QB, DT, WR

I am going to delay my defense position-by-position post-spring analysis until tomorrow. I forgot I never transcribed the interviews after the spring game.

JON SUMRALL

"Appreciate y'all being here to cover our game. The model of spring games has changed so much that people aren't even having them. As long as I'm the head coach, we're probably going tio have some form of the spring game. The challenge now with the roster sizes, we have all these crazy rules about what our roster size limits could be and as we prepare for that, you're probably not going to see a conventional 1 team versus another. Our model is offense versus defense, and some guys were very uniquely rep counted. Some guys probably took 6, 7, 8 reps today and some guys probably took 20 or 30. I would read nothing into who went out to start the game at quarterback. They were brought in the room with the offensive coaching staff and told to pick a number between 1 and 10. The number was already picked. It was 3. Donovan Leary picked 4 and Kadin Semonza picked 5. I actually credit Kadin for after one guy picked 4, actually picking the next number up to give himself the best odds of starting, but the number was 3 and that's why Donovan started today. A really scientific process of who started.

"All in all the defense started the day better, faster. It's been very back and forth. The first couple of weeks of the spring I would tell you defense was ahead. Then I would tell you the last four or five practices leading up to today the offense was ahead, and off of what it looked like today, the defense looked better. What's easy about defensive football is you can gake a couple of guys out of the equation and not drop off as much. When you take a couple of guys out of the equation on offense, it can look really bad if you're not careful, and that's why we have to develop the depth in our team. But I like the direction we're headed. A lot of work left to do. We're in the middle of the transfer portal, which makes a ton of sense to be in the middle of spring and the transfer portal all at one time. It's a great design that we have. We'll meet with our guys next week, figure out who's going to stay. Hopefully as many of them will stay as we can get, and then we have some additions that will be coming here over the next month roughly that we'll be working on to try to redo our roster to some degree. We'll be looking for a frontline player at a couple of spots and a couple of spots it's just continuing to build the roster in the right manner."

On his evaluation of the two QBs at the end of spring drills:

"It's been neck and neck throughout the spring. There were times when Donovan looked better, times when Kadin looked better. Today we didn't play good enough to win to be honest with you. We've got some work to do there. Kadin operated really the last four or five practices at a high level. We're a long way from being where we need to be. I like both guys. They are both great teammates. They both throw it well enough. They both work incredibly hard, but we are not where we need to be yet there. Who's the starter? I have no idea. We're really no different than we were a year ago at this time. I left the spring game last year not knowing who our starter was, and I still don't. Nobody has separated themselves enough for me to feel like that's the guy to this point."

On if he is committed to bringing in another QB:

"We are very likely bringing in another quarterback. It's not a shot at the other guys. I'd like to have four scholarship quarterbacks. That's sort of the number in college football that you carry. With Tasby sort of right now being a receiver that can still go at home to play some quarterback as needed, but Tasby's flashed enough at receiver that we're like his best way to contribute to this year's team is probably out there. We'll kind of have maybe a package for him at quarterback. We've got to get a quarterback just to make the room right and also to add competition and see who are starter's going to be."

On sales pitch to prospective QB:

"Every job is open. No job has got anybody that's cemented. Now certain guys that have started game have more likely an opportunity to be a starter. The pitch is a year ago at this time, Darian Mensah wasn't the starter. Hell, he was the third man. There's a lot of football left. Guys will get a little time off in May and then they'll come back in late May, early June and we'll have a couple months of summer stuff and we'll come back in August and have training camp, so there's really three-and-a-half, four months before we play a game once the guys get back here, so there's a lot of time left and nobody has cemented that they're the starter yet. I'm not saying they're not. If there was a guy that elevated and separated enough that I felt like he was the starter, I'd name him. I'm not trying to play the cards close to my vest just because I don't like holding everybody hostage. I don't. I haven't seen enough to make that declaration yet. Last year when I knew, I made the call and we rolled with it and we didn't look back. When we know, we'll know, but I just don't know yet, so there's a real opportunity. The pitch is do you want to win and be a big-time college quarterback in a place that has won and we intend on continuing to win."

On challenges of developing guys that aren't proven at a lot of key positions and re-establishing a brotherhood:

"We have to develop the guys that are here. We have to acquire new players and help them get into the fold and help them create the culture where we care about each other and become a family and don't let the standards fall, and that is the biggest challenge we have in college football. We lost our starting quarterback, our starting running back and our starting tight end (to the transfer portal) and we lost all three receivers to graduation. Center, right guard, right tackle--graduation. And then you have to figure out what young guys are going to elevate, what new guys can you add, how do you get everybody to come together. It's challenging. It is."

