Exclusive: What Adam Morris Sees in Vanderbilt’s Depth Pieces at EDGE – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt football’s defense is looking to get after the quarterback this fall with some developing players and new faces to line up on the defensive edge.
Those who are familiar with Vanderbilt and its roster know the EDGE room going into the 2026 season is highlighted by sixth-year veteran Miles Capers, who is looking to set a couple school records to finish his collegiate career. Vanderbilt also added a seasoned defensive end in Brian Allen Jr. from Iowa that the coaching staff feels will make an impact on defense in multiple ways.
But defensive ends coach Adam Morris knows he has more valuable bodies he will be able to throw at opposing quarterbacks this fall. In addition to Allen Jr., there are a couple of new faces to the room: Boston College transfer Edwin Kolenge and freshman Jace McCallum. But Vanderbilt also has Mason Carter, who it feels is ready to play a meaningful role going into his junior season.
The depth of the EDGE room looks to be a determining factor of how successful the defensive line will be at getting into the opposing backfield. Carter is a name Morris feels will be relied on in playing an important role as far as playmaking depth on the edge goes.
“His body has changed, he looks like a completely different human being than he did when he first got here, and I think you're seeing that physical confidence in the way that he plays,” Morris told Vandy On SI. “We’re very excited about Mason.”
As a sophomore, Carter appeared in all 13 games for Vanderbilt, finishing the 2025 season with three tackles and a quarterback hit. Though he has not had a ton of playing time through his first two seasons, Morris feels that he has the strength, confidence and body type that foreshadows his best season in college so far.
A new face Vanderbilt feels will help its ability to help its pass rush is Edwin Kolenge from Boston College. Kolenge brings starting experience to the defensive line with 10 starts in 12 games for the Eagles last season. He came away with 17 solo tackles and 14 assisted tackles and had a sack against SMU in 2025.
The energy Kolenge brings on the defensive line is something that the coaching staff finds promising in terms of the productivity he can bring in getting after quarterbacks this upcoming season.
“He has some real natural pass rush ability that I think you saw when he was at Boston College. We're excited about it. I think he's versatile, he can rush on the edge. I think he's strong enough to hold his own inside too. So, it's been effort and motor with Edwin,” Morris said on what stands out about Kolenge.
A note about the position room is the absence of LSU EDGE transfer CJ Jackson. Jackson transferred to Vanderbilt early in the offseason, but suffered an injury during the spring that Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said after the spring game would “cast into the season.”
Morris is not looking at any specific player in the EDGE room to step up in the meantime, but he is looking for a collective effort from his players.
With players in the EDGE room building confidence in the scheme throughout the spring, chemistry is building. But on the defensive line, building chemistry and confidence presents a unique challenge that Morris has experienced from a coaching side of things.
“I think specifically at this position, I think it's why you see so many places now with two coaches managing the front. We ask our guys to do a lot. They are rushing, they are dropping, they are setting the edge,” Morris told Vandy On SI. “Obviously, in college football with all the quarterback run game a lot happens through the defensive end. So I think that in and of itself creates challenges more so than the chemistry of getting the roster together.”
There is no worry on how the development of chemistry turns out, though. Morris has already seen his guys’ familiarity with the scheme rise to a level of comfortability and believes the same will occur within the chemistry. As long as the EDGEs get the fundamentals and techniques, everything will turn out fine.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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