Tulane Receivers for 2026? Better Include Everybody...
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Over the last two weeks, we have taken a look at the Tulane quarterback situation and the Green Wave running back room going into 2026. This week, it's the receivers lining up for the Wave.
If you are looking for your basic offense from the Tulane 2026 offense, with wide receivers doing wide receiver stuff, tight ends tight-ending, and running backs running, you'll need to look at some other team. That is not Will Hall's intention.
Not Lions, Tigers, and Bears, but...
...Wide Outs, Tight Ends, and Running Backs! Oh my!
New Green Wave head coach Will Hall has been emphatic in interviews and what was shown during Spring drills that his offense will have everyone involved in the passing game.
Well, almost everybody. We didn't see any offensive lineman catch a pass, but there is always Fall ball.
The Green Wave Spring roster had 14-wide receivers listed. We can't get to everyone, but we can list the top guys we are expecting to see take the field.
Elite Receiver: Destyn "Fat" Hill
And, no, the nickname "Fat" does not offend him.
Fat Hill can be a generational wide receiver. When we looked at the College Football Playoff loss to Ole Miss, we asked for more physical receivers: young men who can get separation from their defenders. Hill can do that, and more.
A four-star recruit out of Edna Karr high school before attending Florida State then LSU, Hill was not given much of an opportunity to show off his skills; and his skills can be elite. During Spring ball, Hill had a slow start: dropping some passes, missing routes and blocks. However, in the final two weeks of Spring, Hill began to show off what skills he had.
Fat made breaks and moves that had defensive backs and linebackers grasping for air. He made one particular move between two tacklers that stood out for us: as a cornerback and safety were converging on him from two directions, Hill split the difference, planting his left foot, and surging past them, leaving the two defenders in his vapor trail.
You may have noticed we've used the term "can be" a few times already. Hill has the talent to be very special. He didn't get to show that during his previous two stops in college. Tulane is betting his final year as a collegian in Hall's offense can place him in that "special talent" category.
Can Absolutely Move, Hard to Tackle: Anthony Brown-Stephens
One of the main returnees is Anthony Brown-Stephens. The 5' 10" sparkplug just finds ways to get open. Then he finds ways to make the almost impossible catch. Last year, in his first season at Tulane, his redshirt junior year, he found 41-catches for 523-yards and two touchdowns. In the off-season, Brown-Stephens added some bulk to his body, helping him gain that separation he was wanting to gain.
A four-star recruit out of Ohio, AB signed with Kentucky out of high school, playing two years and in every game for the Wildcats before taking his skills to Uptown.
This has nothing to do with football, but, in case you didn't know, Brown-Stephens is related to world famous singer and Grammy Award winner John Legend. He's Legend's nephew.
Wide Range of Receivers for the Wave
Others expecting to see playing time at the wideout slot:
- Senior Garrett Mmahat: The Brother Martin grad has seen his time limited by injuries, finding his way into only five games last season and sitting out time this past Spring. If he can stay healthy, he has the best set of hands on the squad, being compared to Rams legend Cooper Kupp because of his route-running ability and being able to catch just about anything thrown his way.
- Redshirt sophomore Zycarl Lewis: Has great speed, catching a 63-yarder last year amongst his 24-receptions. Needs to bulk up his 5' 10", 166-pound frame to continue to make a mark.
- Sophomore transfer, 6' 2", 195, Gabe Daniels: Saw limited time at Syracuse as a freshman. Three-star recruit out of high school in Atlanta. Georgia state qualifier in high school in the 100 & 200-meter dash. Has good size, strength, and quickness.
- Redshirt sophomore transfer, 6' 1", 190 Brendell Richardson: After a redshirt freshman year, appeared in four games for Central Florida. Four-star recruit out of Tampa. Returned punts and kickoffs in high school.
Expect Heavy Packages Under Will Hall
If Will Hall has his way, his receivers would include everyone eligible to catch the ball. Now, as the Tulane head coach, he will have his way. And boy, does Hall L-O-V-E utilizing his tight ends and running backs in the aerial attack. Don't be surprised to see two and three tight ends in a formation with running backs set out in a wide receiver position. This offense is very multiple.
From QB to TE: It's Ty Thompson Time
Ty Thompson came out of high school as as five star quarterback recruit. He spend three years, including a redshirt freshman season at Oregon, not seeing much playing time. Transferring to Tulane is 2024, he sat behind Darian Mensah, still playing in 12 games at quarterback and starting in the Gasparilla Bowl against Florida after Mensah decided not to play since he was moving on to Duke. Following that season, coaches and Thompson had a discussion and made the change to tight end.
Then, injuries hit: his knee in Spring, 2025, and a grade 1 hamstring strain in Fall, 2025, forced Thompson to miss his entire senior season.
Now a graduate, Thompson has put on a significant amount of muscle mass, standing 6' 4", but now weighing a brick wall-type 240-pounds. Standing next to him in the Spring made us feel like the proverbial mole hill when compared to that mountain. He is an absolute stud. Even with the added muscle, Thompson is fleet of foot, can make dynamic moves on defenders, and has developed into an excellent hands guy. Now, let's keep him healthy.
Size, Speed, an Absolute Dawg: Gabe Lovorn
Seeing limited action in 2025 for the Green Wave, Gabe Lovorn enters this season as a redshirt freshman, and he has bulked up as well. Another tall one, the Medina, Tennessee native stands 6' 4" and has added muscle to his 240-pound frame. In Spring, Lovorn was a frequent target of all the quarterbacks, making tough catches while being defended and some pretty impressive over-the-shoulder grabs as well. He is an excellent blocker, to boot.
That's Just Two of the Eight on the Roster
There are a plethora of tight ends on this Tulane roster, some of whom we expect to see plenty from in the Fall:
- Redshirt sophomore, 6' 3", 232, Dawson Johnson: Transferred from Old Dominion after playing in all 13 games as a freshman. Helped his high school team in Colorado to three consecutive state championships. He is the youngest of four brothers to play Division 1 sports: two of his siblings played lacrosse at Denver and one is playing football at Ohio University.
- Redshirt junior, 6' 5" 240, Vance Bolyard: A Duke transfer, he had played the offensive line for the Blue Devils before switching to tight end. Played mostly on special teams.
- Sophomore, 6' 1", 216, Jakson Judge: A la Ty Thompson, transitioning from QB to TE. Transferred from Middle Tennessee in 2024. Has added close to 25-pounds to his frame and runs well with the ball.
Expect Running Backs to be Heavily Involved
In Will Hall's offense, running backs do more than just run. In addition to screen passes, you will see them lined up in a slot or wide out near the sidelines. The backs are expected to be able to handle passes as well as handoffs. For a look at what we believe to be the deepest running back room in years, please read our article from last week.
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 wide receivers this week, on Wednesday we take a stab at who we think was the greatest Tulane WR in the 100-plus years of Green Wave football.
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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.