On what he wants the culture to be defined as:

"Our core values are attitude, toughness, discipline, love. We define those to our team very clearly. The only disability in life is a bad attitude. Tough teams win. We've got to be disciplined, which means the ability to defer short-term comfort for long-term growth. The little decisions you make add up and become the decisions that we want our guys to love each other. The way I talk about love in our program, it's the action, not a feeling. Love's not going on campus and seeing a pretty girl. That's called lust. We want our guys to actually like care about each other and look after each other and invest in each other's lives. Coach Greg McMahon, who was back this week, said man, when you do this the right way, you walk together forever. I don't care if you play one snap for me or a thousand. Once you do it with us, we walk together forever. It's how quickly can we get this unit to grow together and walk together. It is work. It's not easy. It takes a very focused, conscientious effort, and it's a hell of a lot easier when you recruit really good people. When you recruit people that are made up of the right stuff, it's a lot easier. When you don't, it's harder."

On DL showing out again:

"Yeah, golly. That group's got a chance. We'll see. That group right now is probably eight, nine, ten-ish guys deep. We probably need to add one more player in that room if everybody stays right now, I like playing multiple D-lineman. The hardest thing to do in football is rush the passer, like in a two-minute situation, just rush, rush, rush, rush, rush, so I want to get enough bodies there that can play at a high level. We've got a lot. We could probably use one more, but we're not going to just go take another guy to take a guy. If it's going to a guy that can add top-end value to the room."

On if Friloux leaving was unexpected:

"Yeah, everybody's got different reasons for looking and leaving. If you had asked me about a guy like that leaving four years ago, I would have said it was unexpected, but nothing surprises me anymore. It's like, all right, good. Want to go, I hate it, don't like it, wanted him to stay, wasn't trying to get him to leave, but I get surprised by nothing anymore. There's no such thing as an unexpected departure. The model we're in, everybody can leave. I know everybody things we've got some big checkbook around here, but our guys are not getting paid like a lot of people are getting paid, so that's the fight."

With the exception of Rayshawn Pleasant, Tulane has not lost a player who would have been a likely starter and significant difference-maker to the transfer portal since the spring semester started, although Adonis Friloux definitely could have been an important rotational piece and Jesus Machado could have been a factor if he regained belief in his knee. I had not heard anything about Ty Cooper likely leaving, but I also do not believe he was on the two-deep depth chart, so he likely saw the writing on the wall. Sidney Mbanasor simply never made enough plays as the tall target the coaches wanted, and Kellen Tasby looked better in that role from the day he switched to wideout than Mbanasor ever did. That means Tulane never got anything out of its post-spring transfers at wideout last year, with Khai Prean leaving at the end of the fall and now Mbanasor departing.

Here is my projected depth chart with analysis at each position on offense. I will do defense tomorrow.

QUARTERBACK

1) Kadin Semonza or Donovan Leary
2) Kadin Semonza or Donovan Leary

Analysis: Even though both of them had really rough days in the spring game, the QBs were ahead of where the three QBs were at this time last spring in the last week of practice. That's not really relevant, though, because Darian Mensah improved exponentially over the summer, and that type of improvement is an outlier rather than the norm. Tulane is going to bring in another QB to join the fray, but that obviously will have missed all of the spring and will come in behind. I have no idea who will end up being the starting QB--no idea--but I'm slightly partial to Semonza, who made plays off schedule frequently in the spring. Leary is the slightly better athlete and has a stronger arm, but I'm not sure about his decision-making. The concern with Semonza, though, is he sometimes panics and throws the ball up for grabs when he is under pressure, something that simply cannot happen in a game. I'm not worried about his height. The NFL is no place for quarterbacks with his height, but plenty of guys his size flourish in college as passers. The QB that comes in soon definitely will have a chance to win the job, too, but they have to find the right guy. It is not clear that Semonza or Leary can take this team to a championship game.

