Tulane Football Pulls Off Incredible 100-yard Pick Six Against SLU
The Tulane Green Wave closed out the first half of their season opener with an exciting play from a breakout redshirt sophomore.
Rayshawn Pleasant picked off an under-thrown ball from Southeastern Louisiana Lions quarterback Eli Sawyer in the endzone and navigated his way through defenders for a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.
100 YARD PICK SIX FOR THE GREEN WAVE!! It’s halftime and Tulane is up 21-0. pic.twitter.com/3oE9wu4AzA
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) August 30, 2024
It was a huge play not only because of the entertainment, but also its implications on the rest of the game. It acted as a bit of a 14-point swing as it kept a threatening Lions out of the end zone once again and pushed the Green Wave's lead to 21 ahead of halftime.
Pleasant's pick six is a tie for the school record as David Hebert set the record with a 100-yard play of his own against the Rice Owls back in 1971. It was the first time that it has happened in Yulman stadium for Tulane. It's also a tie for the longest in American Athletic Conference history.
The redshirt sophomore has already placed himself in the record books in his first career game.
He came to the Green Wave as a part of the 2022 recruiting class as a three-star athlete out of West Monroe, Louisiana.
He didn't play at all during his true freshman season and didn't have much of an impact as a redshirt freshman. Heading into Thursday's matchup, he had just five career tackles with no interceptions or passes broken up.
Sticking with Tulane through the coaching changes he's hoped to make a huge impact this season in Jon Sumrall's defense and has obviously gotten off to a good start.
Sumrall's defense isn't one that produced a lot of turnovers while he was with the Troy Trojans. They had 10 picks with just one going for a touchdown all of last year.
DYLAN SANDERS