2026 American Preseason Previews: Tulane Green Wave

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2025 record: 11-3 (7-1 American)

2025 postseason: defeated North Texas in American Championship Game, 34-21; lost to Ole Miss in College Football Playoff First Round, 41-10

It was the dynasty nobody saw coming at the turn of the 2020s decade. Tulane is now the face of the American Conference, having qualified for the league’s title game in four-consecutive years — hosting the event three times and winning it twice. The Green Wave’s laundry list of accomplishments over the past four years include a No. 9 AP Poll finish and Cotton Bowl victory in 2022 and a College Football Playoff berth in 2025.

However, remaining atop the American in 2026 might be Tulane’s most challenging task this decade. Head coach Jon Sumrall accepted a position at Florida, and former offensive coordinator Will Hall steps in. In addition to head coaching regime shift, Tulane lost a bevy of players to the portal and graduation. Nine of the Green Wave’s 12 all-conference selections must be replaced, with only a free safety, return specialist, and long snapper returning. Five starters return through this coaching transition, hoping to sustain Tulane’s winning culture which has prevailed throughout the 2020s.

Willie Fritz built it. Jon Sumrall sustained it. Now it’s Will Hall’s turn to take the baton.

Staff

Will Hall is no stranger to New Orleans. The newly-appointed head coach first served on staff in 2020 as the Green Wave’s offensive coordinator. By leading Tulane to the 22nd-ranked scoring offense that year, he landed a head coaching gig at Southern Miss. However, Hall’s 4-year tenure in Hattiesburg didn’t unravel as planned. Although he won the 2022 LendingTree Bowl at 7-6, he recorded a 14-30 record and was ousted after a 1-6 start to the 2024 season. Hall returned to Tulane last season as the passing game coordinator before his internal promotion to serve as Jon Sumrall’s successor.

For a new head coach, Hall retained an impressive portion of Tulane’s coaching staff. Tayler Polk replaces Greg Gasparato as the defensive coordinator after previously serving as the co-defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach. Quarterbacks coach Collin D’Angelo, running backs coach Brock Hays, wide receivers coach Carter Sheridan, tight ends coach Tyler Spotts-Oregeron, and cornerbacks coach J.J. McCleskey (the longest tenured position coach on staff) all remain in their same roles for 2026. Cody Kennedy, who was offensive line coach during Hall’s first stint at Tulane in 2020, is back in New Orleans after spending the past few seasons at Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Hall made two new coordinator hires. Russ Callaway moves in the opposite direction as Sumrall by moving to Tulane after spending four seasons on Florida’s staff, holding the offensive coordinator position last fall. Chris Forestier prepares for his first special teams coordinator role after holding special teams assistant and analyst positions at LSU (2016-21), Houston (2022-23), and Texas (2024-25).

Other new assistants on staff include co-defensive coordinator/bandits coach Nate Fuqua, defensive line coach Eric McDaniel, and the Berezowitz brothers — passing game coordinator/spears coach Brayden Berezowitz and passing game/safeties coach Bryan Berezowitz.

Offense

• Key arrivals: QB Zeon Chriss-Gremillion, RB Jaylin Lucas, WR Destyn Hill, WR Gabe Daniels, WR Bredell Richardson, TE Dawson Johnson, C Gavin Marks, OT Ryan Mickow
• Key departures: QB Jake Retzlaff, QB Brendan Sullivan, RB Javin Gordon, RB Zuberi Mobley, WR Shazz Preston, WR Omari Hayes, WR Bryce Bohanon, TE Justyn Reid, TE Johnny Pascuzzi, C Jack Hollified, G Shadre Hurst, G Jordan Hall, OT Derrick Graham
• Key incumbents: QB Kadin Semonza, RB Jamauri McClure, RB Maurice Turner, WR Anthony Brown-Stephens, WR Zycarl Lewis Jr., TE Ty Thompson, G Elijah Baker, OT Reese Baker

Tulane’s offense was by no means spectacular in 2025, but the unit had enough firepower to get the job down 11 times. The Green Wave never scored 40, and outside of the two Ole Miss games, they landed within the range of 23 to 38 points every game.

Thus, the Green Wave can handle the blow of losing nine primary offensive starters. However, the unit that will be toughest to restock is the offensive line which loses four of the core five, including former First Team All-American Conference selections Shadre Hurst and Derrick Graham. Starting right tackle Reese Baker provides Tulane a foundation to work with up front, and he’ll be joined by a familiar face in Elijah Baker (no relation) who logged two starts at guard in 2025.

Other returning linemen that accrued experience last season include center/guard John Bock II (a former starter at FIU) and tackle Dominic Steward. Newcomers to the group include 6’7”, 311 Boston College transfer Ryan Mickow who operated primarily on special teams, as well as Gavin Marks who earned FCS Freshman All-American honors as Mercer’s starting center.

