New Tulane Football Recruit Promotes Winning Culture in Decision To Commit
The future of the Tulane Green Wave football team is just as important as their performance in the upcoming college football season.
The Green Wave coaching staff under head coach Jon Sumrall has been assembling a strong 2026 class of recruits, and a lot of them have spoken about the culture being a draw to the program.
One of those commits is defensive lineman AJ Westfield, who chose Tulane on June 26 over 20 offers, ultimately coming down to them and AAC rival Charlotte.
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Westfield spoke with Stephen Hargis of the Chattanooga Times Free Press about his decision and his plan to move to the interior for his collegiate career.
The 6-foot-3, 282-pound prospect has a three-star rating on 247 Sports and earned TSWA all-state football at Cleveland High School last season. He recorded 48 solo and 90 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, nine sacks, and three forced fumbles in his junior year.
However, Westfield will finish his high school career out at Bradley Central, where he transferred in late May. He will play defensive end at Bradley but will slot in at defensive tackle for the Green Wave.
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"I'm very comfortable playing defensive tackle, but I also feel like playing the four-technique [end] this season will just make me more versatile,” Westfield said. “Transferring schools was a really hard decision, honestly, but ultimately, I felt like it was the right decision for a lot of reasons. Bradley is a great school, and graduating early and enrolling at Tulane in January is an option. Also, Bears Coach Damon Floyd is a great coach, and I feel like I can flourish there in his program.”
Tulane had a lot of success moving players along the defensive line last season, with players suddenly flourishing at new roles, so an anticipated switch for Westfield will be intriguing to watch.
Outside of the opportunity on the field, Westfield pointed to a feeling off the field that drew him to the Green Wave.
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"One of the things I noticed right away on my last visit to Tulane is that it just felt like home,” Westfield said. “They've got a winning culture already established, and they've been recruiting me harder than anyone since around January, so I'm comfortable with the coaches and really everything around the program. It's just nice to feel that relief of having such a big decision behind me now."
Winning matters, and it’s hard to recruit commits without a trajectory for success. Establishing that is paramount. However, culture is arguably, if not more, important.
There are plenty of opportunities to win, but a strong culture is more rare to find, and Westfield isn’t the first recruit to point to that at Tulane.
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