With former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff announcing his verbal commitment to Tulane, the Green Wave now have one of the most interesting quarterback rooms in college football. Retzlaff is the fifth QB to join Jon Sumrall's team this offseason, adding to a list that already included TJ Finley (Western Kentucky), Kadin Semonza (Ball State), Donovan Leary (Illinois), and Brendan Sullivan (Iowa).
Tulane moved quickly following the departure of Darien Mensah, landing a commitment from well-traveled veteran TJ Finley in December. That pairing did not last long as Finley is no longer with the program due to legal issues. Even before his departure though, it was clear Tulane was not fully committed to him, as they brought in Leary and Semonza soon after.
Once Finley left, Semonza appeared to be the frontrunner for the starting job. The Ball State transfer was coming off a strong 2024 season throwing for just under 3,000 yards, 25 touchdowns, and winning MAC Freshman of the Year.
However, things took a turn after spring ball when Sullivan decided to leave Iowa and head to New Orleans to compete for the starting job. And now we have landed at today where the Green Wave have added Retzlaff, and now have three guys who have all been starting quarterbacks and likely all went to Tulane with the belief that they would be the guy.
After all this movement, Semonza now finds himself in the most intriguing, and possibly unfortunate, situation which highlights the fickleness of the transfer portal. After a strong first season as a starter in the MAC, he made the jump to a higher-profile program and, at one point, looked like the frontrunner for the starting job. Now there is a strong shot that he begins the season third on the depth chart and doesn’t touch the field all year. And don’t forget about Donovan Leary, a former Power Four backup who transferred down in hopes of finally earning a starting job, only to now find himself completely out of the conversation.
While the situation may seem unfortunate for Semonza, it's important to note that Retzlaff was reportedly not guaranteed the starting job, though I would be shocked if he does not get the nod. That said, while Semonza may look like the biggest loser in all of this, he did have the opportunity to solidify his role during spring practice; and the fact that Tulane added two more quarterbacks after spring ball suggests the coaching staff wasn’t fully sold on him as their starter.
In all, this situation makes me question what kinds of promises are being made to players in the transfer portal. Semonza likely had multiple high-level Group of Five programs, where he would have been the for sure starter, wanting his services. It also makes sense that all these quarterbacks coming in saw Tulane’s QB situation as wide open, and jumped at the opportunity to start at a high-level Group of Five program that is favored to win their conference and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
While the starter at the moment may be unknown, one thing we do know is that Tulane has multiple capable guys after a wild offseason. The Green Wave better hope they make the right decision on their starter at the beginning of the season, as they face one of the toughest non-conference schedules in college football with three games against power conference opponents in Northwestern, Duke, and Ole Miss.