From pitching Idaho Potato Bowls to the College Football Playoff, Tulane's recruiting pitch has completely transformed under Will Hall's first full cycle.
The Tulane Green Wave football team has secured a major haul of 10+ players for their 2027 recruiting class as the commitments continue to pour in, with 10 commits on Friday alone and several more over the weekend.
Several of these players chose the Green Wave over multiple Power Four offers, showing a pathway to success at Tulane. As we’ve touched on here on Roundtable, it shows a continued commitment to success from the program and that the last several years of sustained winning have had a major effect on recruiting.
Seasons ago when they won the Cotton Bowl, the Green Wave largely did so with two and three-star recruits who were outplaying their trajectories, often undersized. For example – and he grew into prototypal size as the years went on – former safety Bailey “Slim” Despanie joined the program at that time, and his nickname was due to his slim stature.
They were at that time pitching a 6-plus win season, a shot at something like the Idaho Potato Bowl, and an education and degree that would go much further past the four years at the University. Things have completely changed on what they’re able to offer recruits nowadays.
Thinking back to the spring game the season they went 12-2 in 2022, there was maybe five spectators watching – if that. This year’s spring camp was so packed that security was required to put on the event that saw the stands notably packed for a glorified scrimmage.
And really, this is where new head coach Will Hall is starting to make his stand as the leader of the program. When they had their December commits for this 2026 cycle, those were former coach Jon Sumrall holdovers that they convinced to stick with the program, which is notable in its own right. But now, this is Hall’s recruiting coming to fruition, and the star-studded class is a stellar start.
It also sticks out how many offensive recruits there are in the haul. They’ve added tight end Teddy Graff from Tennessee, running back Peyton Perkins from Mississippi, wide receiver Ray'Quan Williams from local St. Aug High School in New Orleans, running back Anquan Jackson from Mississippi, and offensive lineman Jackson Shaw from Louisiana, further solidifying an in-state recruiting footprint.
And the signings aren’t done yet. Now, they are selling a season that sends them to conference championships, wins them, and sends them to the College Football Playoff. While that will be hard to repeat annually, the Green Wave have a formula that works, and it’s showing off in their latest recruiting cycle.
