Tulane Offensive Projections After First Scrimmage

The Tulane Green Wave had their first fall camp scrimmage Saturday and started to shape out their depth chart for the season.

Credit: Tulane Athletics / Football

The Tulane Green Wave still have plenty of camp days left to finalize a depth chart, but Saturday’s scrimmage offered a glimpse into how each position group has been faring – and who leads each pack.

Now, this is one of multiple scrimmages we’ll see take place for the Green Wave through camp, with the second one coming this Thursday. As I’ve written prior, it’s too early to form conclusions after one scrimmage for the quarterback competition. Aside from that role, here’s what we learned on the offensive side of the ball:

Offensive Line

The offensive line has been dealing with injuries at center and right tackle, with Vincent Murphy and Rashad Green being held out of the scrimmage. Caleb Thomas, Tulane’s starting center from 2020, took over that role, while sophomore Darion Reed slotted in for Green.

Left tackle Derrick Graham from Troy started with the ones, and Shadre Hurst and Josh Remetich took their spots at guard. Freshman Reese Baker backed up Graham, and left guard to right tackle with the twos was freshman Elijah Baker, redshirt freshman Gabe Forrtson from Georgia Tech, sophomore Landry Cannon, and freshman Dominic Steward.

Thomas’ experience at center proved critical, and his experience working with Kai Horton over the last three seasons was apparent. But health in the trenches is something critical to monitor – the good news is that Murphy and Green are expected to return to practice next week per coach Jon Sumrall.

Running Back

After the opening series, it was clear Makhi Hughes could be put in bubble wrap till the season opener on Aug. 29. Arnold Barnes came in as backup and quickly showed the same promise, with a better ability to catch passes in space than last season. It’s a young room with Shaadie Clayton-Johnson being injured and held out of Saturday’s scrimmage. Trey Cornist is fighting alongside freshman Jamari McClure to fill out that depth chart.

Hughes and Clayton-Johnson headlined the room last season, the former being the surprise of the year. Barnes was fascinating to watch in his limited snaps, with a body type that can’t be taught. That room is top-heavy but has heavy hitters in those top slots.

Wide Receiver

This room is a curious one, and a bit dependent on which quarterback wins the battle. Kai Horton and Ty Thompson have individualized chemistry and relationships with each receiver. That room was missing Phat Watts and Shazz Preston Saturday.

Mario Williams is still at the top of the chart, but either by design or by others stepping up, has had a quieter fall start than back in spring. Yulkeith Brown and Shaun Nicholas started the series with Kai Horton, though Sumrall told reporters not to read into who went out first Saturday. Sidney Mbanasor was a top target of Thompson’s. Dontae Fleming made his case regardless of quarterback, as did the quiet consistency displayed by Bryce Bohanon. Khai Prean had an impressive grab at the end that pushed him back into that race.

Tight End

This room is headlined by returnees Alex Bauman and Reggie Brown. Brown had a flashy spring but Bauman has assumed his TE1 role with a lot more pre-snap motion and involvement in the passing game. Sumrall said that he would like to see this group involved a bit more on offense. It was rounded out by Anthony Miller and Joshua Goines, with the former being targeted by Thompson on Saturday.