Isaac Popper Projects the Offensive Depth Chart

BY ISAAC POPPER

Overview:

Before fall camp started, Jake projected the two-deep depth chart. I have always been interested in the full roster, so I decided to share my projected season opener depth chart with subscribers. Please read Jake’s fantastic overviews if you haven’t already. The depth chart is simply my best educated guess at placing all 116 players on a spreadsheet, and I recognize that it can be an injustice to the hard-working student-athletes. There is great competition at every position group, especially with only 5 returning starters. 

You may have questioned those who said that this would be the deepest Tulane team in a long time or maybe ever, or at least the deepest defense. I did the same back in the winter, but after reflecting on the team, attending spring practices, and evaluating the spring portal additions, I certainly think that the team has more guys that could contribute at a high level than the past five teams. I was a student for the past five years and have studied Tulane’s history closely while covering the team the last few years, but I still can’t speak to before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The two-deep can leave out players that end up being stars, especially not including the official ones which include many ORs. Makhi Hughes was the 4th RB listed in 2023’s two-deep vs South Alabama, and I also heard the media discussing Arnold Barnes and Trey Cornist more that summer. Anthony Miller, who very well could be the starting TE this season, was not on last year’s two-deep. So, take everything lightly and remember that every week players will have to earn their playing time for the next game. With players like Caleb Thomas and Kam Hamilton playing most of their snaps at positions that they weren’t listed at on the two-deep last season, I tried to identify some secondary positions where you could see some students play based on practice reps. With Jake and Jimmy covering the main position battles, I will cover the overall roster. I bolded returning starters and underlined returning players from last season.

Offense:

You can view Jake’s two-deep article here.

Quarterback: FTW Contributor Johnny Kirven and I went in depth on QB on the Inside the Wave show on YouTube. You can watch and listen here. 

I predict Jake Retzlaff leads us to an American Conference championship and a College Football Playoff appearance, but with Brendan Sullivan as a key contributor. Ty Thompson had an underrated season as he significantly improved Tulane’s chances to win in almost every game. I am confident in Kadin Semonza leading the Green Wave in 2026 and 2027 if not this season, but am encouraged with Jay Beamon down the line. Cade Scott enrolled early and has a chance to be Tulane’s starting QB one day too.

Running Back: My cohost John Burrows and I have been beating the Jamauri McClure drum for over a year now and can’t wait to see him be the next great Tulane RB. That likely will be delayed another year or two due to Tulane having a stacked RB room like last year. I expect a RBBC (Running Back By Committee) approach like the spring game, instead of having a bell cow back like Makhi Hughes. True freshman Javin Gordon, who flipped from Duke, stood out for his speed and strength in the spring. 

Wide Receiver: Last season, 4 WRs including Bryce Bohanon accounted for all but 7 catches from the position group. Shazz Preston had 4, Zycarl Lewis had 2, and Phat Watts had 1. I would be stunned if the targets aren’t more spread out this season, both at WR and TE. There were about a half dozen players in the mix to start at WR and it is hard to know who will have big games for Tulane due to the plethora of talent. Mario Williams, Yulkeith Brown, and Dontae Fleming will not be easy to replace, but I am super excited to hopefully see a full season of Shazz, and know that there are plenty of speedy wideouts who will make plays this season. Bryce Bohanon is always in the mix, and I expect Zycarl Lewis and Oliver Mitchell Jr. to earn snaps too. Garrett Mmahat, the converted walk-on, as well as Kellen Tasby, are both former QBs at the WR position to keep an eye on. Antwuan Parham is a newsworthy recruit but is injured.

Tight End: I would not be surprised if any of five players start at tight end two weeks from today. Justyn Reid had the first two completions of the spring game and has been a popular target in fall camp. He followed Chip Long from Georgia Tech to Southern Miss and then followed Will Hall to Tulane in January. The 6’5”, 255 lb TE played every game as a true freshman at Southern Miss including starts against Tulane and Florida State. He is not the only experienced player in the room with Johnny Pascuzzi (Iowa) having strong pass blocking grades on PFF and Leron Husbands transferring from Maryland. Anthony Miller started multiple games last season including the season opener and has made visible improvements this summer. Ty Thompson is learning a new position but could once again be a pivotal red zone threat. Cameron Roberts is injured, but the hope is that he and Gabe Lovorn are major players for the team at some point.

Offensive Line: The importance of returning the left side of the offensive line can not be understated. 6’4” LT Derrick Graham is a rock for Jon Sumrall. LG Shadre Hurst has not let up a sack in his 747 pass block snaps. Let that sink in. When we had lunch 18 months ago, he was telling me about learning from Sincere Haynesworth how to play center. Him sticking at guard is both a testament to his success there, and also the fortune that Tulane had in bringing in Vinnie Murphy and now Jack Hollifield at center. While Colin O’Carroll has been taking 90 percent of the second team reps at center, I expect John Bock to slide over in an emergency situation. If you haven’t already, check out my offensive line breakdown with Colin here! 

Jake expects Reese Baker to start, and while he was a left tackle on last year’s two-deep, I would love to see him start at RG so Darion Reed can start too. The 6’7” tackle is in his third year with the team and has looked ready to start to me. Jordan Hall has played over 1,200 snaps between Monmouth and Liberty. Elijah Baker and Landry Cannon often traveled with the team last season and I would expect the same this season, whether they win the starting RG position or not. The offensive line is a group, in addition to Quarterback, where the depth is likely better than any other team in the “Group of 6”.