Tulane Green Wave Retains Valuable Core Under Recruiting Prowess of Jon Sumrall

As the Tulane Green Wave build their roster in the transfer portal, the returning key players highlight the vision under head coach Jon Sumrall.

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Like every college football program, the Tulane Green Wave has to recruit and retain their current roster as much as the incoming prospects from the transfer portal.

Despite the attrition of valuable skill players on offense, the Tulane football team has a core of foundational players who all point to an important trend under head coach Jon Sumrall.

Only one of the departing players in the transfer portal for the Green Wave was one whom Sumrall recruited to the program.

That was wide receiver Khai Prean from the LSU Tigers, who never made it into the lineup as a second portal window addition last summer.

Sumrall had to persuade some players, such as now-Miami Hurricane Alex Bauman and Kai Horton, who had dabbled in the portal after Willie Fritz's departure to the Houston Cougars, to return. Both players re-entered this offseason, but were ultimately Fritz recruits.

However, the team's ability to retain nearly every eligible player Sumrall brought into the fold demonstrates his impact.

Of the over 20 players that came over to the team from the transfer portal in Sumrall's first season as head coach, 11 return with eligibility.

That includes players from the Troy Trojans brought over under the coaching staff, including defensive end Deshaun Batiste, linebacker Chris Rodgers, and safety Jack Tchienchou. Left tackle Derrick Graham transferred over from Texas A&M but only spent the spring window there; he was previously at Troy.

The level of retention points to Sumrall's ability to find players who fit his vision and the program's culture. It puts the team in a much more advantageous position this offseason with a transfer portal haul that's now reached over 25 incoming players.

At this time last year, the additions weren't close to that total. However, the players brought in for the January window left a strong impact, including Mario Williams, Vincent Murphy, returning Ty Thompson, Jalen Geiger, Tchienchou, Caleb Ransaw, Rodgers, and Bautiste.

But Tulane couldn't even fill out a two-deep depth chart to begin spring practice. Despite rebuilding back to last season's depth through this year's portal haul, the program is far from starting over.

The departing players leave key holes to fill, including the most important position under center at starting quarterback. All the incoming competitors can assess the team's handling of the race last season, which prioritized adhering to what transpired on the field over promises.

Across the board, the foundation has both leaders and playmakers. Those players can now speak to the vision under Sumrall as much as the coaching staff, setting the team up to compete in the 2025 season outright.