The Tulane Green Wave has many new faces on offense. The 2023 AAC Player of the Year, quarterback Michael Pratt, now plays for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. The skill position group has also changed significantly.
The wide receiver position saw a lot of promising players leave as Lawrence Keys and Jha’Quan Jackson graduated and Chris Brazzell transferred to Tennessee. Tulane did a good job of replacing those talents in the transfer portal, but questions remain about what the passing game will look like.
First of all, no one knows who the starting quarterback will be in Thursday’s season opener against Southeastern Louisiana. But one thing is certain about this offense: They are talented in the trenches.
Regardless of who plays quarterback, they will be playing behind a very experienced offensive line. The Green Wave hit home runs in the transfer portal, acquiring left tackle Derrick Graham and center Vincent Murphy.
Graham played for new head coach Jon Sumrall at Troy. Their reunion was unlikely, but both are excited to continue their partnership on the field. Vincent saw firsthand what Sumrall built at Troy when he played against the Trojans as a member of Western Kentucky.
Rounding out the starting lineup are Shadre Hurst at left guard, Josh Remetich at right guard and Rashad Green at right tackle. The best backup inside lineup is Caleb Thomas. Sumrall has a lot of confidence in this group.
“I like our O-line. Someone showed me a stat that the O-line is in the top 10 in the country in terms of number of starts for a college career,” Sumrall said, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com.
Experience will be one of their biggest advantages. Smith com shared that the top six offensive linemen in the rankings have made a combined 132 starts in college, and five of them are in at least their fifth season as college athletes.
The Green Wave have grown men manning the field in the trenches, potentially facing players five or six years younger. Guerry believes this could be the best offensive line in a long time, but there is one caveat. It will be dangerous if an injury or two occurs, as their experience advantage will be instantly gone.
“If the group stays healthy, this should be Tulane’s best blocking unit in a long time… The picture will change quickly if one of the starting tackles gets injured or there are multiple injuries. With the exception of Thomas, all eight backups are true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. The coaches like their potential, but they need time to mature,” Smith wrote.
If there is an injury on the offensive line and it is not to an interior player, Sumrall’s offensive game plan may need to be adjusted. Throwing a freshman or redshirt freshman into the team who is not ready would be a disastrous turn of events.
For now, they will likely rely on their strength in the trenches and their star running back Makhi Hughes until the quarterback situation clears up and the passing game gets going.
