Total Rebuild Could Be Coming for Tulane Next Season After Latest Portal Entrant
Tulane is working hard to rebuild their roster through the transfer portal as they get ready to prepare for next season.
The Green Wave have been one of the most successful programs in the country the past three years, racking up a 32-10 record with three straight American Athletic Conference championship game appearances and a title win under their belt.
When Willie Fritz left to take over Houston, there were questions if Jon Sumrall could keep the level of success going in New Orleans with the program getting a shake up that hadn't happened in a long time, but the new head coach proved he is the right guy for the job despite the season ending with three losses in a row.
Tulane has a lot of production to replace, something they are trying to solve with transfer additions, but when their star running back Makhi Hughes was expected to return, that certainly helped the outlook of the offense despite Darian Mensah transferring to Duke.
Unfortunately, that thought has now completely flipped after the news that Hughes entered his name into the portal.
That comes on the heels of their tight end Alex Bauman doing the same, with both players looking for new opportunities before the transfer window closes on Dec. 28.
If this duo leaves, Tulane could be facing a rebuild in 2025.
"Our program's in good shape when No. 21 has the ball in his hands. He's really consistent, really steady, really physical, really tough, great teammate, plays really hard, does the right thing. He's the model citizen of our football program," Sumrall said earlier in October per Geurry Smith of Nola.com.
Without Hughes and Bauman, the Green Wave would need to replace their starting quarterback, running back, tight end, three wide receivers and three offensive linemen.
That's hard to overcome no matter who is coaching.
Because of that, Tulane could be staring down a rebuild, something Sumrall would love to avoid during his time in New Orleans, but also something that is the reality of coaching at the Group of 5 level in this new transfer portal and NIL era.
"This day and age in college football you build a new team every year with the transfers and stuff. It's a challenge," Sumrall also added.
