Tulane transforms QB room with addition of former BYU starter

Retzlaff’s arrival in Uptown New Orleans continues a wild offseason at quarterback for Tulane.

Last season’s starter, Darian Mensah, transferred to Duke in December 2024 after reportedly receiving a two-year, $8M NIL deal. That same month, the Green Wave landed T.J. Finley from North Texas, but he left the program in April after being found in possession of a stolen truck with a license plate matching another vehicle he owned. His attorneys alleged he was the victim of a scam.

After his dismissal, Tulane added former Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan, who was competing with Ball State transfer Kadin Semonza and Illinois transfer Donovan Leary for the first-team role.

As Thamel noted, none of the Green Wave’s prospective 2025 quarterbacks were enrolled before January. With a little over a month before their season begins on Aug. 30 against Northwestern, it’s anyone’s guess how the competition will shake out.

While Retzlaff has a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time, he has the highest ceiling of the potential options. In 2024 while primarily facing FBS power conference opponents, he threw for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 57.9% of his passes (eight yards per attempt) and adding 511 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries, excluding sacks (h/t Pro Football Focus).

Semonza, who transferred in early January, started 12 games for Ball State last season, leading the conference in completions (275), attempts (427), pass yards per game (242) and passing touchdowns (25).

Sullivan has appeared in 23 games over the past three seasons, compiling a 69.4% completion percentage with 1,778 passing yards (7.2 yards per attempt), 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while Leary, the first of the quarterbacks to announce his transfer to Tulane in December 2024, has five career pass attempts.

Tulane went 9-5 last season, Sumrall’s first leading the program. Per ESPN Bet, the Green Wave (+275) are the favorites to win the American Conference. 

If they live up to expectations, there’s a chance they end the season with an automatic College Football Playoff bid as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions

But first, Tulane must land on a quarterback. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the last arrival gets the first opportunity.