Jon Sumrall enters his first season as the head coach of the Tulane football program. Sumrall's first recruiting class for the Green Wave was finalized this month. Even with the coaching change, the Green Wave managed to secure the #3 class in the AAC, per 247Sports rankings.
"Really excited about the group we've added," Sumrall told New Orleans media following National Signing Day. "There's some marquee names, I think transfer-wise, high school-wise, that I think are going to bring great value."
To go along with 13 D1 transfers, the Green Wave also had 19 high school signees. Defensive back Jayden Lewis and offensive lineman Dominic Steward are included in the latter group, and ranked as four-star prospects by 247Sports. They mark the first four-star high school prospects to sign with Tulane in some time.
"Both high-level players," Sumrall noted of those two specific signees.
Lewis had previously committed to Auburn, but flipped to Tulane late in the recruiting cycle. Sumrall has hopes that the Alabama native will become "an elite cover guy." Going by 247Sports composite rankings, Lewis is Tulane's highest-rated high school signee since the ratings were created.
Steward, a 6'5" 270-pound Atlanta native, was a target for a handful of SEC schools. However, as Sumrall tells it, Steward was encouraged to pick Tulane by his grandmother because of the school's academic reputation.
Both Lewis and Steward were mid-year enrollees and are currently attending classes and working out with the team. Spring practice is set to begin for Tulane on March 12.
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