The Tulane Green Wave football team had a strong back and forth showing, with a lot of promise in their spring scrimmage.
New Orleans, La. – Tulane Green Wave football head coach Will Hall wanted the spring game not to just be a critical evaluation for his coaching staff, but also a memorable and valuable experience for the considerable number of fans in attendance. Rather than just have a scrimmage – and the one they had seemed to last longer than the allotted 30-minute period – they went through a truncated practice to show how the sauce is made. They had some special teams’ drills, physical 1-on-1 battles, some individual drills, red zone period, and other drills that Hall has infused into his practices with the Green Wave. But the scrimmage was certainly the draw, and, rarely, delivered entertainment.
Spring games are known for being a bit of a slog. Previously, they felt entirely useless with the second transfer portal window scooping up anyone who stood out as playmakers. It was hard to start a depth chart when 50% of the roster might look different come fall camp. In contrast, this one was more electric on offense than in recent years. Now, importantly, the last three seasons have featured a quarterback competition. But this one felt a bit farther along than the competitors last spring – one of those being current battler Kadin Semonza.
Arguably, the best pass of the day came on a touchdown throw by Dagan Bruno to Antwaun Parham for 40 yards. But all quarterbacks had their moments – and blemishes, as to be expected in a condensed spring scrimmage still five months away from the season opener with summer workouts and fall camp to go.
For now, the two leaders in the quarterback competition presumably remain the two experienced signal callers, Zeon Chriss-Gremillion and Kadin Semonza.
Semonza went 3-of-9, but had two touchdowns – one rushing, and one redzone score in the redzone lockout period. His first series was a bit rough, going 0-of-3, though he wasn’t aided by a tough drop by Ty Thompson, who caught a hard hit that jolted the ball loose in what should’ve been a completion on his first play. His next series, he went 2-of-5 with a rushing touchdown and a sack by Jah’rie Garner at Bandit. He had completions to Thompson and running back Jaylin Lucas. Strong runs by Maurice Turner and DJ Dugar aided that drive down the field. In the redzone lockout, a four-yard rush by Turner set up his touchdown throw to tight end Gabe Lovorn for 16 yards and a score.
Chriss-Gremillion opened the scrimmage for the Green Wave, going 2-of-2 to start with completions to Anthony-Brown Stephens and Destyn Hill. He was sacked by Warren Roberts and Ed Smith on back-to-back plays to end his first drive. He went 1-of-2 on his next drive with a completion to DJ Dugar that went for a four-yard loss, and 1-of-3 on his third drive with a completion to Thompson that set up a field goal by kicker Jackson Courville. Chriss-Gremillion made his statement to end the spring game in the redzone lockout period, going 1-of-1 for an exciting touchdown to Destyn Hill that saw the whole team jump into the stands and celebrate.
And now, we wait, as the team will head into summer workouts before starting a critical fall period. As a lasting final impression of spring, Hall has quietly made a loud statement as head coach.