Tulane Coach Jon Sumrall Gets First Look at Conference Opponents
As the Tulane Green Wave get closer to fall camp, new head coach Jon Sumrall will get his first chance to scout his new opponents at the American Conference Media Days.
Reciprocally, the AAC will get to survey the Wave as they enter their next football era.
The 2024 American Kickoff will be on July 22–23 in Arlington, Texas, the site of Tulane’s 46-45 Cotton Bowl victory.
Sumrall has been the new coach at Tulane since December of last year, leading the team through spring workouts that showed grit and promise. But with a quarterback battle and a search for their team identity, Tulane has a lot to accomplish in fall camp.
This also applies to everyone in the conference who didn't make it to the AAC championship game last year.
Tulane will have a new head coach, quarterback, and at least 16 starters or regular contributors on offense, defense, and special teams. Last year, a version of this was the case for all but two of Tulane's conference opponents.
Six new schools joined the AAC in 2023; Tulane faced all but one. Half of the 14 conference teams had first-year head coaches; Tulane had to beat four as the hunted.
Will that remain the case this season? The atmosphere at Media Day should be telling.
Sumrall and the two players joining him, Patrick Jenkins and Vincent Murphy, will see the opponents standing in their path to the playoffs up close. Equally valuable, they’ll get a chance to assess how their competition sizes up the team of new faces.
SMU and Tulane battled for the title last year. SMU is no longer in the conference. Any attempt to predict Tulane's season based on the team that took the field last year is pointless.
That works in Tulane’s favor. Underdogs always tend to battle in silence. The competitive advantage awarded to every team they faced in conference play – new head coach or conference opponent – is with the Wave.
Tulane on Sports Illustrated will be on the ground in Arlington with live coverage of the American Kickoff and the first impression of the Tulane Green Wave as they enter their next era under coach Jon Sumrall.
Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com