Top Group of Five Coach Shares Tough Reality of New NIL and Portal Era

Tulane football head coach shares his thoughts on the challenges of roster retention and stability of programs between NIL and transfer portal.
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While most college football programs are struggling with the harsh realities of NIL and the transfer portal dominating roster turnover, coaches at the Group of 5 level need to adapt at twice the pace.

Tulane football coach Jon Sumrall has dealt with a wave of portal complexities in his second season as head coach. He was unable to retain star talent like quarterback Darian Mensah, running back Makhi Hughes, and tight end Alex Bauman.

He addressed these challenges in a recent interview on Fox 8 with local sportscaster Garland Gillen as the program traverses the NCAA landscape with respect to NIL and the transfer portal.

"We've got 27 guys that just transferred in and six high school kids that just showed up as well," Sumrall said. "We have 33 new players out of basically a hundred that are here right now. It's a third of the roster that's already brand new from last year. Tons of turnover—that's the nature of the beast now."

The program’s expectations remain high with three incoming quarterbacks to compete to replace Mensah, a variety of running backs on the roster and through the portal, and an impressive haul on the defensive line.

"We still have very high expectations," Sumrall said. The standards do not change. Expectations, maybe, are things that people place on you. Standards are things you place on yourself. Our work standards are not going to change here. We expect guys to have a great attitude, to be extremely tough, to be disciplined, to love each other, and to be accountable to their teammates. That will never change. The standards don't change. If your standards remain high, your expectations can also remain high."

The Green Wave football team hired a director of roster management, Kelly Comarda, this offseason ahead of potential revenue-sharing and as a necessity in college sports.

Sumrall acknowledges the importance of having NIL staff members that allow him to concentrate on coaching football.

They are also a Group of 5 program with a wealthy alumni base that has been rejuvenated by the team’s success over the last three seasons. However, it demonstrates how quickly a school that's not as well-positioned to offset roster losses can face challenges.

If the team had lost Sumrall to the coaching cycle, years of accumulated momentum could have crumbled.

It underscores not just how necessary NIL is to compete, but also how valuable a head coach who adapts and embraces the changing landscape is to achieve success.


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