How Things Look Ahead of the All-Important Scrimmage No. 2

BY JAKE WEINSTOCK

Tulane has completed 13 practices of fall camp, thus far, and is nearing the time when many depth chart battles will need to be called. Then again, we've all seen depth charts released where it says player one OR player two OR player 3, at any given position.

On the offensive line, Dominic Steward continues to solidify himself as a guy who is ready to take the next step and ready to be on the field. My guess is that he is the opening day left tackle, allowing Reese Baker and Ryan Mickow to man the right side. I don't think it's a stretch to say that those have been the three most consistent and impressive offensive linemen. The battles at left guard (Elijah Baker verus Gresham Perry) and center (John Bock versus Gavin Marks) have been exceptionally close, and this is always an important time of year to make sure to stay on the field. A nagging injury here or there could tip the scales. It's also clear to me that Darion Reed is right there with this group and whether he earns a starting spot or not, would certainly be the swing tackle, at worst. Remember, he started the first two games of the season for the Green Wave in 2025, and then again in week 5 against Tulsa.

At quarterback, Guerry Smith of the Advocate reported this week that the four-man competition had been trimmed to a two-man competition, with Trace Johnson and Dagan Bruno ceeding all first-team reps to veterans Zeon Chriss-Gremillion and Kadin Semonza. That is certainly accurate. While we should know for sure today or on Monday, I have been predicting that Zeon Chriss-Gremillion would emerge the starter since March, and I've not seen anything that would force me to move off of that prediction, now. In my mind, for someone like Johnson or Semonza to overtake him, they would have to be dramatically better in the passing game, because of the explosive running ability that Chriss-Gremillion brings to the table. To the contrary, I think Chriss-Gremillion has been more accurate and put less throws in harms way to this point in camp than Semonza has. That makes the choice rather simple to me, but clearly others on X have strong feelings going another way. We will see how it shakes out, and should know very soon.

While Jamauri McClure's injury puts his status for the opener in doubt, my view on the depth in the running back room remains unchanged from a week ago. Maurice Turner has arguably been the best player on the team through camp, Johnnie Daniels and DJ Dugar stand ready to take some carries, and super back Jaylin Lucas has been as explosive and shifty as advertised. At tight end the two veteran transfers, Dawson Johnson (from Old Dominion) and Vance Bolyard (from Duke) would seem likely to come out of this mix on top, though its hard not to like what Ty Thompson brings in the passing phase as an athletic target, and youngsters Gave Lovorn and Cameron Roberts, both redshirt-freshmen, are right in the mix, too. They just simply aren't as physically mature as the older upperclassmen, yet, so that could push this one over the edge at that particular position.

Last week when referencing the wide receivers, I mentioned that Destyn Hill, Anthony Brown-Stephens, and Zycarl "CJ" Lewis were my picks to lead the team in targets and catches. While I will stick with that, I could really see Oliver Mitchell, getting involved and on the field, this year. His is certainly a name to watch, but in such a crowded room, it's very hard to predict who else could step up and make an impact. Is it a younger homegrown player, like Mitchell, Seth Gale, or Antwaun Parham? Is it someone like Garrett Mmahat, who displays consistency day-in-and-day-out? Or could it be one of the transfers, Gabe Daniels (Syracuse) or Bredell Richardson (UCF)? There lies more opportunity across the board with this group, as much as any, at this point in camp.

On the other side of the ball, again, I am not expecting any surprises today or moving forward at linebacker or safety. Dickson Agu and Chris Rodgers seem safe bets to be the starters, with veterans Dalton Hughes (transfer from South Alabama), Makai Williams and Jean Claude Joseph behind them. Likewise, I expect Jack Tchienchou and Kevin Adams to draw the start at safety, with Joshua Moore a close third, who could see time at the spear/slot corner position against certain personnel groupings, followed by third-year homegrown Chase Green.

At boundary and field cornerback, I think the four players that have distinguished themselves the most, in no particular order, are returners E'zaiah Shine and LJ Green, along with transfers Anthony Rogers (from Nicholls State) and Macho Stevenson (from Texas Tech). Tim Scandurro wrote glowingly about Rogers following last Saturday's scrimmage, and I think he is going to be pretty impossible to keep off the field. Stevenson has been impressive, Shine looks prepared to evolve even further, and Green is vastly improved from 2025, in my opinion. There are others still nipping at these guys' heels, like Shaun Nicholas and Justin Agu, but those are the four I think who are heading into today with the most ground covered in these races.

On the defensive line, Josh Lewis and Rashad Sterling continue to duke it out at the field defensive end position, with Ed Smith making a strong statement with his play and claim to the boundary defensive end position. True freshman Jordyn Crites, playing behind Smith, has had an excellent camp, and may have played his way into the rotation. He is even running ahead of Geordan Guidry, who made the most of his 134 snaps in 2025, including having a 16% pressure rate in the Playoff Game. At nose tackle, Derrick Shepard, Jr. and PaLanding Drammeh have rotated in predominantly with both the one's and the two's, to this point. While over at the Bandit position, the competition remains rather open, in my view. Jah'rie Garner and Warren Roberts have both looked good, and in the absence of Jordan McAlister, both Gerrod Henderson and Nik Alston transitioning over there have quickly picked things up, and could be in line for snaps, too. Aside from the obvious (quarterback), there is probably not a position I will be watching more closely today than Bandit. As a brief reminder, Tulane plays a 3-3-5 defense, with 3 down linemen, 3 linebackers, and 5 defensive backs (3 cornerbacks, including the spear/slot corner position, and 2 safeties). The Bandit position, while technically a linebacker, lines up on the line of scrimmage without a hand on the ground, and is as much a pass rushing edge as they are a linebacker floating into coverage -- it's a hybrid position between the two.