The Tulane Green Wave are set to have a third straight
It’ll be curious to see how the third consecutive quarterback competition unfolds for the Tulane Green Wave, as it’ll be conducted this time by new head coach and more familiar group of candidates than past seasons. In 2024, Ty Thompson was brought in to headline the quarterback competition, but the Green Wave ultimately went with redshirt freshman Darian Mensah. Last season, they brought in three new quarterbacks in the spring to compete, one in the summer, and the starter, Jake Retzlaff, who walked on in fall camp. This season’s quarterback competition will be a bit different when it kicks off on March 9.
The two leading candidates are returner Kadin Semonza, one of those spring arrivals last season, and transfer Zeon Chriss-Gremillion from the Houston Cougars. Neither is exactly a surefire candidate. Then there’s the three younger quarterbacks behind them with no college experience – but neither did Mensah, or Michael Pratt when he came in off the bench midgame under Hall as offensive coordinator in the 2020 season. Those will be redshirt freshmen Jay Beamon and Cade Scott and true freshman Trace Johnson, who enrolled at Tulane in January. It’s certainly different than the haul of new talent that was brought in last spring. However, none of those guys ended up winning the job.
What’ll also be interesting is the competition taking place under an offensive minded head coach this time. After recruiting and developing Michael Pratt and coming in as the passing game coordinator last season, Hall knows the team’s strengths on that side, and the quarterback role as a former signal caller himself a bit more intricately. It could certainly end up going to one of the younger players, though Semonza and Chriss are the ones with a bit of a lead to start camp. Hall spoke with Guerry Smith of Nola.com and spoke about the resumes of the transfer players, which includes Semonza from last season, and their leadership. He also didn’t count out the three with no experience.
“These three young guys were highly recruited with tons of talent,” Hall said. “We have to keep developing them. I think whichever one wins that group will be the next (Darian) Mensah or Michael Pratt. They’ve got the ability.”
Moreover, the Green Wave’s offense has always been at its best with a headliner running back. It took the team some time last season to find Jamauri McClure, and that frankly played as much of a role in the offense’s success, or struggles, as the quarterback play did. Looking back at Mensah’s season under center, the complement of Makai Hughes was huge. That absence showed until McClure burst on the scene late in the year, and this time, the offense will be built around a quarterback with an extremely talented running back to match.