition to its June 14 official visit window.

The Opa Locka, Florida, native plans to announce his collegiate commitment at 1 p.m. Central on Tuesday, June 18.

Check out these highlights of new Broncos DL Brandon Matterson

Brandon Matterson will compete for a spot on the Broncos’ defensive line this summer.

Following the 2024 NFL draft in late April, the Denver Broncos signed UTSA defensive lineman Brandon Matterson to their roster.

Matterson (6-2, 295 pounds) was a fifth-year senior with the Roadrunners prior to signing with the Broncos. During his time in college, Matterson played in 59 games, starting 20 of the contests. He recorded 100 total tackles (45 solo, 56 assisted), 15.5 tackles for loss and seven-and-a-half sacks across his career.

Also during his career, Matterson was named a four-time Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll member. In 2020, Matterson was an honorable mention All-Conference USA for his defensive line play.

In 2023, Matterson was named a third-team All-American Athletic Conference performer on the defensive line, and found himself on the Lombardi Award (outstanding college football lineman) Midseason Watch List. Check out his highlights below:

Matterson finds himself in an uphill battle for playing time prior to training camp. He might have gotten more reps if it weren’t for the Broncos’ acquisition of former New York Jet John Franklin-Myers in a draft-day trade last month. We will see how Matterson fits into defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s system this summer.

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Wisconsin football class of 2025 defensive line target reschedules official visit

Wisconsin football class of 2025 DE target reschedules official visit to UW

Wisconsin football class of 2025 defensive line target Wilnerson Telemaque rescheduled his official visit to Madison for the weekend of June 7.

The three-star was originally slated to visit the University of Minnesota this coming weekend but announced his change of plans on Monday. Prior to the modification, he planned to officially visit Wisconsin the weekend of June 14.

The 6-foot-6, 257-pounder has garnered over 30 offers including from Pittsburgh, LSU, Nebraska, Florida, Missouri, SMU and West Virginia. 247Sports’ composite ranking has Telemaque as the nation’s No. 72 defensive lineman, No. 93 recruit from Florida and No. 698 overall recruit for the class of 2025.

Despite Wisconsin failing to crack Telemaque’s top six schools of Colorado, Florida, LSU, West Virginia, Missouri and Minnesota, the recent timetable is certainly noteworthy given the nationwide competition to land the Monsignor Pace product.

Telemaque boasts great size on the defensive line. Per MaxPreps, he finished his junior season with 16 tackles and three sacks in eight appearances for Monsignor Pace.

Luke Fickell’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 17 in the nation with 13 commitments. UW has yet to secure a commitment from a 2025 DL and has seen several top targets commit elsewhere.

If UW is able to sway Telemaque in any way, it would serve as a giant boost for Wisconsin’s incoming group next fall.

The Badgers did secure commitments from top class of 2025 cornerback Rukeem Stroud and four-star OT Logan Powell over the weekend. Both Stroud and Powell made their decisions during official visits to Madison beginning May 31.

Wisconsin secures official visit with 2025 DL Kyler Garcia

Wisconsin secures official visit with 2025 DL Kyler Garcia

Wisconsin class of 2025 defensive line target Kyler Garcia will officially visit the Badgers the weekend of June 14.

The program offered the three-star recruit on May 22. Garcia is a rising senior representing Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville, Tennessee.

247Sports has the defensive lineman as the No. 109 player at his position in the class of 2025 and No. 27 recruit from the state of Tennessee. The rising senior has received 14 Division 1 offers to this point, including from Arkansas, Indiana, Louisville, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Memphis.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound athlete was also a member of his school’s state championship team in 2023.

247Sports has Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 18 in the nation at this stage in the process. The class currently does not have a defensive lineman committed.

This fall, Wisconsin’s defensive line depth chart includes James Thompson Jr., Curt Neal, Ben Barten, Elijah Hills (transfer) and Brandon Lane — a flipped transfer commit from Louisville.

Both On3 and Rivals have Rutgers as Bell’s most likely destination, but the lineman still has ample time to decide where he will play college football.

Former Alabama DL Justin Eboigbe selected by Los Angeles Chargers in fourth round of 2024 NFL draft

With the No. 105 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Chargers selected former Alabama defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe.

Former Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe will be headed out West as he was drafted with the No. 105 overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Eboigbe battled adversity over the course of his college career. As a senior, Eboigbe suffered a season-ending neck injury. As a redshirt-senior, Eboigbe returned from injury and contributed in a big way to Alabama’s success along the interior of the defensive line.

In 2023, Eboigbe recorded a career-high 63 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. He was a force for the Crimson Tide last season. As a result of his play on the field, Eboigbe was named to the All-SEC First-Team by coaches from within the conference.

Eboigbe will join former Alabama punter J.K. Scott in Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see what type of role Eboigbe carves out for himself with the Chargers.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Eboigbe as he begins his professional career in the 2024 NFL season.

Alabama DL Khurtiss Perry expected to enter transfer portal

On Tuesday, Alabama saw its first scholarship player enter the transfer portal since the window opened up last week. Defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry will explore his options via the transfer portal.

The Alabama Crimson Tide saw its first scholarship player enter the transfer portal since the transfer portal opened back up last Tuesday. Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry will likely be suiting up elsewhere next season, according to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.

The former four-star recruit spent two seasons in Tuscaloosa. He did not record any stats for the Crimson Tide.

Perry was expected to be a reserve defensive lineman at Alabama in 2024-2025. He was seeing work at defensive end during spring practices.

It will be interesting to see where Perry ends up. Two programs that recruited Perry heavily coming out of high school were Auburn and UCF. Perry took official visits to both schools before committing to the Crimson Tide.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

Kansas City Chiefs sign former Alabama defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs to a futures contract

Former Alabama defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs has signed a futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. Buggs joined the Chiefs practice squad toward the end of the regular season.

Former Alabama defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs was a member of the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs this past season. The Mississippi native will remain with the Chiefs organization for the forseeable future after signing a futures contract with the team on Tuesday.

A futures contract is a contract that secures an NFL player to a team for the future. That player is not under contract until the start of the following league season, however.

For Buggs, this is a good opportunity for him to catapult his career. The former JUCO standout has spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions over the course of his NFL career.

In five seasons, Buggs has recorded 89 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks. In 56 games played, Buggs has made 23 starts.

It will be interesting to watch and see how Buggs’ professional career ensues in Kansas City. This seems like a good opportunity for him at this stage in his career.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow hte latest regarding the Alabama football program and its former players in the NFL.