Tulane Green Wave Coach Turns Focus On Replacing Production and Strong Opponents
In this story:
The Tulane Green Wave is retooling after losing several productive starters to the NFL draft and transfer portal.
Head coach Jon Sumrall recently discussed the challenges that lie ahead for Tulane football as they deal with the conundrums in today’s college sports landscape.
Sumrall finds himself in a similar situation to his first season with the Green Wave. While not related to one another, the trade-off in retaining the head coach came with the departure of several key members on offense.
The team entered the 2024 offseason with the loss of longtime starting quarterback Michael Pratt. However, they returned all but two starters on the offensive line, running back Makhi Hughes, and several key wide receivers like Yulkeith Brown and Dontae Fleming.
Sumrall outlined the unknown that lies ahead in an interview with Fox 8 Sports with respect to replacing so many proven offensive playmakers.
“We have a lot to replace,” Sumrall said. “We don't have a whole lot of offensive production coming back. That's scary. We've got to find out really fast through spring practice who's going to catch a couple thousand yards of passes that we're losing and who's going to throw for 2,700 yards that we're missing. Who's going to run for 1,400 yards that we're missing?”
Tulane is tasked with replacing Mensah and three offensive linemen, Hughes, Brown, and Fleming. Mario Williams heads to the NFL draft alongside Reggie Brown. Alex Bauman also departed in the transfer portal.
It’s a lot of offensive production for the team to recoup losses for, which is why they’ve already brought in 27 transfers to build back the roster. They completed the impressive haul prior to spring practice, allowing for a more accurate assessment.
“That’s why you have spring practice; you get to go find that out,” Sumrall said. “Guys are going to get what they earn. I feel really good about some pieces we have in place. We do have the spring portal window where maybe we might probably have to add one or two more offensive weapons to the fold after we kind of figure out what we have.”
The team has a gauntlet to start the season between Power 4 opponents Northwestern, Ole Miss, and Duke, where Mensah is now.
Sumrall’s staff will start studying those opponents fastidiously in February.
“We’re going to mainly worry about ourselves,” he explained. “We’ll spend time watching them just so we know, okay, are there things we're going to see in the first month of the year that we may not show each other offensively or defensively what we need to be prepared for?”
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