Former Tulane Green Wave Star Has Duke Blue Devils in Great Spot Under Center
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The Tulane Green Wave were able to continue the success that Willie Fritz had in 2022 and 2023 in the first season under Jon Sumrall in 2024.
The former Troy Trojans head coach made his presence felt right away, helping lead the team to their third consecutive campaign with at least nine victories. Things may not have ended on the highest of notes, losing their final three contests of the season, but it was still a success overall.
For the Green Wave to replicate that production and win at least nine games for a fourth straight campaign, Sumrall and his staff are going to have to unearth some gems as they did last year.
There is a ton of production on both sides of the ball that needs to be replaced, with several key contributors entering the transfer portal, heading off to the NFL or exhausting their eligibility.
The biggest hole to fill will be at the quarterback position, where breakout star Darian Mensah no longer resides.
Tulane Green Wave Are Going To Miss Darian Mensah
After beating out Ty Thompson and Kai Horton for the starting job in spring and summer practice, the redshirt freshman put together a monster season for Tulane.
Mensah completed 65.9% of his passes, which led the AAC, for 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns with only six interceptions. His 9.5 yards gained per attempt, 10.10 adjusted pards gained per pass attempt and 166.7 rating all led the conference as well.
After the big season, he opted to enter the transfer portal, where he quickly found a new home with the Duke Blue Devils.
For a period of time, he was unofficially the highest paid player in college football, reportedly receiving $8 million in NIL money.
It was a deal that Duke would make again if it had to, as Mensah’s presence has improved their outlook dramatically.
With him as the starting quarterback, their situation under center is one of the best in the nation in the opinion of David Hale of ESPN.
He recently ranked all 136 FBS schools and how things look at the most important position in football.
Hale feels highly about what the Blue Devils have, ranking only 13 quarterback situations in the country better than them, placing them in Tier 3 out of 20.
Tulane certainly wishes they had Mensah under center for them, as they are ranked in Tier 15b, placing them in the bottom half of the country.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.