Heading into the 2024 college football season, the Tulane Green Wave surprised a lot of people when they announced Darian Mensah would be their starting quarterback.
Despite having veteran Kai Horton and former five-star high school prospect Ty Thompson on the roster, it was the redshirt freshman who won the job during the spring and summer practices.
It ended up being the right decision, with Mensah having a breakout performance.
He played so well that he entered the transfer portal and landed with the Duke Blue Devils. In the process, he received what made him unofficially the highest-paid college football player in the country with a lucrative NIL deal.
Just like last year, the Green Wave are entering the 2025 campaign with question marks surrounding the most important position on the field.
The team’s quarterback depth chart is unsettled, with head coach Jon Sumrall and his staff having their work cut out for them to figure things out.
As things stand right now, there isn’t much confidence in the group that has been put together.
Over at ESPN, rankings were put together by David Hale that placed all 136 FBS quarterback situations into tiers.
Tulane is in the bottom half of the country, being placed in Tier 15b, which was titled, “We used to be somebody: established starter edition.”
The Green Wave are 85th on the list with Kadin Semonza, a transfer from the Ball State Cardinals, and Brendan Sullivan, a transfer from the Iowa Hawkeyes, being listed as the competitors for the starting job.
Veteran T.J. Finley was with the program at one point but is no longer at Tulane. He would have brought a wealth of experience to a depth chart that has nothing settled at the moment.
Will Sumrall be able to replicate the magic he had with Mensah in 2024?
He and the fans are certainly hoping so, especially with so much offensive production needing to be replaced.
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