Tulane Players Set to Battle in First Camp Scrimmage
The Tulane Green Wave have a lot of new players, and they’ll have their first chance at shaping out the depth chart in their first scrimmage this Saturday.
As each truncated practice ticks by, so does a full body of work for coach Jon Sumrall to analyze and see what he has in his team. Until this week, Tulane had yet to practice third down.
The scrimmage setting will help answer a lot of questions for the coaching staff. Particularly at quarterback. Seeing how Ty Thompson and Kai Horton handle the rhythm of a full series and approach each down in context will aid that competition.
Until then, all assessments of that battle were too limited to draw any conclusions.
The Green Wave had their first padded practice on Tuesday, with some corresponding growing pains of getting back in tackle form. Saturday’s scrimmage should see an improvement in technique—and hopefully, some clarity on the depth chart.
With all the new transfers from both portal windows, Tulane needs to put the pieces together.
At safety, there’s been a rotation of Bailey Despanie, Jalen Geiger, and Jack Tchienchou. Those reps will be important for those three. The linebacker room added Sam Howard this offseason; how each player fits alongside Tyler Grubbs will be telling.
The only aspect it won't fully illuminate is the play on the line of scrimmage. However, it is more simulated in a game setting than what we've seen to that point. Those reps are especially important for the backups on the offensive line with the recent injuries there.
Back in spring, Tulane was unable to fill out a two-man depth chart. They now have the talent and bodies. How do they take shape together on the field?
It’ll also be a good opportunity to see the competitive toughness of the team. These scrimmages need to be treated critically to assess the rest of the season. A lackluster day of tackling and effort won’t do.
How will each side of the ball handle adversity? That'll be something to look closely at in the quarterback battle. Both Thompson and Horton have yet to put a full day together absent of mistakes, but that might be a fool's errand chasing perfection.
Both have thrown turnovers in 11-on-11 settings where the whistle is quickly blown and onto the next quarterback. But it doesn't exist in the same context that each series will on Saturday.
Equally important will be what they do on the sideline following a bad play. The same goes for every position. Saturday is a chance for Tulane to show they can be a player-led team.
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