Tulane Green Wave football coach Will Hall pulled the plug on his first quarterback choice and will look for his first win under a new signal caller.
New Orleans, La. – Tulane Green Wave head coach Will Hall has already changed his mind on which quarterback gives this team the best chance to win after an ugly home opener of dumb football in their loss to the Duke Blue Devils.
Not even close to all of that fell on Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, but the spark out of the second half with Kadin Semonza under center was palpable – if the team was capable of staying out of its own way.
That was decided not the case last Saturday. As they roll into the 2026 home opener at Yulman Stadium against the South Alabama Jaguars, they’ll see if they might stub their toes less and give things a chance to succeed.
They’ll do so with Semonza taking the start in this one.
The quarterback switch at halftime is a harsh call, especially after naming Chriss-Gremillion as the starter two weeks back.
But his best ability is his running, and he didn’t look too sure on his limited attempts outside of his first run in the game.
It’s hard to say that one half is enough time to get settled or fully show what you can do as a passer.
However, the quarterback competition was a bit even through the weeks of camp, and the edge that Chriss-Gremillion brought as a mobile quarterback just wasn’t on display on Saturday.
Semonza actually showed a bit of something.
When Semonza was brought over from the transfer portal, he had a fervent group of supporters, particularly those who watched him over at Ball State.
In a practice setting, those touted traits didn’t feel like they ever really showed up.
But if there was ever an example of a gamer, Semonza was just that on Saturday, playing with a bit of poise and moxie that simply wasn’t there in practice.
Some guys are just like that. We’ll see if that continues to be Semonza.
Obviously, the team needs to figure out if Semonza is the guy at quarterback. The questions that need to be answered on offense Saturday go far past the signal caller.
Tuesday’s offensive line saw Gavin Marks and John Bock switch off at center with Ryan Mickow at left tackle next to Gresham Perry – the only unpenalized lineman on Saturday – and Darion Reed at right tackle flanking Reese Baker at right guard.
So, that’s a new starting combination then what was trotted out Saturday, though it was rotated in quite a bit throughout the game with Dominic Steward not fully healthy.
That group needs to figure out their combo of best five. This team needs to find a solid running back not named Jamauri McClure who they’re willing to lean on and let get established with more than three to five rush attempts per back.
Semonza isn’t capable of filling all the gaps that were on display last Saturday, but he’ll be the new leader this group looks to in success and in adversity through this week of prep and the home opener.
