
BY JAKE WEINSTOCK
Welcome to Part 1 of our 10-part series recapping the additions and subtractions to Tulane football's roster, now that the December transfer portal has closed and the spring semester uptown has begun. If you missed our articles breaking down the December signees from the high school class of 2025, scroll back through our Blog section and check that out. There is an article for both the offensive and defensive signees. Be on the lookout for the forthcoming installments to this series, as detailed, below:
Part 2: Running Backs
Part 3: Wide Receivers
Part 4: Tight Ends
Part 5: Offensive Line
Part 6: Defensive Line
Part 7: Linebackers
Part 8: Cornerbacks
Part 9: Safeties
Part 10: Specialists
WHO'S OUT?
Two (2): Darian Mensah, Kai Horton
It was an interesting offseason, heading into 2024, as the new Green Wave staff sought to replace Michael Pratt, who of course had been Tulane's starter from Week 4 of 2020 through the conclusion of the 2023 season. Many, myself included, assumed that the battle would come down to returner Kai Horton and Oregon-transfer Ty Thompson. Horton had started one game in 2021 (Cincinnati), played almost the entire Houston game in 2022 in relief of Justin Ibieta (who suffered a season-ending injury on the opening drive), and started three games in 2023 (Ole Miss, Southern Miss, Military Bowl versus Virginia Tech). After not winning the job in August and not appearing in a game after the season-opener versus Southeastern, Horton entered the December portal and has left the program.
Darian Mensah, the surprise-starter to open the 2024 season, ended up starting all twelve regular season games and the Conference Championship Game, prior to leaving the program and entering the portal on December 8, 2024. Mensah finished the year with a 65.9% completion percentage (adjusted completion percentage of 75.6%), 2,722 yards, 9.5 yards per pass attempt, an average depth of target (ADOT) of 11.3 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, but ultimately, the the biggest weakness of his game was on display in West Point, during that Conference Championship Game. He lacks elite or above-average FBS arm strength, and struggled to push the ball down the field in those Hudson River-generated winds. It was a problem that he experienced three weeks earlier in Annapolis, but was minimized by a dominant defensive performance that only necessitated 14 pass attempts from Mensah, in a 35-0 Green Wave victory. Mensah has transferred to Duke, who coincidentally enough, visit Yulman Stadium on September 13, 2025.
On another note, Ty Thompson has withdraw from the portal, and has returned to the program. It is expected that he will spend the spring working as a tight end, not a quarterback. Certainly an interesting note that we will keep an eye on during our coverage of spring practice. Kellen Tasby returns, and Jay Beamon (HS class of 2025) has signed with the Wave.
WHO'S IN?
Three (3): T.J. Finley, Kadin Semonza, Donovan Leary
After heading into the 2024 season with four (4) combined collegiate starts between all of their scholarship quarterbacks combined, this staff has made a hard pivot in its roster construction by adding a high-floor, experienced passer in T.J. Finley. (Starts prior to 2024: Mensah 0, Horton 4, Thompson 0, Tasby 0). Finley was a highly-recruited prospect in the class of 2020. Instead of accepting offers from Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, and Tulane (when Will Hall was here, the first time), he chose to attend an SEC school 81 miles up the Mississippi River from Tulane that had a lot of success when Justin Jefferson was there, but has had considerably less, since. Finley actually ended up making 5 starts as a true freshman, during that 2020 season, finishing with an adjusted completion percentage of 69.5% against an average depth of target figure of 10.3 yards. He took sacks on just 15% of his pressures, but ended up with a quarterback rating of just 72.2. After 2020, he transferred to Auburn, where he combined to make six starts during his two seasons with those Tigers, from 2021-2022. After an uneven 2021, he won the starting job in 2022, and was playing quite well until a right shoulder injury basically sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Prior to that injury, he'd made 3 starts, had completed 72.3% of his passes (adjusted), averaged 8.1 yards per pass attempt, maintained a "big-time throw" percentage of an impressive 7.3%, by PFF, and an ADOT of 10.4 yards.
