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This Saturday, Tulane fans witnessed the most anticipated spring game to date.
The parking lot closest to Yulman was completely full before kickoff as Tulane fans crowded in to watch the debut of new star players — and have their first look at a Jon Sumrall-coached team.
The team was split up by personnel, with offense on one end and defense on the other, and both sides substituted players in and out each possession, including the quarterbacks.
While fans hoped to watch a high powered offense led by transfer portal acquisitions Ty Thompson, Mario Williams and Shazz Preston, it was the defense that stood out throughout Saturday’s scrimmage. The defense held the offense completely scoreless in the first quarter, flying around and applying pressure on the quarterbacks each drop back.
Standing out amongst the Tulane defense was fifth year walk-on defensive back Rishi Rattan. Rattan was everywhere defensively, whether it was covering standout receivers or blowing up plays in the backfield. As coach Sumrall said postgame: “He’s a walk-on that I think is scholarship worthy … He’s a guy that’s heading that direction because of the way he has performed and practiced and brought it everyday. He makes everyone around him better.”
Despite early struggles, Tulane’s offense finally came to play in the second quarter. Tulane’s first points came off a touchdown run from running back Arnold Barnes, who has cemented himself as Tulane’s second back behind Makhi Hughes. That drive was led by Thompson, who was the second quarterback on the field behind his main competitor for the starting job, Kai Horton.
Horton had some standout moments as well, including a 50-yard bomb on the run to Donate Fleming in the first half’s two-minute drill. Horton connected again with Fleming in the second half off a 75-yard dot that resulted in a touchdown.
The other quarterback that got minutes was sophomore Darian Mensah. Mensah led a touchdown drive, connecting with Bryce Bohanan in the endzone. While it seems like Mensah is not in line to start this season, he is certainly a name to look out for as a future key player in this program.
“Mensah’s gonna be a dude,” Sumrall said postgame, “He’s got a little calmness and a little bit of a cool factor about him where he does not panic, he does not get rattled. He is very easy and very calm. He’s just got a little swagger about him I like.”
As far as the competition goes between Horton and Thompson, Sumrall does not seem to be close on making a decision relating to the starting job. Horton took the first reps in Saturday’s scrimmage, which Sumrall said that he “wouldn’t read too much into,” due to him wanting to see each quarterback play with different groups: “It’s a big summer to see who steps up and leads and who takes ownership with that position.”
Overall, the 2024 Tulane Football spring game showed how far Tulane football has come and how far it has to climb to reach the higher expectations Sumrall established when he took the job. “When you have that many people in the stands for a spring game it creates positive energy for the guys on the field,” Sumrall said postgame.
That being said, the output level on the field has a long way to go before the season starts. Scoreless offensive quarters, sloppy throws and dropped balls may be passable in the spring game, but they won’t lead you to a third consecutive conference championship game, and certainly not a ticket to the 12-team College Football Playoff. Sumrall said in the beginning of his press conference, “Our standards are really high. We’re not quite there yet, but I like where we’re heading.”
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