Temple Football Position Preview; Defensive Line
Tagged under: News, Pennsylvania Colleges, Temple
Mike Livingston | June 5, 2026
A huge part of the Temple pass rush, which may have proved to be the most exciting unit on the field during spring practices, was the Owls’ defensive line.
Despite a lack of proven talent, Temple’s front three is a spot that may end up progressing more than any other position on the team in 2026.
Between big hitters who can hold the middle of the line on run assignments and some quick guys off the edge to hunt down opposing quarterbacks, the Owls’ front four is looking to be one of its best in years.
Defensive End –
#97, Davier Bishop – 6’5/260, R-Jr
Akron, OH (East Community Learning Center) – East Mississippi CC – Notre Dame College –
A JUCO warrior, Bishop joined the Owls this offseason from East Mississippi Community College, where he earned second-team All-MACCC honors with 36 tackles and 7.0 sacks last season.
Despite coming in a bit under the radar, and rightfully so, Bishop stood out throughout the spring season, consistently making big plays off the edge in Brian Smith’s unique 3-4 scheme.
He leads the pack for the time being at the position, but that isn’t to say there aren’t mountains of competition behind him.
#99, Cameron Jones – 6’5/250, R-So
Leonardtown, MD (St. Mary’s Ryken)
In his second year out of St. Mary’s Ryken in Maryland, Cam Jones is projected to land a starting spot on the defensive line through the spring season.
The edge rusher was one of the most imposing forces on the line throughout the spring and took advantage of the first-team snaps he was given on multiple occasions.
Despite limited playing time in 2025, where he was mainly a special teams enforcer, Jones got the nod from the coaching staff in 2026 and is making a strong push to end up on the front line come September.
#94, Quante Gillians – 6’3/290, R-Fr
Rochester, NY (Aquinas Institute) – Syracuse
Following his freshman season at Syracuse, Quante Gillians made the move to Temple in the offseason and now projects to join the defensive end rotation.
Gillians, at a bulky 6’3/290, is a bit more fit for the defensive tackle spot, where he may end up transitioning at some point. However, with the influx of depth between both defensive tackle and end, with the inside spot having way more names coming into the fall, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see Gillians stick it out on the edge.
#34, Brandon Enarusai – 265/6’3, R-Jr
Burlington, NJ (George School)
A former walk-on back in 2023, Enarusai has seen marginal playing time in depth roles and on special teams over the past two seasons and has now worked his way into the mix to be at the back end of the defensive rotation in 2026.
#55, Uyi Igiehon – 6’5/225, Fr
Hillside, NJ (Union)
Igiehon, a freshman from North Jersey, comes in at the back of the defensive end spot with intriguing size. He may be better suited for the linebacker spot in the future, but if he puts on weight through his freshman season, which many do, he can certainly work out just fine on the edge.
Despite the lack of depth the Owls have at the position, with the influx of guys coming down from outside linebacker spots to sit on the edge in the 3-4, it still leaves time for Igiehon to likely take a redshirt in his freshman season.
#90, Yamael Wiggins – 6’2/240, R-Jr
Hershey, PA (Hershey)
Wiggins joined the Owls back in 2025 after spending two seasons at D-III Stevenson University. He saw little action last year and will likely not see the field all that much in 2026.
Defensive Tackle –
#98, Joseph Auzenne – 6’1/295, R-Sr
Atascocita, TX (CE King)
A consistent part of the defensive line rotation last season, Auzenne returns in a role headlining the group in 2026.
As a staple-type run stuffer up the middle, the former JUCO guy will be the first of a few guys to swipe in at nose tackle throughout the year.
Auzenne did make some waves in camp, and his unit caught on to breakout running back Sam Brown at times and made some huge stops on the powerful runner at the center of the line.
#93, Kevin Hornbeak – 6’2/295, R-Sr
Toledo, OH (Whitmer)
Perhaps the Owls’ breakout star on defense, Hornbeak, earned high praise from head coach K.C. Keeler multiple times throughout the spring as a player who stood out to him on defense.
