Tulane Green Wave Defender Drawing Power Conference Attention in Transfer Portal

A Tulane Green Wave defensive player is drawing a lot of attention from power conference schools in the transfer portal.

Dec 3, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave helmet on the field against the UCF Knights during the first half at Yulman Stadium. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Tulane Green Wave had a wonderful first season under head coach Jon Surmall, who was able to continue the success that Willie Fritz had before him.

For the third straight year, the team took part in the American Athletic Conference championship game and won at least nine games. That level of success put a spotlight on the program, as Sumrall was being linked to power conference job openings.

While he has said that he is committed to this school, the same cannot be said about some of his players.

The only real negative to succeeding in college football right now is that smaller schools will struggle to retain talented players. Big schools can throw around their NIL weight, as the transfer portal features some important Green Wave players.

One player who is garnering a lot of attention is defensive tackle Preston Peterson.

After playing in only seven games during his first two seasons at Tulane, Peterson appeared in all 13 this year and was productive as part of the rotation in the trenches.

He recorded 21 total tackles, five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Peterson received strong marks from PFF throughout the season with an overall grade of 70.6. He excelled as a pass rusher with a grade of 72.3, and was serviceable against the run with a grade of 66.2.

As shared by Chris Hummer of 247Sports, he was one of the top-rated interior defensive linemen in the AAC for the 2024 campaign.

That has led to some major programs around the country already showing interest in him; the Wisconsin Badgers, USC Trojans, Auburn Tigers, Indiana Hoosiers and Rutgers Scarlet Knights amongst several others.

At this point, he is one of the more popular targets on the transfer portal.

Tulane's Parker Petersen has emerged as an in-demand DT in the transfer portal. He's picked up offers from Wisconsin, USC, Auburn, Indiana, Rutgers and others thus far.

More on his process here, via @247Sports. https://t.co/XyvXXotElV pic.twitter.com/Ss4VVVnHU9

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) December 12, 2024

It certainly speaks volumes to how good of a job Sumrall and his staff did with the players on the roster, some of which were inherited from the previous regime and others they brought in as transfers.

Peterson is just the latest Green Wave player looking to make the jump to a major conference, as the program will have to also replace their entire quarterback depth chart.

Starter Darian Mensah already committed to the Duke Blue Devils days after entering his name into the portal.

Kai Horton is also testing the waters and Ty Thompson will be doing the same after he participates in the Gasparilla Bowl against the Florida Gators.