Former Tulane Green Wave Football Star Transfers to Big Ten School
For the past few seasons running back Makhi Hughes has been one of the biggest pieces of the Tulane Green Wave’s success on the football field. Now, he'll play his next season of college football elsewhere.
According to On3.com, Hughes will transfer to play at Oregon next season. He’ll try to help the Ducks defend their Big Ten title, which came in their first season in the conference.
Undefeated and No. 1 in the country to end the regular season, the Ducks fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, which was a quarterfinal for the College Football Playoff.
Once Hughes put his name in the portal, he became one of the most sought-after players this cycle. Per On3, Hughes was the No. 3 overall player in their portal rankings and No. 1 among running backs.
Losing Hughes was a blow for the Green Wave, as he was a two-time All-American Athletic Conference selection in his two seasons in uptown.
He finished his time with the Green Wave with 2,779 Yards rushing and 24 touchdowns.
As a freshman he put together an impressive campaign in 2023, rushing for 1,378 yards and seven touchdowns as the Green Wave reached the AAC championship game for the second straight year. He also caught 11 passes for 67 yards.
He built on that this past season, as he rushed for 1,401 yards and more than doubled his touchdown total, as he found the end zone 15 times. Hughes also became a more adept pass catcher, as he had 19 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s not the only major offensive star out the door, either. The Green Wave lost their quarterback, Darian Mensah, as he transferred to Duke. Tight end Alex Bauman is also in the transfer portal.
The Green Wave has stocked up on quarterbacks, with the latest being Miami (OH) freshman Kadin Semonza, who is reportedly set to transfer after being named the MAC Freshman of the Year. He would join a room that has already taken in two other transfer quarterbacks, with former Western Kentucky star TJ Finley the headliner.
One of last year’s back-up quarterbacks, Ty Thompson, pulled his name out of the transfer portal and will return to the Green Wave this season as a tight end.
Tulane wrapped up a 9-5 season under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, which included a third straight trip to the American Athletic Conference championship game. The Green Wave lost to Army West Point in the title game, followed by a loss to Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl.
