Tulane Quarterbacks Bounce Back to Ramp up Competition for Starting Job

Tulane Green Wave football had a strong red zone period in spring practice where both competing quarterbacks showed improvement.

Credit: Tulane Athletics / Football

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Tulane Green Wave football team is currently in the second half of their spring practice, with a focus on identifying several starters, particularly on offense.

All eyes are on the Tulane football quarterback competition between Kadin Semonza and Donovan Leary, one that didn’t produce many answers during Saturday’s scrimmage.

However, it was the first of two days of a new two-man race with more reps, opportunities for mistakes, and moments to grow confidence.

Both quarterbacks exhibited growth under center during Tuesday’s practice session, notably during the red zone period.

Head coach Jon Sumrall was impressed by their command and perhaps heightened sense of urgency that made their presence felt.

“I thought both did good things today,” Sumrall said. “It was probably the first day I felt No. 10 [Leary] and No. 3 [Semonza] have more consistent moments.”

Sumrall brought up a moment during the scrimmage where Leary made a mistake that cost them the drive as an example of the Wave can’t beat the Wave. Both quarterbacks turned over the ball on Saturday, something that will drop their stock with a coach that cares about situational football. 

“At quarterback, sometimes it’s about the plays that you don't make for the other team as much as it is the plays you do make for your team,” Sumrall continued. “I'm not saying we don't want the quarterback to go out and make plays, but at the same time, protect the football and make good decisions. In the throw game, I try to tell them as much as I can, throwing the ball on a checkdown to the back is a good throw a lot of the time. Today, I felt like both played much more consistently and better. They each have different strengths, but I thought across the board, both of them looked a lot cleaner today.”

Sumrall was fair in his assessment on Saturday and reiterated it on Tuesday. He provided helpful context about the offensive line starters sitting out most of the scrimmage. 

He also highlighted the fact that both got an unexpected uptick in reps, and that he saw that pay off a bit more during Tuesday’s practice. Candid as always, Sumrall also disclosed that T.J. Finley was leading the race prior to his suspension from the team.

He came away from Tuesday feeling better about the quarterback room and its growth with two weeks left of spring.

“It's been down to two guys getting the majority of the reps for a whopping two days,” Sumrall said. “Not to give you all the information, but if you'd asked me last week ago today who the starter was, I don't know that he's at practice right now. Now where are we? We're working through it. I think both of them—you see this all the time when there's less people getting reps, and you get more reps, you get more confident. I think you're starting to hopefully see them feel a little more confident.”

That was the trait that led to Darian Mensah taking control of the race last season, as did his ability to stack days.

There wasn’t a palpable sense of urgency Saturday between Leary and Semonza. Both showed a marked desire to seize the opportunity in a strong Tuesday practice session.