What To Watch As Tulane Green Wave Football Gets Set To Begin Spring Camp
The Tulane Green Wave begin an important evaluation process on Tuesday for the 2025 college football season as spring practice begins March 18.
Under head coach Jon Sumrall, Tulane football will have to fill a number of holes on the team, including the starting quarterback position.
The Green Wave will look to build momentum off the 2024 season in which they finished 9-5, played in their third consecutive bowl game in a loss to the Florida Gators and appeared in a third straight AAC championship game.
Their 32-10 record over the last three seasons, the fourth-most nationally, has built excitement for the spring assessment period.
Tulane led the American in third down conversion percentage (52.5%), defensive touchdowns (6), completion percentage (65.6%), scoring offense (37.2) and passing efficiency defense (111.65).
They led the nation in defensive scores with six touchdowns.
Sumrall will speak with media following the kickoff of spring camp to detail the football team’s offseason and first practice session.
There are several important returners to watch, including All-AAC First-Team selections offensive tackle Derrick Graham and guard Shadre Hurst. They were the only First-Team selections for the team, which had a league-high 18 players.
Second-Team returnees include linebacker Sam Howard, safety Bailey Despanie, return specialist Rayshawn Pleasant and defensive lineman Kam Hamilton, who received a Third-Team All-Conference selection after a strong debut season at edge.
That’s a strong backbone for the team to build off of, having to offset not just transfer portal losses but also seniors departing the program who had been there since the 2-10 season.
It represents an important time in the football culture with new leaders needing to step up and fill a void that hasn’t been there in four straight years.
Wide receiver Bryce Bohanon is one of the few remaining players remaining who experienced the critical 2-10 season for the program in 2021. Tulane loses veteran long snapper Ethan Hudak, guard Josh Remetich and nose tackle Eric Hicks as valuable leaders from that period.
Who are the core leaders that will guide them through adversity and who will step in and get the team back on track after a lackluster practice?
Arguably, that’s the most important trait to watch in Tuesday’s session.
That often is a natural fit at quarterback, but there’s more pressure on the group of competitors with all of the departing seniors.
Players in other roles will help ease the transition process.
The last quarterback competition for the Green Wave featured two players already on the roster with an idea of the team’s vision and culture.
This year, Donovan Leary, TJ Finley, and Kadin Semonza all join as newcomers, and the player-led program will look around for those they can lean on.
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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