Tulane has had players selected in each of the last three NFL drafts, and this year's class hopes to extend that streak.
The Tulane Green Wave football team has had a major track record of success in the last three NFL drafts as a rare G5 program that consistently produces NFL-caliber talent. In the last three drafts, the Green Wave have had two players selected in each one, with several more making rosters as undrafted free agents. Now, the latest group of draft-eligible players will hope to hear their name called over the next three days as the NFL draft kicks off on Thursday night and will run through Saturday. After that, the majority of those players will look to find a roster to sign with as a priority undrafted free agent.
It feels like the buzz around Tulane draft-eligible players is quieter this year than most, and that’s a bit surprising considering the team is coming off their fourth straight American Conference title appearance, second conference title, and first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. However, when looking at the makeup of that very successful team, it was led by a lot of guys who simply weren’t seniors. The Green Wave have had strong continuity of multi-year seniors over the last few years, and while they still have a few of those heading into this draft, the landscape of college football has changed so drastically that teams are on a complete rotating cycle.
And it just happened to be that the majority of stars last season aren’t heading to the draft. They have a draft-eligible quarterback, but one who wasn’t able to join the team until a week before fall camp, and his passing abilities were clearly affected by that to start the year. Jake Retzlaff came on strong to close out the season, but there was certainly a delay there. He could easily go Day 3, as did former Green Wave signal caller Michael Pratt. But he could also find his way onto a roster as an UDFA. It just depends on the year, it feels sometimes. Some draft cycles, teams seem to take more flyers on quarterbacks, and they arguably always should. Other years, a weaker class at the top leads to teams just passing entirely.
Something important to keep in mind is the fact that left tackle Derrick Graham, one of the players entering the draft, has a former coach in the league who previously signed former center Vinny Murphy to the practice squad roster last season: Chicago Bears offensive line coach Dan Roushar. Roushar coached Graham in the 2024 season.
Other names to look out for are WR Tre Shackelford, TE Johnny Pascuzzi, OL Derrick Graham, OL Jack Hollifield, OL Jordan Hall, SS Bailey Despanie, DB Isaiah Wadsworth, DB KC Eziomume, LB Sam Howard, and DL Kameron Hamilton.