Tulane Star Linebacker in Transfer Portal Being Targeted By Former Conference Rival

The Tulane Green Wave suffered a major blow at the beginning of the month when one of their best defensive players announced he was going to be entering the transfer portal.

After missing all of 2024 with a knee injury, one of the most anticipated returns on the team was superstar linebacker Jesus Machado coming back to lead the Wave defense.

The leading tackler in 2023, Machado racked 98 of them and was named second-team All-AAC for his efforts.

Instead of returning to Tulane however now that he is fully healthy, Machado decided the best course for him would be to enter the portal.

Where he just might end up however could be a major sting to Wave fans.

As first reported on Tuesday by Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Machado was taking a visit to Tulane's former AAC rival turned Big 12 addition, the Houston Cougars.

Machado's play in 2023 was certainly good enough for the power-four level and ultimately it may be a better result than him ending up with a team still in the AAC. With that being said however, it would still be a major bummer for fans to see one of their stars end up with a rival even if it's a former rival.

After Houston took former Green Wave head coach Willie Fritz coming off the 2023 season, it makes sense that Machado would want to entertain playing for the coach who recruited him originally and guided him to such a strong season.

Machado -- a Miami area native -- was originally brought to Tulane as a three-star recruit who was rated by 247 as the No. 172 overall player in the state of Florida and outside the top-1000 nationally.

Though he had offers to some bigger programs, clearly he made the right decision as the Green Wave was able to develop him into a star.

The thought that current Tulane coach Jon Sumrall having a linebacker background could potentially send Machado to the next level makes a lot of sense, however so does a reunion with Fritz.

Whether or not he actually ends up with the Cougars remains to be seen, however it certainly seems like a serious likelihood.

In the three games Machado was in New Orleans for against Houston before they departed the conference, the Green Wave had a record of 1-2 including an overtime thriller in 2022.

Tulane fans will certainly monitor Machado's impending commitment and subsequent season closely.

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