Maryland game prep continued on Wednesday as the Owls are now only 10 days away from Kickoff against the Big 10 opponent.
Our viewing period was spent watching the tight ends and defensive edges as we closed out our preseason interviews on the day.
After practice, our focus turned to half a dozen Owls from the tight ends and defensive ends room, but our positional preview on Wednesday will highlight the DEs.
The Defensive Ends
The end of the defensive line is led by coach Brandon Lacy. Lacy has been coaching at the college level since 2004 and is coming off of a one year stint at Western Michigan.
The Oklahoma native spoke on Wednesday, showing a lot of his character during the presser. He shared about his group overall, “The biggest question for my group is, who’s gonna be that guy? Right now I have a saying. We call ourselves the ‘Black Ops’ because we’re the no name group that nobody knows about. A lot of guys that have either played a little bit or been in backup roles, some guys that haven’t played. So all we can do is attack. Take everything on with aggression.”
A major storyline out of the defensive end room was the fact that a mix of four Owls should headline the week one rotation with similar time for each.
In Today's Player Interviews #FAU Edges @JoshR1027 & @D9_Era Break Down Their Camp Sessions & Getting Ready For #Maryland #GoOwls 🦉 pic.twitter.com/VoUveQe6fA
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) August 20, 2025
The Quartet of Edges
Deshaun Batiste – Junior, 6’2, 262 lbs
Batiste’s (main picture, Rick Henderson) relationship with Coach Lacy is not new. Lacy shared during his presser that he recruited the now Junior and offered Batiste in 2022 while Lacy was at Southern Mississippi.
The former Tulane defensive tackle has been praised as a great addition for the team and is one of the few members in the DE room that can say he has played meaningful snaps. During his 2024 year at Tulane, Batiste had 10 tackles with 2.5 for loss with an appearance in 12 games.
Batiste spoke about his transition from one American Conference program to another on Wednesday sharing, “I like [our] work ethic. The work ethic here is phenomenal from the strength staff all the way up to the head coach. Everything’s been phenomenal. Everybody is on board, on deck, ready to win.”
One that can play DT or DE, his versatility makes it to where Batiste could end up playing inside if needed, but expect the New Orleans native to be lined up on the outside of the D-line come week one as a starter.
Wilky Denaud – Redshirt Sophomore, 6’3, 276 lbs
One of the Owls returners from the DE room, Denaud has been in line for a starting role since he joined Florida Atlantic in 2024. Last season for FAU, Denaud appeared in nine games earning six tackles.
Coach Lacy spoke on improvements from Denaud from Spring to Fall, “The biggest thing we’ve got him to do is play a little bit harder, a little bit more physical, which was good. It’s a lot. It’s been increased since spring ball. You talk about a guy that’s really the one of the older guys in the group.”
In the 2025 season, Denaud’s workload should pick up, but he was absent from practice on Wednesday. For now, the Floridian is still in line as one of the four Owls that will make up the starting corp against Maryland and will most likely play alongside Batiste.
Eric Brantley Jr. – Redshirt Sophomore, 6’0, 235 lbs
Last season, Brantley appeared in 12 games recording 13 tackles and had a forced fumble in FAU’s win over Florida International. As one of the other Owls returners from last season, the redshirt sophomore brings experience in American Conference play.
During Fall camp, Brantley was highlighted by head coach Zach Kittley, “Brantley is a dude that can really get off the ball and get after the quarterback.” The statement seems to be true as during individual drills on Wednesday, the Georgia native showed explosiveness during tackle dummy drills.
As one of the four guys a part of the DE rotation, Brantley will most likely be a second string piece for Florida Atlantic this year.
Josh Roberts – Freshmen, 6’4, 220 lbs
Alongside Zion Paret in the Owls secondary, Roberts (video) has been highly touted as a top talent from FAU’s freshmen class. It all starts from Roberts work ethic as coach Lacy shared, “Now, this also a kid that you guys don’t know, that at eight or nine o’clock at night is out there on the field, working bags, punching the sled, sending me videos. He’s what you talk about in terms of a guy that has worked himself into a college football player.”
Roberts highlighted his night time practice as something routine, “It’s something I’ve always done throughout high school. I’ve always been the hardest worker. I’d like to say that’s what I pride myself on. I know I can go through the extra things to get better. So why wouldn’t I go out there and do what I need to put myself in the position I want to be in.”
Overall for the freshman, it was shared that he will be playing against Maryland on Wednesday and that he is in a battle for a starting role. Now can we answer if he will be one of the starters on the edge? No. But his time, regardless of the start or not, should be equal to the other three guys in the starting rotation around him.
Edge Depth
Jackson Forte – Junior, 6’2, 250 lbs
Entering from College of the Canyons in California, Forte came to Florida Atlantic to use his experience at the JUCO level. Last season, the junior played in 11 games, earning 31 tackles with 12 of those for a loss.
This year, the expectation is for Forte to be a depth piece on the line, but an extra year of growth at the D1 level could set the Californian up for major success next year.
Gavench Marcelin – Sophomore, 6’3, 247 lbs
Another returning Owl from last year, Marcelin put up decent numbers as a part of the DL rotation. In 11 games, the Sophomore recorded eight tackles and 1.5 sacks. With the amount of new talent in the room, Marcelin’s time on the field is expected to bebe limited, but he might needed to come in for depth.
Tyclean Luman – Redshirt Freshman, 6’3, 254 lbs
The Rutgers transfer is half of the Luman twins duo. Tyclean was highlighted on Wednesday alongside Batiste and Denaud as a player that will be the main guy in terms of the depth rotation.
Last season, Tyclean spent the year holding on to his redshirt as he did not play, but it now seems transferring to the Owls worked out for him as he will be a main depth piece on the edge of the defensive line come week one.
Tycoolhill Luman – Redshirt Freshman, 6’3, 259 lbs
The second half of the Luman duo is Tycoolhill. With his brother, Tycoolhill played his high school ball at Miami Norland and returned to South Florida as he and Tyclean stuck together and joined FAU.
Not mentioned much during camp and mock game week, it looks like Tycoolhill may spend another year bettering himself.
Chenellson Exume – Redshirt Freshman, 6’4, 250 lbs
A depth piece at USF, Exam transferred to FAU with only 18 snaps played at the collegiate level. Recruited by Florida Atlantic during his time in high school, Exume joined the Owls in January.
Exume will be another player that should be a depth piece, but will most likely see close to the same playing time as last season with the Bulls.
Nimari Brantley – Freshman, 6’2, 250 lbs
Brantley came out of Coconut Creek as a three-star recruit. Expect Brantley to spend the year earning a redshirt as his role should stay limited to squad team reps.
Overall Outlook
With the edges not having a duo on the ends, it can be concerning that there has not been a “standout guy,” but one can not always be negative. The four main guys all have a strength that makes them shine on their own. For that core four it should be a good year as long as they can stay healthy, and use some of that fiery energy to their advantage.
For the remainder of the room, depth does not seem to be a concern. With players who have collegiate playing time, and a great connection overall with those on the defense, even when called upon, the FAU defense should not skip a beat.
Up Next
Our 2025 positional previews close out on Thursday as we highlight the Florida Atlantic Tight Ends room after speaking with TE Coach Jajuan Dulaney, TE Reid Mikeska, and TE Mike Kirch on Wednesday.