Jon Sumrall Praises 'Unsung Hero' of Tulane Green Wave Football Team
When a team finds as much success as the Tulane Green Wave have in recent weeks, it takes everyone to buy in and produce.
There are some bigger names on the roster who have been playing at a high level.
Running back Makhi Hughes remains one of the most talented runners in the nation. Darian Mensah has burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman as one of the most efficient passers in the country.
A major reason they found as much success as they have is the performance of the offensive line.
Winning in the trenches is important for an offense to get into a rhythm and the Green Wave have been in one virtually all season.
One of the unheralded players who has been doing everything to help the team win games is Caleb Thomas.
A sixth-year graduate student, he always gets the job done no matter what is being asked of him. He is incredibly versatile, something head coach Jon Sumrall jokingly said he hopes he can have in 2025.
“I told him post-practice can we get you another year of eligibility?” Sumrall said of Thomas on Tuesday, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “He’s just such a comfort for a coach because he can play center, he can play guard and he can play tight end if needed.”
Against the Navy Midshipmen this past weekend, in a 35-0 victory, tight end Alex Bauman got dinged up in pre-game workouts. With limited availability for the game, someone had to step up into his place for their jumbo packages.
It was Thomas who answered the call, helping pave the way for Hughes behind him.
He has been reliable throughout his career at Tulane and is one of the players who deserves the kind of success the program has had over the last few years.
“I can’t say I ever thought we’d get to the point where we were on a 17-game conference winning streak,” he said. “I feel like after the 2-10 season (2021) we had a mentality switch to where we weren’t settling for anything. We knew the conference (title) was achievable and that’s what we went ahead and did.”
The Green Wave will have a shot at winning the American Athletic Conference again this year.
They have already clinched a spot in the championship game against the Army West Point Black Knights, who are also undefeated with a 7-0 record in AAC play to this point.
It is players like Thomas, willing to do anything for the team, who have helped get the program in this position. He has had to overcome some major obstacles along the way, including a herniated disc that required surgery in November of 2019.
The Righetti product was able to get in the lineup for two starts in 2020 and 11 in 2021 before an injury in the weight room set him back again in 2022.
“The doctors were telling me you might have to think about hanging it up,” he said. “I still had two or three years of eligibility left, so I wasn’t ready to give up yet. There’ve been probably two instances where me and the doctors had to have serious conversations about my future, but I’m grateful we’ve been able to persevere.”
Against the Temple Owls, Thomas started for the first time since 2021. He plays a good amount of snaps each week, but usually is coming off the bench.
Sumrall is certainly happy that he was able to overcome those injuries, heaping praise on what the veteran has provided the squad.
“He is an unsung hero of our team,” Sumrall said. “He is a really smart, dependable guy and a great teammate who is ready when his number is called.”
That kind of veteran leadership has certainly benefitted Tulane this season.
Depth has been one of their strengths all year and will continue to be down the stretch as other teams wear down, but they still play at peak capacity.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.