Tulane Football Coach Looks for Important Quality in Competing Quarterbacks

Tulane Green Wave football head coach Jon Sumrall hopes to see intangible traits from the prospects in the quarterback competition.

Credit: Tulane Athletics / Football

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Tulane Green Wave football team has seen a lot of leaders step up across several position groups during spring practice, but the most important voice will come under center.

As Tulane football searches for its next starting quarterback, head coach Jon Sumrall must assess a lot of traits in the competing prospects in a limited period.

Competitors Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary can only win the job playing like themselves but would do well to emulate an important quality that made their predecessor climb into a race he was initially shut out of.

Darian Mensah jumped ahead and took the starting job by exhibiting an ability to lead with confidence—something Sumrall pointed out he was searching for last August.

“You want to see them play the position the right way, which means communicate with confidence, lead well, and be a great teammate,” Sumrall said.

After Saturday’s scrimmage, neither competitor asserted themselves further in the race, though much of that could be explained by the switching of personnel and the entire left side of the offensive line being held to eight snaps.

There are still several practice sessions left for the two quarterbacks to not only stack days on the field but also show Sumrall that they embody all the traits he’s searching for in his signal caller.

Sumrall spoke with reporters following the scrimmage and gave an assessment of where Semonza and Leary stand with the intangibles he seeks.

“I've seen them [intangibles]; I haven't seen them maybe enough,” Sumrall said. “There's been some flashes. They are both great locker room guys. They interact well with their teammates. Maybe at times they need to have a bit stronger command of what we're doing and running the show.” 

There’s perhaps a bigger, unanticipated spotlight on the competitors with it abruptly becoming a two-man race. It’s also not the only competition being held.

As Sumrall consistently says, nothing is given, and every opportunity has to be earned on the field.

The staff is looking for a new center and is spending more time seeing what they have in developmental or depth pieces than proven starters.

Sumrall acknowledged that the personnel switch-ups are to the detriment of the quarterbacks being able to step fully in command and feel comfortable. 

“When you have a revolving door of personnel around you, it's like, hey, who's the O-line for this rep that I'm in?” Sumrall said. “The quarterbacks are sometimes going with the ones, then they’re going with the twos. We’re mixing them up. So, the moving parts around them can make it hard to find their footing.

It wasn’t the most exciting outing for either quarterback, with only Semonza finding the end zone once with a nice throw to Bryce Bohanon.

However, Darian Mensah wasn’t even being considered at this time in the spring. He didn’t start to show up on the radar until fall, with a hidden poise.

Should Semonza and Leary want their coaches’ eyes on them and not the transfer portal, they can strengthen their case with some moxie and command that equally catches those of their teammates.