With 5 days until spring football practice, ODUSports.com continues to take a look at each position group. Today we feature the defensive line.
Defensive End
Arguably the most experienced position on the team, combining for 81 starts, the defensive line returns three starters from last year's squad, including first-team All-Conference USA defensive end, Oshane Ximines.
Ximines leads a solid group of defensive ends that could start anywhere in the league, including Daniel Appouh and Tim Ward. Ximines broke his own ODU single-seasn record last season with 8.5 sacks and had a team-best 14.0 tackles for loss, while setting the ODU career record with 21 sacks.
Ward started a pair of games this season and finished second on the team with 10.0 tackles for loss and added three sacks. Appouh notched 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss in 10 games and three starts. Sam White played in three games last season, while Alli Alliu, Marcus Haynes and James Valle redshirted.
Defensive Tackle
The group is led by four seniors, Miles Fox, Ryan Londree, Pat Toal and Brandon Tyson. Fox finished fourth on last year's squad with a career-high 57 tackles and added career-bests with 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.
Londree battled injuries and played in nine games, making seven tackles.
Toal started eight games and totaled a career-high 37 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks.
Tyson missed the 2016 season due to injury, but came back in 2017 to start four games and register 16 tackles.
Sophomore Jeremy Meiser saw his first career action at Virginia Tech, and played in nine games, starting one. He notched 19 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Sophomore Juwan Ross added 12 tackles in seven games in his rookie campaign.
Defensive Tackles
Maxime Evans
Miles Fox
Ryan Londree
Ty-Kee McCullers
Jeremy Meiser
Juwan Ross
Mufu Taiwo
Pat Toal
Brandon Tyson
Cameron Washington
Defensive Ends
Alli Alliu
Daniel Appouh
Marcus Haynes
James Valle
Tim Ward
Sam White
Oshane Ximines
2018 DL Signees
Oshea Jackson - DE - 6-3, 235 - Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Institute
Sokoya McDuffie - DT - 6-5, 275 - Florence, S.C./South Florence
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