All of Tulane's Draft Eligible Players Will Reportedly Compete in Gasparilla Bowl
There was a new calendar enacted upon this year in college football that was agreed upon by the coaches, and for Jon Sumrall and Tulane, that has caused them some issues heading into their bowl game.
Following a solid first year with Sumrall in charge, the Green Wave received some tough news when their star quarterback Darian Mensah entered his name into the transfer portal and subsequently committed to Duke that now takes him out of the equation for the Gasparilla Bowl.
Facing a Florida team looking to build momentum, that is a brutal turn of events.
Thankfully, according to Guerry Smith of Nola.com, Tulane is going to have all of their draft eligible players suit up on Dec. 20.
"Tulane wide receivers Mario Williams, Yulkeith Brown and Dontae Fleming participated in Wednesday and Thursday practices along with offensive linemen Josh Remetich, Rashad Green and Vincent Murphy, running back Shaadie Clayton-Johnson, defensive tackles Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks, linebacker Tyler Grubbs, nickelback Caleb Ransaw and cornerbacks Johnathan Edwards and Micah Robinson. All of them walked on Senior Night. All of them will play Dec. 20 in Tampa, Florida," he reported.
That's huge for the Green Wave.
Losing Mensah certainly hurts, but if they didn't have even a couple of these players against Florida, they could all but kiss their chances to win that game goodbye.
Sumrall credits this decision to the culture that's been established in New Orleans.
"That says as much about the culture as anything. While we may have a defection or two, this team's close. This team likes each other, they care about each other and there's a lot of pride in the group of seniors. So many of these guys, if they wanted to walk away, they would have already walked away, and they stayed. It says a lot about who they are what they are about. It's a credit to them," he stated.
The seniors have an opportunity to finish their careers by beating an SEC program.
It would be a great way to cap off what they have accomplished during their time at Tulane, and by having all draft-eligible players suit up for this contest, they have given themselves a chance to do just that.