RUNNING BACK

1) Maurice Turner
2) Jamauri McClure
3) Arnold Barnes
4) Zuberi Mobley or Javin Gordon

Analysis: I list all five guys because all of them have a shot. I've been a McClure guy almost from day 1 of camp last year. He makes more big runs in live 11-on-11 action than any running back Tulane has had in the last 10 years other than Tyjae Spears, and that has to count for something. The concern is his lack of knowledge of the offense, which shows up in blitz pickups. He has to buckle down this summer and in preseason camp to earn the playing time his ability says he deserves. I expect Turner to be the starter against Northwestern because he does everything the right way, but I'm not sure he's an every-down back. He likes to go for the home run and reverse field a lot, but I want to see more from his as a downhill runner. Barnes, who missed most of the last two weeks of drills with a nagging injury, is a physical runner whose attention to detail needs to improve. Gordon, an early-enrolling true freshman, was impressive from the start of spring, and Mobley really came on in the last weeks. I'm not sure there's enough carries for five backs, particularly since Tulane opens with Northwestern and has zero cupcakes on the non-conference schedule, so the latter two will need to show out in camp to earn a shot. Gordon is physical and fast, but is he mentally ready? Mobley has good acceleration and is effective as a receiver out of the backfield, too. Obviously Makhi Hughes' consistency and ability to pick the right hole will be missed, but I like the running back room as a whole and believe McClure can be a difference-maker if his mentality approaches his physicality. In my opinion, this is the strongest position on offense.

WIDE RECEIVER

Starters: Bryce Bohanon, Shazz Preston and Omari Hayes
Backups: Anthony Brown-Stephens, Zycarl Lewis and Jimmy Calloway
In the picture: Garrett Mmahat, Oliver Mitchell and Kellen Tasby

Analysis: They really need to hit on a receiver in the portal, which as I referenced above they did not do last summer, because I don't see a No. 1 in the group like Mario Williams. Bohanon and Preston are locks to start, but Bohanon, who had a very impressive spring, still needs to prove he can get separation in a game after not being much of a factor in his first four years. Preston is big and fast but caught zero passes in two years at Alabama before being bothered by a hamstring injury last year. He did have two touchdown catches, but the first one may have come when he ran the wrong route. Consistency is the challenge for him. I'm completely speculating about Hayes, who missed almost all of the spring with a leg injury, but Sumrall mentioned more than once the coaches thought he was their top pickup out of the portal at wideout. Calloway was limited for most of the spring, too, so I don't really know what he can or cannot do. Brown-Stephens is small but made plays regularly in the spring. Lewis came on in the final two weeks and appears to be well-rounded. Sumrall likes Mmahat, who consistently makes plays in practice, but he had never played receiver in his life until Willie Fritz moved him from quarterback in preseason camp of 2022, and it is not clear he can duplicate his practice feats in games or will be able to get separation. Tasby is the wild card if he sticks around. He is gifted physically and showed a knack for high-pointing the ball in practice, but his learning curve will be pretty steep. Overall, I am as concerned about wideout as quarterback. The top three guys from last year are gone, and no one on the roster is a certain success.

TIGHT END

1) Anthony Miller
2) Justyn Reid
3) Ty Thompson

Analysis: I like offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, but he made what on the surface appears to be one of the most surprising statements I've heard in 16 years covering this team when he said the tight end room could be the best of any G5 school and maybe the entire country. Wow. I didn't see it in the spring. Anthony Miller was solid but does not appear to the weapon Alex Bauman was before he transferred. Justyn Reid made plays here and there but did not look special. And Ty Thompson, who looked really good in the first week playing a brand new position, has a serious knee injury that may or may not heal properly, although Sumrall insisted he would return ahead of schedule in the summer. I don't know. Craddock clearly sees something in this group or he would not have said what he said. It will be interesting to see how much of a factor the tight ends can be.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Left Tackle

1) Derrick Graham
2) Dominic Steward

Left guard

1) Shadre Hurst
2) Jayce Mitchell

Center

1) Jack Hollifield
2) Elijah Baker

Right guard

1) John Bock
2) Landry Cannon

Right tackle

1) Reese Baker
2) Darion Reed

Analysis: I had Jude McCoskey second at right tackle, but with his departure, I'm putting Darion Reed there although he got most of his work at left tackle in the spring. He and Steward may be flip flopped. I'm concerned about this group, too, which got overrun in the spring game and has only two proven performers in Graham and Hurst on the left side. I have not seen enough from any of the other three positions to be confident the offensive line will hold up, although the talent level of Tulane's mostly new defensive front could be distorting the picture. Hollifield started every game at center for Appalachian State last year, so he has experience. Bock started 10 games over the past two seasons at FIU (primarily at center), getting suspended for a calendar year for testing positive for a banned ingredient and returning for the last three games in 2024. Reese Baker is a redshirt freshman, and the other two guys competing at tackle have zero starting experience. If the defensive line is as good a I think it might be, the offensive line will not have to make as much improvement as it appears on the surface, but that's no guarantee. The line simply could not handle the defensive front in most of the live drills this spring. A portal addition who can start would be helpful, but Sumrall said those guys are hard to find in this window. Graham had a connection to the staff last year, having played for them at Troy.

I will write up the defense tomorrow.