How Important Will New Tight Ends Be In Tulane Green Wave Offense?

Tulane Green Wave had one of the most prolific scorers in college football at tight end last season that the new offense will need to replace.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

While a lot of attention is on the next starting quarterback for the Tulane Green Wave offense, their chemistry with position groups will be intriguing to watch individually.

Tulane football will have to replace transfer portal departures: Darian Mensah at quarterback, running back Makhi Hughes, and tight end Alex Bauman; wide receivers Mario Williams, Yulkeith Brown, Dontae Fleming, and Phatt Watts all declared for the NFL draft.

It's a lot of production, and playmakers Sumrall will need to recoup in spring practice.

The skill players accumulate and stand out, but Bauman was one of the top scorers in college football among tight ends last season.

Bauman led the Green Wave in receiving touchdowns in 2024. Only four tight ends in the nation scored more than Bauman’s seven.

One of the central points of offensive coordinator Joe Craddock’s philosophy is adapting the offense to the players and their traits versus forcing them to mold to a pre-made vision.

It will be curious in the spring, as practices begin on March 18, to assess whether that trend will remain as the new group of playmakers for Tulane takes shape.

Ty Thompson and Kai Horton seemed to favor the speedy wide receivers as targets throughout last spring’s practice. When Mensah emerged as a leader of the race in fall camp, one of his stronger traits was spreading the ball out throughout the offense.

Mensah was more inclined to hit Bauman on short routes and dump it off to the running backs over the shiny play, and that translated into the offensive makeup of last year’s team.

All of that is all thrown out the window this season. The incoming competitors, TJ Finley, Kadin Semonza, and Donovan Leary, may all have different inclinations as the race transpires; one head coach, Jon Sumrall, has noted that they will likely continue through fall camp regardless of their spring play.

While Sumrall was quick to dismiss the loss of the starters in terms of the team’s mentality, Bauman was a notable departure he mentioned when discussing setting a tone to move forward.

“We have three team rules here,” Sumrall said. “They're really simple, and one of them is no energy vampires, which means no whining, no complaining, and no excuses. I can sit here and whine and complain and make excuses about losing Darian or losing our tight end Alex Bauman to Miami, or losing our running back Makhi Hughes to Oregon, or losing Parker Peterson to Wisconsin. We lost guys everywhere, but it's not going to do me any good or do them any good to whine and complain.”

The tight end room for the Green Wave also loses valuable contributor Reggie Brown to the NFL draft and Joshua Goines to the transfer portal. Anthony Miller transferred over last year and remains in the room.

It’s a relatively unknown and unproven one, but it could have strong potential with Ty Thompson converting to the position from quarterback. Transfers Justyn Reid and Leron Husbands don’t have many stats on the field.

Neither did Dontae Fleming when he transferred into the program. Sometimes a new fit just works. Tulane is also known to develop and play young prospects.

Incoming high school recruits Gabe Lovorn, who offers athletic versatility to complement Thompson, and Cameron Roberts fill out the room that could prove crucial to the team’s next starting quarterback.