When the clock ticked to zero at the Military Bowl on Wednesday evening, all thoughts turned to Tulane’s future under new coach Jon Sumrall.
Sumrall was at the game, watching the short-handed Green Wave get run over by Virginia Tech in a 41-20 loss while playing under a makeshift coaching staff. The defeat was Tulane’s second in a row after entering the American Athletic Conference championship game with an 11-1 record.
“It’s disappointing, but there’s a lot of bright things I believe in the future for Tulane football,” interim coach and offensive coordinator Slade Nagle said. “There’s a good core group of guys that will be back. Looking forward to a lot of good things.”
Nagle’s status remains unclear along with any other potential holdovers on the staff. He has spent eight years at Tulane — the first seven as tight ends coach before former coach Willie Fritz promoted him to offensive coordinator this season. He refused to address his future after the loss.
“We are going to shower and go home and be together as a team for these last few hours,” he said. “We’ll see where everybody goes after that.”
Sumrall, hired Dec. 10, has made no announcement on hiring assistants, although Tulane signee Dominic Steward said last week he expected offensive line coach Dan Roushar, his primary recruiter, to be retained. The Athletic reported Sumrall was bringing Troy defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato with him as expected along with linebackers coach Tayler Polk and strength and conditioning coordinator Rusty Whitt. Polk served as co-defensive coordinator this season. A source close to the program indicated those moves were expected but had not happened.
Troy’s defense ranked 15th among FBS teams in yards allowed (308.1 per game) and 10th in points allowed (17.1), holding eight opponents to 14 points or fewer. The Trojans registered a program- and Sun Belt Conference-record 45 sacks, the fifth most in the FBS. Gasparato, who was at Army in 2022, replaced Shiel Wood as coordinator after Wood left for Tulane before the start of spring practice, and he appears poised to take over for him again at Tulane.
Wood, who joined Fritz at Houston, was one of three assistants Sumrall dismissed soon after taking the Tulane job for what he considered a conflict of interest.
In an interview with ESPN during its Military Bowl coverage, Sumrall said he was working to convince some of Tulane’s players who entered the transfer portal to change their mind. While two players who participated in the game — rush end Devean Deal (TCU) and end Keith Cooper (Houston) — have chosen new teams, tight end Alex Bauman and quarterback Kai Horton have not committed anywhere.
Bauman, a sophomore, caught two passes for 13 yards against Virginia Tech, running his season total to 37 receptions.
Horton, a third-year player, completed 13 of 20 passes for 119 yards and ran for a touchdown while replacing Michael Pratt, who opted out of the game. With Justin Ibieta being carted off with a leg injury in the first quarter, Horton, who has four career starts, would be the Wave’s only healthy returning quarterback with any experience heading into spring drills.
Sumrall inherits 1,000-yard rusher Makhi Hughes, offensive linemen Rashad Green, Shadre Hurst and Josh Remetich, defensive tackles Patrick Jenkins and Eric Hicks, linebackers Jesus Machado (who hurt a knee against Virginia Tech) and Tyler Grubbs and safety Bailey Despanie as returning starters. The other 13 starters on offense and defense will be new, with the Wave losing five first-team All-AAC performers and two second-team selections to graduation, the NFL draft or the transfer portal.
Tulane’s 23 wins over the past two years are tied for the fourth most behind Georgia (27), Michigan (26) and Washington (24). Florida State and Alabama can pass the Wave by winning their next game. The Seminoles face Georgia in the Orange Bowl. Alabama plays Michigan in a college football playoff semifinal.