Tulane QB Suffers Leg Injury Ahead of Season Opener vs. Northwestern

The Green Wave have not yet named their starting quarterback against the Wildcats.

Dec 3, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave helmet on the field against the UCF Knights during the first half at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Northwestern already knows its Week 1 starting quarterback will be SMU transfer Preston Stone. Head coach David Braun officially gave Stone the keys to the Wildcats' offense at Big Ten Media Days, and the strong-armed QB will look to add a much-needed element of explosiveness to Northwestern.

Meanwhile, Tulane's starting quarterback job is up for grabs. Northwestern's Week 1 opponent brought in four transfer passers this offseason, with redshirt sophomore Kadin Semonza (Ball State), redshirt junior Donovan Leary (Illinois), graduate student Brendan Sullivan (Iowa) and late addition Jake Retzlaff (BYU) all competing for the role.

Retlaff, who led the Cougars to an 11-2 record a season ago, is undoubtedly the most talented passer. However, the BYU transfer has only been with Tulane since July 21 and may not be familiar enough with the system to start against the Wildcats in just two weeks. That left the experienced Sullivan — who played at Northwestern from 2021 to 2023 — as the most likely candidate to begin the season under center for the Green Wave.

Sullivan's bid to start came to a screeching halt on Thursday, when he went down in practice with a lower leg injury. According to Tulane beat reporter Guerry Smith of The Times-Picayune, Sullivan came up limping during a goal-line drill and left practice shortly after. Medical examination revealed a bone bruise and ankle sprain for Sullivan, who will not require surgery.

The Iowa transfer will be out for at least a week with the injury, though head coach Jon Sumrall was uncertain whether Sullivan will be healthy in time for the Green Wave's season opener.

"You hate it for him because he's had a really good training camp to this point and played at a really high level, but it's the right thing to do to shut him down and give him this time," Sumrall told reporters on Friday. "Is he going to be available for game one? Don't know yet. Would love for him to be. If he's not, we're going to do what's best for him for the long haul."

With Sullivan recovering, Retzlaff and Semonza are expected to split starting reps during Tulane's Saturday scrimmage.

The Green Wave started the 2024 season with a 9-2 record, but ended the year on a three-game skid with defeats in the American Championship Game and the Gasparilla Bowl. Starting quarterback Darian Mensah transferred to Duke after the season, while backup Ty Thompson changed positions to tight end in the spring.

Sullivan made 13 appearances at Northwestern, completing 68.7% of his passes for 1,303 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He transferred to Iowa in 2024, leading the Hawkeyes to a 40-14 win over his old team and an appearance in the Music City Bowl.