Seeking opportunity, after the injury, he traveled to Texas State, to play for head coach G.J. Kinne. He started all 13 games for the Bearcats, during that 2023 season, leading them to their first bowl game since moving from FCS to FBS in 2012 and their first 8-win season at any level since 2008. He finished the year with 24 touchdowns against 8 interceptions, an adjusted completion percentage of 75.3%, an ADOT of 9.2 yards, a yards per attempt average of 8.3, over 3,400 yards passing, and a quarterback rating of 103.1. Perhaps as important as any other statistic, his turnover-worthy play percentage dropped to a sparkling 2.7%. After that 2023 season, Finley entered the transfer portal one day after Texas State obtained a commitment from Arizona transfer quarterback Jayden de Laura. Interestingly, de Laura withdrew from Texas State just a few weeks later, following a student-led protest after a 2021 lawsuit against him surfaced.
Finley transferred to Western Kentucky for the 2024 season, won the starting job, but suffered a season-ending injury in just his third start of the year. And so here he finds himself, with 919 career dropbacks across 5 seasons, with one more year to give, looking for opportunity. He is as physically gifted as quarterbacks come at the G5 level, and he will be squarely in the competition to win the starting quarterback job over the next seven and a half months.
Donovan Leary, on the other hand, has seen considerably less game action at the FBS level than Finley, but his tools and mindset are undeniable. In fact, his 5 dropbacks at Illinois in 2024 are the only FBS dropbacks on his resume. Heading in 2024, he competed for the quarterback job with and ultimately lost to Luke Altmyer, who remained the Illini's starter throughout the season. Fans who follow the Illinois program closely report that they felt all along that Leary was the superior option to Altmyer, and that their 2024 season would have achieved even higher highs had it been Leary as the triggerman. Leary, who stands at 6'2", 215, scrimmages with excellent footwork and a clean progression. Jimmy Ordeneaux talked a lot throughout the season, when Darian Mensah would have an off day, about the importance of the eyes and feet being married together for a quarterback. Leary should check that box, by every indication. After spending three years learning and watching at Illinois (2022-2024), he has decided to make the move, seeking a chance to play, and play for a winner.
Make no mistake about it -- Leary could very likely be our starting quarterback on August 30, 2025 at Yulman Stadium, as the Wave host the Northwestern Wildcats. This is going to be a quarterback competition that has everyone excited and energized, as opposed to what we got in 2024, which, frankly, was two young men who failed to grab control until they ran out of time and were overtaken by the least-experienced option of the trio.
From the time it was clear that Darian Mensah and Kai Horton would not be back with the program in 2025, Head Coach Jon Sumrall was clear that Tulane would bring in at least two quarterbacks in the December portal, and perhaps even three. Later in the process, the Green Wave did exactly that, with Kadin Semonza choosing to commit to play Uptown on January 5. Semonza is 5'11", 192, and was the Ball State starting quarterback for eleven of their twelve games, during the 2024 season. On November 16, Ball State fired their head coach, and former Tulane assistant under Curtis Johnson, Mike Neu. With a new regime in place and uncertainty, Semonza also opted to enter the portal.
Across 475 dropbacks in 2024, Semonza completed 275/425 (64.4%), with an adjusted completion percentage of 73.4%. He averaged 6.9 yards per attempt with an average depth of target of just 7.5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. As one would expect, with those averages, Semonza's "big-time throw" percentage and "turnover-worthy play" percentage were both low, per PFF, finishing at 3.3% and 3.4%, respectively. He did, however, stack up 25 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, and posted a quarterback rating of 94.1. When the Ball State offensive line was able to keep him clean, he was immaculate, completing 69.0% of his passes (77.7% adjusted completion percentage), 7.1 yards per attempt, and 22 touchdowns. His "turnover-worthy play" percentage cratered, in those situations, to 1.4%. In raw terms, he committed just 5 turnover worthy plays amidst 353 dropbacks whereon he was kept clean -- that is remarkable.
Be on the lookout next week for Part 2 in our series, the Running Backs.
Great read.
Great article on QB's. Thank you Jake!
Much great info. Things the average fan like myself never considers. Surprised at the negative comments about Mensah. Sounds like we won't miss him???