Tulane Football Preview, 2026: Quarterback
At the beginning of Spring football, 2026, the Tulane coaching staff pointed to a pair of quarterbacks as the leaders of the pack in the competition of who would succeed Jake Retzlaff as the starter in the Fall: junior Kadin Semonza and senior transfer Zeon Chriss-Gremillion. As Spring wore on, it became apparent to us at On SI Tulane that the rivalry had expanded beyond the two upperclassmen to include sophomore Dagan Bruno and true freshman Trace Johnson.
Here is the On SI Tulane look at who we think are the quartet at the top and analysis of each, remembering this is based upon just a few weeks of Spring practice where the Tulane offense was still being installed and athletes were learning each other, including an offensive front that had not yet jelled.
Semonza: Tulane Familiarity and Starting Experience
In 2023, Semonza's true freshman year at Ball State, he started three of the first four games: starting in a season-opening loss at the SEC's Kentucky, coming off the bench in a defeat at then #1 Georgia, starting in a home-opening victory over Indiana State, then falling in a starting roll against Georgia Southern. He would not play again that year under head coach Mike Neu and be redshirted.
In 2024, his redshirt freshman year, Semonza began to blossom, throwing for 2,904 yards and completing 64.4 percent of his passes. His 25 TD passes were the most by a Cardinals QB since Keith Wenning threw 35 in 2013. In fact, in the season opener against Missouri State, the California native completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 262 yards and four TDs along with his single rushing TD of the year to put the Cardinals over the Bears 42-34. Ball State finished the year at 3-9. Semonza entered the transfer portal the following March, coming to Tulane.
After Spring football practice in 2025, Semonza felt he was in position to vie for the starting roll in the Fall.
Enter Jake Retzlaff.
The BYU transfer (if you want to call him that), enrolled at Tulane in July, 2025, and took over the starting role in the Fall of 2025, leading the Green Wave to historic heights, including its first ever appearance in the College Football Playoffs. Semonza sat the bench, waiting his turn.
This Spring, Semonza took the lead while still helping his main competition, Chriss-Gremillion, to learn the system and the team. All quarterbacks on the roster seemed to divide up the snaps pretty evenly, as Will Hall and his troops tried to see what fit and what didn't, which is why we believe this is more than a two-man race going into the Fall. More on that later.
On Si Tulane Analysis of Semonza
He has a good feel for the pocket, being able to step up or out of trouble pretty quickly. Though he doesn't have the speed of Zeon, Semonza has the footwork to escape.
His short and medium range throws are on target for the most part. He has good arm strength, but his long throws are something that needs work when it comes to accuracy. He can go through progressions well, making his way through each step to figure out the best possibility. However, there were times when the communication was not quite there yet.
Chriss-Gremillion: Tremendous Athlete, Also Starting Experience
Zeon Chriss-Gremillion worked through high school at Madison Prep Academy in Baton Rouge. A three-star recruit in 2022, he received offers from Memphis, South Alabama, Louisiana, and others. He chose the Ragin' Cajuns, where he played in 12-games in two years, starting half of them. He passed for over 12-hundred yards and ran for almost 500 his sophomore year, deciding to try his luck with Willy Fritz in Houston. transferring there, playing in 16-games, starting seven, but none of those starts were in his junior year. Chriss-Gremillion entered the transfer portal again and came to Uptown, hoping to change his luck in his home state.
On SI Tulane Analysis of Chriss-Gremillion
Zeon is a stud of an athlete. A two-sport star in high school (football and track), he can fly. If he finds a crease in the open field, he has after-burners that will leave most defenders in his dust. When there are designed runs, Chriss-Gremillion makes the right decision and can take it to the house.
Though he has a strong arm, showing it off on deep passes more than once in the Spring, Zeon's accuracy leaves us wanting more. He tried to muscle the ball in on well-covered passes and was seen zoning-in on a single receiver in routes instead of working his way through progressions.
Because of Chriss-Gremillion and Semonza not showing separation from the pack, two other quarterbacks started showing promise in the Spring.
Johnson: Very Young and Very Smart
True freshman Trace Johnson is a believer in his abilities. So much so, his parents decided to move him from Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Florida, where he had piled up over 6-thousand passing yards in just his sophomore and junior seasons. For his senior year of high school, Johnson ended up in California at Santa Margarita Catholic to be coached by former NFL Pro Bowl QB Carson Palmer. Johnson threw for almost 28-hundred yards, 22-touchdowns and just 3-interceptions, leading his team to the Open Division championship in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) against perennial power De La Salle.
After that last season, Johnson received offers from Virginia, Southern Miss, and others before accepting one from Tulane. He enrolled in Uptown in January of this year since he had completed his high school academic requirements.
On Si Tulane Analysis of Johnson
Holy cow, this kid is smart. He must come by it naturally, as his father is Doug Johnson, who was voted into the Florida Gator Hall of Fame and played five seasons in the NFL. Trace can scan the field quickly, find faults in the defense, and make the correct decisions in a New York second. Though he has the brain, he needs to bulk up a bit, as his 6' 1", 185-pounds needs to be strengthened.
Johnson had a strong start to the Spring, working through his progressions rapidly and seeming to make quick and accurate decisions. However, his youth started to show as practices wore on, not being able to escape pressure from the defensive front and missing on completions. Johnson's running abilities were not showcased in the Spring, so we don't have much to go on there.
Head coach Will Hall has said in interviews with On SI Tulane that he believes the next Michael Pratt or Darian Mensa, two standout former Greenies, is already on the roster. Though he did not say who that was we believe he might have been referring to Johnson.
From our observations, we think the true freshman will have a chance at competing for some playing time in the Fall depending on how he continues to progress in practices in August and where Semonza, Zeon, and our next competitor fare.
Bruno: Local Kid, Progresses Quickly
While playing for John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, Dagan Bruno became known for running an offense that relied on the run game. Well, that's what most of us were led to believe. In his senior year, Bruno passed for over 15-hundred yards while rushing for another 500.
So much for Bruno focusing on the running game...
On SI Tulane Analysis of Bruno
Bruno is what is called a preferred walk-on at Tulane. Unlike Johnson, Chriss-Gremillion, or Semonza, he is trying to earn an athletic scholarship while playing football in Uptown. In our opinion, Bruno had the biggest leap in improvement from the start of Spring to the end.
By the conclusion of Spring practice, the sophomore was going through his progressions well. He was beginning to feel pressure more quickly and step up or step out of trouble. His passes were on target at short and medium range. He is not afraid to tuck it and run, but prefers to get the ball downfield via the air.
From our observations, we think Bruno will have a chance to compete for playing time during Fall practice, maybe even a starting role depending on the amount of progress he shows.
Tulane Stadium: A Century-Old Look Back
In celebration of this year being the 100th anniversary of the opening of old Tulane Stadium on the Uptown campus, we are looking back at the greatest athletes to grace the old field and beyond. Since On Si Tulane looked at this season's quarterback situation this week, on Wednesday we take a stab at who we think was the greatest Tulane quarterback in the 100-plus years of Green Wave football.
Look for our article Wednesday morning.
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Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.