While the o-line must sort out its starting five in fall camp, the starting quarterback they’re protecting also needs to be determined. The primary candidates are Kadin Semonza and Zeon Chriss-Gremillion. Semonza was on Tulane’s roster when Coach Hall served as the passing game coordinator last year, so he has a leg up on the playbook. While he didn’t field a single snap in a Green Wave uniform, he previously accumulated 15 starts at Ball State, claiming 2024 MAC Freshman of the Year honors behind 2,904 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Chriss-Gremillion is similar to Semonza with all of his collegiate starts taking place in 2023 and 2024, but he offers a more mobile-oriented game while Semonza is more of a traditional pocket passer. Chriss-Gremillion started six games for Louisiana in 2023 and seven for Houston in 2024, entering New Orleans with career numbers of 2263 passing yards, 17 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions, 992 rushing yards, and 10 rushing touchdowns.

Whether Tulane’s staff selects Semonza or Chriss-Gremillion, there should be comfort in the running game with the return of Jamauri McClure. McClure posted the first 100-yard rushing performance by a Tulane tailback on Nov. 22, and that showing promoted him to a starter for the final three contests. He posted 121 yards vs. North Texas in the American Championship and 84 vs. Ole Miss in the CFP, concluding a late-blooming redshirt freshman season with 540 rushing yards on a 6.5 average.

Running back should be one of Tulane’s strongest position groups with McClure back, as well as Maurice Turner. Turner, who spent three years as a rotational piece at Louisville, started the Green Wave’s opener in 2025 and logged 84 yards before missing a bulk of the season with injury issues. Adding further depth to the group is the shifty 5’9”, 170-pound Jaylin Lucas, who totaled 719 rushing yards and 456 receiving yards across four seasons at Indiana and Florida State.

Tulane’s passing game was very wide receiver driven in 2025. All five players that exceeded 200 receiving yards were in the wide receiver room, but three of the top four are gone. Anthony Brown-Stephens (41 receptions, 523 yards, 2 TD) and Zycarl Lewis Jr. (24 receptions, 330 yards, 2 TD) will be the new leaders of the corps, while Garrett Mmahat is an incumbent reserve to keep an eye on. The Green Wave also found untapped potential in the transfer market, acquiring Destyn Hill (LSU), Gabe Daniels (Syracuse), and Bredell Richardson (UCF) — who combined for four receptions total in 2025.

Rounding out the offense is the tight end room which lacks significant in-house experience. Gabe Lovorn played eight games last season but did not corral a single receptions, while former quarterback Ty Thompson did not make a single appearance after transitioning to tight end in the spring. Dawson Johnson, who caught 10 passes as a redshirt freshman in 2025, was a welcome addition to the room from Old Dominion.

Defense

• Key arrivals: DE Reshad Sterling, DE Jordan McAllister, DT Ed Smith, OLB Dalton Hughes, CB Marquez Stevenson, CB Justin Agu, SS Kajuan Banks
• Key departures: DE Kameron Hamilton, DE Jordan Norman, DT Santana Hopper, DT Tre’Von McAlpine, ILB Sam Howard, OLB Harvey Dyson III, CB Javion White, CB Jahiem Johnson, SS Bailey Despanie
• Key incumbents: DE Gerrod Henderson, DT Derrick Shepard Jr., ILB Makai Williams, OLB Dickson Agu, OLB Chris Rodgers, CB E’zaiah Shine, CB TJ Smith, FS Jack Tchienchou, FS Kevin Adams III, SS Joshua Moore

Tulane’s 2025 CFP defense had a mix of dominant strengths and concerning weaknesses. The strengths were evident in the trenches. Defensive line assertion is what allowed the Green Wave to take down North Texas’ No. 1 scoring offense in the American Championship. Tulane averaged 2.6 sacks per game and finished top 10 in the country in takeaways thanks to the copious amounts of pressure generated. However, when the pressure wasn’t there, the Green Wave passing defense struggled to hold its own on the boundaries and back end.

The Green Wave retain three primary defensive starters from 2025, including their top two tacklers — free safety Jack Tchienchou and outside linebacker Chris Rodgers, both of whom played massive roles in the American Championship win. Tchienchou, a First Team All-American Conference honoree, took home MVP honors with nine tackles, one interception, one force fumble, and one fumble recovery. Rodgers, who became a starter when Dickson Agu suffered a season-ending ACL injury, recorded seven tackles and a pick-six in the championship.

Speaking of Agu, he returns from ACL recovery as one of the more veteran members of this defense, boasting a career résumé of 74 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. Consider inside linebacker Makai Williams (3 starts, 40 tackles, 4.5 TFL in 2025) and “bandit” linebacker Jah’rie Garner (14 tackles, 1.5 TFL in 2025), and the Green Wave should house one of the better linebacking groups in the American. Adding outside linebacker Dawson Hughes from South Alabama only strengthens the group, as Hughes brings 38 games of experience and 66 tackles along with him from Mobile.

Defensive line features less experience, but defensive end Gerrod Henderson (1 start, 20 tackles, 1.5 TFL in 2025) and defensive tackle Derrick Shepard Jr. (2 starts, 6 tackles in 2025) are emerging prospects that can take on full-time starting roles. Perhaps Tulane’s greatest portal addition this offseason was 6’3”, 302-pound South Alabama defensive tackle Ed Smith IV, and he’ll serve as the anchor in the middle after starting all 12 games for the Jaguars last fall. Smith, a seventh-year senior who took his first snaps in 2021, enters his debut and farewell season at Tulane with 73 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks to his name.

