New Tulane Football Commit Reveals Why He Wants To Play for Green Wave

The Tulane Green Wave football team has four core values: attitude, toughness, discipline, and love.

Head coach Jon Sumrall brought those values to the team in his first season leading the Green Wave, and it carried them to a 9-5 finish they hope to build on in the 2025 season.

The future of a program goes much further than the next football season, despite how frantic all the movement is in college football nowadays.

Sumrall and his coaching staff have been diligently working in the offseason to ensure a strong 2026 recruiting class and beyond.

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The 2026 class is now up to 11 with the recent commitment of quarterback Trace Johnson and includes seven three-star recruits and one four-star recruit who is the highest-ranked ever among commits.

One of those three-star prospects is tight end Colby Simpson, who committed to Tulane on June 14 along with Trez Davis, Jordyn Crites, and Noah Abebe.

He chose them over a multitude of Power Four programs. Simpson had offers from Purdue, Arkansas, Arizona State, Baylor, UC Berkeley, Illinois, Louisville, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Utah, and Wake Forest.

In total, Simpson had 25 offers, which is incredibly impressive.

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Guerry Smith of NOLA.com (subscription required) spoke with Simpson about his decision to play for the Green Wave.

Simpson actually chose the Utah Utes in March before de-committing in May. He’s a 6-foot-5, 210-pound tight end from West Village Oaks Christian outside of Los Angeles.

New Orleans, La., is quite a ways away from California, but that didn’t matter in Simpson’s decision, ultimately saying that it came down to fit and a place he could see himself at for four years.

The long flight was worth it when Simpson arrived on campus for his official visit and felt a camaraderie with the coaching staff.

It was so seamless that Simpson didn’t leave without committing to play for Sumrall and his staff.

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“I’ve never really experienced getting that much love from a staff,” Simpson said. “They are really great people.”

Tight ends coach Tyler Spotts-Orgeron called Simpson within a day of his decommitment and invited him to his house.

That made an impression on Simpson, who said yes and scheduled his visit with Tulane newly leading the charge.

Simpson spoke about feeling an immediate closeness with general manager Cole Heard and that Sumrall’s wife, Ginny, related to his parents.

The football component certainly matters, and Simpson was encouraged by offensive coordinator Joe Craddock — who notably likes tight ends in his offense — and his employment of two-tight-end formations frequently last season.

Upon his decision, he cancelled upcoming visits to UNLV and Purdue, citing a frequent reason recruits want to play under Sumrall.

“The Tulane coaches really want to get their guys developed, and that also was a very big factor in my decision,” he said. “I can go there, play, and really get that game-time development I need to get to that next level.”

Many programs will sell recruits up a river, only to have them arrive to serve as benchwarmers.

Sumrall stood out with how often he put true and redshirt freshmen in critical game situations last season, and recruits around the nation clearly took notice to prioritize the Green Wave as a college destination.

For more Tulane news, head over to Tulane Green Wave On SI.