Hornbeak may very well overtake Auzenne for the first-team nose tackle spot if he continues his rampant play in the fall; his size and quickness came as a rare combination for the Owls and helped Hornbeak find his way to the quarterback a bit more than a typical middle lineman would.
#52, Russell Sykes IV – 6’3/260, R-So
Rolesville, NC (Rolesville)
Another returner who did very well up the middle throughout the spring was Russell Sykes IV.
Sykes, who comes into his third season with Temple, is uniquely sized, being light enough to move quickly throughout the center of the line and, like Hornbeak, not having to act stationary on most plays.
Sykes stood out multiple times throughout the spring, getting down the offensive line past one or two linemen to track a running back down.
#58, Kaleb Artis – 6’4/315, R-Jr
Westbury, NY (St. Francis Prep) – Penn State
One of the most intriguing and high-potential players on the Temple roster could very well be Kaleb Artis.
The behemoth Penn State transfer missed his entire 2025 season with injury before joining the mass exodus from Happy Valley in the offseason.
Before his injury, he appeared in 25 games over three seasons with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a quarterback hurry.
Artis was once again limited throughout the spring with a nagging injury but participated in the majority of team drills. The New York native easily can be the top defensive tackle on the Owls roster if he assumes his prior form when he is completely healthy again.
#95, Troy Cunningham – 6’3/265, R-Fr
South Park, PA (South Park)
The second-year Pennsylvania product was regularly mentioned by Keeler in the same light as both Hornbeak and Sykes when the Owls coach was prompted for standout players on his defense in the spring.
Cunningham saw sporadic playing time last season but picked up the slack this spring with a decent amount of first- and second-team snaps. There shouldn’t be much doubt around Cunningham being a regular part of the defensive tackle rotation, assuming he keeps up the pace come fall camp.
#88, Lamar Fairfax – 6’1/270, R-Fr
Detroit, MI (Belleville)
Fairfax is a guy whose natural progression seems to be working at a good enough pace for him to slot into the back-end defensive line rotation come September.
The second-year man spent his first college season at Memphis, where he didn’t see any game action. However, following a strong spring, he’s beginning to be looked at pretty favorably in a stacked defensive line room.
#59, Deshon Dodson – 6’3/270, So.
Woodlyn, PA (Neumann-Goretti) – Albany
After a year in the Hudson Valley, Deshon Dodson returned home to the Delaware Valley, just a short drive from where he went to high school in South Philadelphia at Neumann-Goretti.
Dodson, who was the 2023-24 MVP for Neumann-Goretti and also earned All-Catholic honors, spent one season at FCS Albany, where he put up impressive numbers for a freshman, playing in 12 games and recording 27 tackles (9 solo), with 2.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. His best game came at Delaware State, when he posted season highs in tackles (9) and TFLs (1.5).
Dodson did, however, fly under the radar in the spring season, stunting his chances of being a regular in the Owls’ defensive line rotation, though a strong fall can quickly change things.
#92, Jude Okelele – 6’2/300, Fr
Watertown, CT (The Taft School)
Originally born in Nigeria, Okelele had a strong high school career at the Taft School before joining the Owls.
Despite not seeing all that much time with the second or first team in the spring, he performed the best of all the freshman defensive tackles, though a redshirt is likely the best route for him in 2026.
#51, Antwuan Rogers – 6’5/245, Fr
Norristown, PA (Salem)
Rogers, who comes from the same high school as NFL running back Jonathan Taylor, didn’t see all that much notable time in the spring.
A redshirt will more than likely be the route for the local product, though he could very likely be a rotational piece as soon as next season.
#97, Semi Odedele – 6’4/320, R-So
Penns Grove, NJ (The King’s Christian School)
Coming into his third season as a walk-on who never played football in high school, Odedele has yet to see much playing time for the Owls and likely won’t see much field action in 2026.
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