Duke Has Reportedly Set Up Visit With Another Tulane Player

After already landing Tulane's star quarterback Darian Mensah out of the portal, Duke has their eyes set on another.

Jan 2, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Tulane Green Wave tight end Alex Bauman (87) runs with the ball after catching a pass against the USC Trojans in the fourth quarter in the 2023 Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Tulane might not have Duke as a conference foe in the AAC, but the two programs could start developing a bit of a rivalry based on how this offseason is going.

It started out with the Blue Devils landing the Green Wave's star quarterback, Darian Mensah, out of the transfer portal, and if that wasn't frustrating enough, it was then later reported that Duke offered him roughly $8 million join their program, a figure that would make him the highest-paid college football player of all time.

Unfortunately, Tulane can't compete with those financial numbers, and with the program doing a tremendous job of developing the players who come to New Orleans, they could be facing this type of retention challenge throughout the foreseeable future.

After landing Mensah, it sounds like Duke isn't done targeting past Tulane players in the portal.

According to Adam Rowe of 247Sports, they have set up a visit with Green Wave touchdown-producing tight end Alex Bauman, who was one of the latest members of this past season's roster to become a potential transfer.

Duke isn't the only program interested in the 6-foot-5 pass catcher, though.

"Former Tulane Tight End Alex Bauman hit the transfer portal this Tuesday, looking for a new home for his final season of eligibility, and Duke has locked in a visit ... While there are still some potential changes to the itinerary, Bauman tells me that it looks like he'll see Miami on January 2-3rd, Indiana on the 3rd-4th, Duke on the 4th-5th, and Houston on the 5-6th," Rowe reports.

Houston is notable because Tulane coach Willie Fritz is now there after departing New Orleans to take over that program.

Indiana and Miami are two interesting options considering the successful season the Hoosiers just had and the amount of NIL money that the Hurricanes throw around.

Still, Duke seems to be the major players here.

Mensah undoubtedly helps when it comes to Bauman making his decision since he has history catching passes from the rising star quarterback.