Secondary is the position group where Tulane seeks the most improvement in 2026. Tchienchou returning is a huge plus, and the team retains another 14-game starter in E’zaiah Shine, who tallied 41 tackles and seven pass breakups as a boundary corner last year. Kevin Adams III finished fourth on the team with 53 tackles and captured two interceptions, and he’ll be a candidate to step into a starting role. TJ Smith, who backed up Javion White at the ‘spear’ position, and Joshua Moore also offer experience in the defensive backfield after combining for 51 tackles in 2025.

To further refine the coverage, Tulane introduced several potential starters and rotation pieces from the portal. Marquez “Macho” Stevenson made three starts at cornerback for Texas Tech in 2024, and he’ll return to his home state with 24 career tackles under his belt. Justin Agu, the brother of Dickson Agu, also bolsters the cornerback room. Justin previously suited up for Louisiana (2021-24) and Louisville (2025), and like Stevenson, comes equipped with three career starts, in addition to 55 tackles and five pass breakups. The other transfer to watch is Kajuan Banks. Banks is a fifth-year senior with previous stops of South Carolina and South Florida, most notably as the Bulls’ starting nickel in 2024.

Special Teams

• Key arrivals: K Jackson Courville, KR/PR Jaylin Lucas, PR Bredell Richardson
• Key departures: K Patrick Durkin, P Alec Clark, PR Omari Hayes
• Key incumbents: P William Hudlow, KR Anthony Brown-Stephens, KR TJ Smith, LS Jason Arredondo

Tulane’s offensive and defensive numbers may not have jumped off the page in 2025. That being said, special teams execution was the secret ingredient to the team’s CFP run, ranking among the conference’s elite in the kicking, punting, and kick return game.

First team all-conference kicker Patrick Durkin is a massive loss after his 25-of-28 season, where he finished 15-of-15 between 30 and 49 yards and drained 4-of-6 attempts from 50 and beyond. Filling that massive vacancy is former Ball State placekicker Jackson Courville, who spent the 2025 campaign as a reserve at Ohio State. Courville connected on 26-of-34 on field goals as a Cardinal, and he has two career game-winners — both vs. rival Northern Illinois, including one from 52 yards out.

First team all-conference punter Alec Clark also leaves, and Tulane is slated to replace him with redshirt junior William Hudlow. Hudlow had one punt of 34 yards vs. Charlotte last year, and he is the only punter with experience on the roster, sharing the room with true freshmen Brooks Moore and John Allen.

Tulane ranked second in the conference in kickoff return average in 2025, and the good news for the Green Wave is 91.4 percent of their kick return production is back. Anthony Brown-Stephens accounted for the majority of that yardage (357 on 15 attempts), while TJ Smith (160 on 6 attempts) also provided several quality returns. However, their spots may not be guaranteed as Tulane brings in a former All-American return specialist in Jaylin Lucas. Lucas generated 591 return yards and two touchdowns in 2022 and 572 yards and one touchdown in 2023 at Indiana, earning All-Big Ten honors in each season. Lucas also has punt return experience, making him a potential replacement for Omari Hayes who handled all 13 Tulane punt returns in 2025.

Schedule and outlook

* denotes non-conference game

Tulane aims to become the first-ever American Conference team to qualify for the College Football Playoff in consecutive years. The Green Wave also eye the first repeat the conference has seen since 2020 and 2021 Cincinnati.

The path to those achievements is anything but easy given the schedule. For the second-straight year, Tulane is the only American team that avoids facing FCS competition, amplifying the difficulty of Tulane’s non-conference slate. The Green Wave open with a challenging test at reigning ACC champion Duke, which, like Tulane, lost some of its best players to the portal, but the Blue Devils still retain eight starters. Tulane prevailed in last year’s matchup in New Orleans, but the return trip to Durham will be tougher.

After a home opener vs. South Alabama, Tulane faces another tough non-conference matchup at Kansas State which defeated the Green Wave at Yulman Stadium in 2024. The Green Wave then return from the Little Apple to conclude their non-conference slate against Will Hall’s former team Southern Miss — a program that was severely gutted by portal losses this offseason.

Tulane faces one of the tougher non-conference slates in the American, but the conference lineup can also be daunting. Five of the eight opponents produced winning records in 2025. The Green Wave face the trio of Army, Memphis, and UTSA right off the bat to commence conference play. The late-October and early-November portion of the slate should be more manageable with Charlotte, Tulsa, and Rice, but the schedule amps up to end the regular season. Tulane faces North Texas in a conference championship rematch at Yulman on Nov. 21 before concluding with a road trip to South Florida on Nov. 27 — perhaps USF’s final home game at Raymond James Stadium.

Tulane’s schedule typically extends to the American Championship Game in December, and that’s become the expectation for the program. The Green Wave eye a fifth-straight trip to the conference championship under a third different head coach, in effort to prove this program is a well-oiled machine. And if they get there and win, another CFP appearance could be in the books for this decade’s most unexpected rising power.

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