I have been following Green Wave football since the early 1960’s when I began attending Tulane. During that time, we have had a number of really good quarterbacks, offset by some not-so-good ones. I enjoy seeing the opinions of others as to who was the best: Duhon, Foley, Hontas, McKay, Hall, Jones, King, Ramsey, Losman, Ricard, Griffin, Pratt, and maybe others. Each has his supporters. I played baseball with Bobby Duhon, and I can honestly say he was the most competitive person I ever met, and I am now 80 years old. I think Patrick Ramsey was the toughest player I saw both with the Wave and with the Redskins near where live. He took shots that no-one should have survived yet got back up to play again. Terrence Jones was probably the most athletic, followed by J.P. Losman. Both could do some amazing things with their feet as well as their arms. Statistically, some of the more accurate included Roch Hontas, Mike McKay, Ryan Griffin, Michael Pratt, and, in his senior year, Shaun King. But, for now, I am interested in discussing the best freshmen QBs, without distinguishing, probably unfairly, between true freshmen and redshirt freshmen.
Since 1973 when freshmen were first allowed to play, twelve Tulane quarterbacks have thrown at least seventy-five passes in their freshman year: Terry Looney, Roch Hontas, Wade Elmore, Bubby Brister, Terrence Jones, Shaun King, J.P. Losman, Scott Elliot, Ryan Griffin, Tanner Lee, Michael Pratt, and Darian Mensah. The game, particularly in the passing area, has changed a great deal over the decades and comparing 1970’s-era guys to today’s players is exceedingly difficult. I like statistics because, if properly taken, are simply facts. A guy completes a certain percentage, throws for a specific number of yards, accounts for “x” number of touchdowns, etc. But comparing statistics between players leaves out things like his leadership qualities, the level of his support, the opposition he faced, and the scheme he is involved with, let alone the era in which he played. While It’s clearly an extreme example, hitting .300 in a coed slow pitch beer-drinking softball league isn’t the same as hitting .300 in the major leagues.
Still, statistics can give some insight as to a player’s skill. Shaun King completed fewer than 50% of his passes over his first three years yet completed 68% in his senior year. Clearly, he got better, but the team’s scheme improved significantly in his junior and senior years.
Statistically, Darian Mensah was the best freshman QB in Tulane history, and it’s not close. He is first in completions, % of completions, TD’s, Yards, Yard/attempt, 2nd in interception percentage to Losman, 2nd in TD percentage to Pratt, 3rd in yards per completion to Looney and Elmore, and first in efficiency ( not a "real" statistic in my mind because while the factors considered are “real,” the ratios between the factors are simply opinions.)
To summarize, while he made mistakes, it's apparent everyone else who preceeded him made even more. While it has apparently become fashionable to knock the kid and degrade his accomplishments, I for one think he did a great job for Tulane and evidently, at least according to his coaches, was far-and-away our best option. I’d love to see him come back, but if not, good luck to him.
Roll Wave!!!!
