Friday Five: Top 5 Pac-12 Defensive Ends

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Welcome to another edition of “Friday Five”. It finally happened, folks. After years of in-fighting and petty behavior, the Mountain West split has actually happened. The “departing five” have left to reform the Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps. 

We at the Mountain West Connection intend to cover both conferences going forward. “Friday Five” will feature the five best of, well, anything leading into football season, alternating between each conference week-to-week. Best quarterbacks, stadiums, mascots, who knows. We’re open to your ideas! This week, we start off with Friday Five defensive ends in the Pac-12 Conference. 

5. Brady Nassar, San Diego State

The defensive end position tends to be a premium position in the transfer portal, as evidenced by the Aztecs losing star defensive end Trey White to Texas Tech’s deep pockets. Fear not, there is talent waiting to burst. Brady Nassar hasn’t completely broken out yet after playing in all 13 games last season, starting four of them, but he’s San Diego State’s best bet to fill White’s shoes. At 6’5” 255 lbs, expect the senior to be one of the foundational talents for the rebuilding Aztec defense in 2026. 

4. Jo’Laison Landry, Texas State

Last season was no fun for Landry. After starting the first game, he suffered a season-ending injury. He was a preseason all-teamer for several publications, promising talent unrealized because of the injury. In 2024, he played every game and registered 7.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Back healthy for the 2026 season, expect Landry to be a bright spot for the Bobcat defense. 

3. Carson Tujague, Utah State

It’s hard to know who will stick around with a program long-term in this transfer portal era, but if you’re looking for a young defensive end set to take the conference by storm, Utah State’s Carson Tajugue is a candidate. As a redshirt freshman last season, Tujague posted an astonishing 72 tackles. What a way to introduce yourself to college football! With four tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries, Tujague is set to create havoc in the backfield from both his defensive end position and the defensive tackle spot, showing off his versatility. 

2. DonTerry Russell, Texas State

Standing at 6’5”, 228 lbs, Russell arrived to Texas State from the SEC at Mississippi State in 2025. He appeared in all 13 games, registering 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. The redshirt senior will bookend with Jo’Laison Landry to form the most fearsome defensive end tandem in the Pac-12. If there’s one thing I’ve learned researching the talent in the Pac-12, it’s that we’re all sleeping on the 2026 Texas State Bobcats. 

1. Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Boise State

As I noted earlier, the defensive end, quarterback, and wide receiver positions tend to be premium positions in the transfer portal. Returning talent can be tough to gauge when these position players are typically poached by the Power 4. In this rare Group of 6 case, Boise State held onto Virgin-Morgan. It’s not the first time, Boise State has done an excellent job retaining its best players like Ashton Jeanty, Kage Casey. Virgin-Morgan was first-team all-conference in 2024, second-team in 2025 posting 13 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. Unquestionably one of the defensive ends in college football, expect JVM to be a strong candidate for defensive preseason player of the year. 

Others in consideration: While the portal plucks talent away, those vacancies offer opportunity for the next stars to emerge. Merhauti Xepara from Fresno State feels like the Bulldogs’ strongest candidate to emerge as a stud at defensive end. Also keep an eye out for Matyus McLain, a transfer from Idaho set to star for the Washington State Cougars. I almost certainly missed someone here who will break out this fall, such is the nature when roster turnover is so rampant. 

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