Tulane Football Coach Jon Sumrall Shows Most Valuable Trait in Recruiting Haul
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In the current age of college football, head coaches are in a constant state of recruiting current and future players on the roster.
While a lot of attention is paid to immediate talent in the transfer portal, the foundation of a program is through high school recruiting classes.
Tulane Green Wave football coach Jon Sumrall has his finger on the pulse of the importance of that, and that’s a large reason why he was coveted by multiple Power Four schools in the last coaching carousel.
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However, he elected to remain uptown, and the Green Wave’s massive recruiting hall over the weekend showed why.
It’s challenging for head coaches to sell a future to recruits that might not include them leading the way, and Sumrall has admitted that his trajectory comes up often with recruits.
But as he told Pete Nakos of On3 Sports (subscription required), Tulane may be better positioned than several Power Four programs.
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“And as I look at things, this job in a lot of ways could be better than some Power Four jobs,” Sumrall said. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, we’ve got everything we need here, resource-wise, in a lot of ways, to continue to be what we want to be. We’ve got to continue to grow and push the envelope in certain areas to keep moving forward. We can’t stay stagnant.”
That was made clear with the commitments of four-star wide receiver Trez Davis and three-star trio defensive lineman Jordyn Crites, offensive lineman Noah Abebe, and tight end Colby Simpson.
That brings the Green Wave’s 2026 recruiting class up to nine members on 247 Sports, with one four-star and seven three-star commits.
There are several question marks on the team this upcoming season. Mainly, who the next starting quarterback will be for Tulane between Kadin Semonza, Donovan Leary, and Brendan Sullivan after losing Darian Mensah.
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They have to find a lot of production to replace running back Makhi Hughes, along with several other departed starters from last season.
After a 9-5 finish in the 2024 season and a loss in the American Conference Championship game, the exodus of so many starters could demoralize a program.
It’s seemed to light a fire under Sumrall uptown, but not with an overfocus on short-term transfer portal rentals.
One of Sumrall and his staff’s best traits is their stellar recruiting skills. More importantly, they demonstrated last season that they are committed to developing young players on the field.
That goes a long way, even in the era of NIL, and it’s led to a burst of young talent wanting to join one of the best Group of Five programs in the nation.
For more Tulane news, head over to Tulane Green Wave On SI.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com