Tulane Green Wave Transfer Explains How He Landed at School
Tulane Green Wave football is in one of their best stretches of program history. For the first time, they won double-digit games in consecutive seasons, winning 12 games in the 2022 season and 11 last season.
That led to head coach Willie Fritz departing, as he took the head coaching job at Houston. Taking his place is Jon Sumrall, who was head coach at Troy for the last two seasons. He found a ton of success there, going 23-4.
Despite the head coaching change, Tulane was able to keep a lot of veterans for the 2024 season. That is part of what drew veteran Vincent Murphy to the school and why he committed to the Green Wave for his final collegiate season.
Murphy didn’t have plans to leave Western Kentucky, where he had played the last two seasons against Troy. But, something changed during the season that led to him entering the transfer portal and eventually ending up at Tulane.
One of the reasons he committed there was the chance to play. With experience playing every position in the trenches, Murphy identified a potential starting spot at center.
“I know they were looking for a center,” Murphy said. “I had a little map of schools I wanted to tend to that I knew were missing guys. Tulane was the first to reach out to me when I was in the portal. At the time, (Coach Jon) Sumrall wasn’t hired. After he got the job and some other things fell through, I thought this was probably the best opportunity for me and it’s been the best opportunity for me.”
A sixth-year senior, Murphy wanted to play for a team that had players who were tested and had experience similar to him. A good work ethic and the desire to win are two things he was looking for as well.
Out of all of the schools that Murphy had compiled on his map, the Green Wave offered the most.
“When I went in the portal, there was a lot I was looking for,” Murphy said. “One of those opportunities was playing with a bunch of vets, older guys that have been around college for a long time — five or six years like me — that want to make a change. Tulane’s obviously changed. But I wanted to be around a bunch of guys that wanted to win.”
Murphy is well-traveled. He played the first three seasons of his collegiate career at South Carolina before the last two at Western Kentucky. He is a major part of their plans in 2024, manning the pivot as the starting center.
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.