Tulane Football Quarterback Race Features Four Intriguing Candidates

What until recently had been a three man race to become the Tulane starting quarterback has now extended to four.

Last week BYU's starting quarterback from a season ago, Jake Retzlaff committed to the Green Wave.

Yet despite Retzlaff's success last year, to take the starting job he will have to win a quarterback competition against Kadin Semonza, Brendan Sullivan, and Donovan Leary.

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All three of those quarterbacks have a head start on learning the Tulane offense as they enter the start of fall workouts this coming week.

The Green Wave have until August 30th to figure out who their starter will be against the Northwestern Wildcats. This stellar late addition makes the competition all the more interesting.

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Each of these four quarterbacks brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the Tulane offense.

Semonza, the Ball State transfer, threw for an impressive 2,904 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions as a freshman. But Ball State only won three games with Semonza at the helm. Whether Semonza takes the job or not, he is a young player with a bright future.

Sullivan has Big Ten experience, playing for both Northwestern and Iowa. Last season, he played for the Hawkeyes and threw for 475 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions, which leaves room for improvement as a passer.

But as a runner he contributed four touchdowns and 150 yards, and he would certainly give the Green Wave the option of a dual threat quarterback.

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Illinois transfer Leary has the least experience of the bunch. In his two years of college football, he has thrown for 29 yards, completing two out five of his passes. Yet he was backing up Luke Altmyer, who threw for 2,717 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just six interceptions and led Illinois to a 10-3 record.

So Leary's talent, as great as it could be, is currently unknown at the collegiate level, but if he can emulate the type of season Altmyer had, then Tulane would certainly be in a great spot at quarterback.

Lastly, Retzlaff, the newest addition to the quarterback room, threw for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while adding 417 yards and six touchdowns on the ground for a BYU team that went 11-2 and won the Alamo Bowl.

Retzlaff's talent is undeniable, but he is a late addition to a crowded room. Essentially, he will have to catch up on the offensive schemes and establish chemistry with the receiving group to become the starter like the other quarterbacks, who have started this process much earlier.

Whoever does win the job will be working with a very talented team and will have to occasion to help to lead the Wave to success.

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