When Jake Retzlaff lines up under center this August, it’ll mark the end of a long recruiting arc for Tulane HC Jon Sumrall. The connection goes back to 2022, when Sumrall—then at Troy—was the first and only coach to offer Retzlaff out of junior college in California. Now, after a whirlwind departure from BYU, Retzlaff has landed in New Orleans, stepping into a crowded QB room filled with transfers. Although it’s a fierce battle ahead, Retzlaff brings something the others don’t: real game experience. Still, Sumrall isn’t handing out starting jobs. And now, he confirmed there’s a triple hurdle for Retzlaff.
So, the opportunity is there, but Retzlaff will have to earn every snap. And on July 25th, Jon Sumrall broke his silence on the new addition during The American Conference Media Days in Charlotte, in North Carolina. Just days after Jake Retzlaff committed to Tulane, the HC addressed the buzz head-on. “The quarterback situation—you know, I reflect back to a year ago this time, and we didn’t have a starter and went through a training camp battle. We’re back in the same scenario again. You know, a lot has been made recently of the addition of Jake Retzlaff….But even prior to adding Jake, I feel really confident in the room we already had in place,” stated Sumrall. So, for the Tulane HC, Retzlaff doesn’t walk into a guarantee—he walks into a fire. Because Tulane’s QB room isn’t just deep; it’s star-stacked. And who is better to know that than Sumrall.
“There’s a room—a group of guys—who have been working the last several months to have an opportunity to win that job or be our starter and develop within our program that I have a lot of belief in,” said Sumrall. However, leading the charge is Kadin Semonza, the MAC Freshman Player of the Year from Ball State. “He’s a football guy. He loves it. Good teammate,” as per Tulane HC. Then there’s Brendan Sullivan, a spring portal pickup from Iowa who started his career at Northwestern. “Brendan is a talented dude athletically. He’s tough. He has an edge about him. He’s a really, fast athlete and a great competitor. I’m really excited that we added him,” mentioned Sumrall. But who rounds out the trio?
Well, Donovan Leary, a transfer from Illinois, rounds out the core trio. Now, he and Samanza got valuable reps in spring ball, while Sullivan joined post-spring. With this kind of talent in the mix, Retzlaff isn’t walking into a vacancy, he’s entering a QB war loaded with upside. Simply put, Jack’s arrival only turns up the heat in what’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive QB battles in the AAC. So, Tulane didn’t go QB shopping out of desperation?
No, because the staff already felt confident in the trio they had. And Sumrall put it best, stating, “It really wasn’t like, ‘Man, we’re in trouble—we need another guy.’ We were very content. We can win with any of those guys. I believe in all three. We can build a game plan around each of them to help Tulane win football games. It might just look a little different depending on who’s out there.” But then came the twist. Jake Retzlaff became available. And Tulane did its homework—checked every box, from academics to off-field fit. So, once the green light came, Sumrall made the call. Therefore, Retzlaff wasn’t added out of panic. He was added because he made a good room even better. And why not?
Jake Retzlaff wasn’t a surprise addition, he was a long-time target for Jon Sumrall. Back in 2022 at Troy, Sumrall was the first coach to offer Retzlaff out of Riverside Community College. “He was the guy we wanted,” said Sumrall. But BYU entered late, and Retzlaff chose to stay closer to home. After backing up in 2023 and starting in 2024, he had a strong season. So when the door opened again, Sumrall didn’t blink and said, “We vetted every angle… and it checked all the boxes to—let’s do this.” But despite having a strong QB room, why make such a decision?
Well, for Jon Sumrall, depth is a winning formula, not a dilemma. “The old adage is ‘less is more.’ I don’t prescribe to that theory. I think more is more,” he said. “If we have a chance to add a capable player who can help us win, we’re going to do it.” Now, while the move came with tough conversations in the QB room, Sumrall made sure everyone understood the situation. As for him, more talent means more opportunity to win. And Sumrall has every reason to believe in it.
Jon Sumrall’s QB scare still shapes his strategy
Jon Sumrall’s decision to stack the QB room comes from experience—and a little trauma. “In 2019—at the University of Kentucky, we had all our quarterbacks get injured one year, and Lynn Bowden played quarterback for us, who was a receiver. We had to get really creative with how we played the game,” said the Tulane HC. So, that season taught Sumrall a lesson he hasn’t forgotten: never be thin at QB. “I like to play quarterbacks at quarterback, if at all possible. And so, having more good players is a good thing, not a bad thing.” Honestly, in Sumrall’s world, depth isn’t insurance; it’s preparation. But who will emerge as Tulane’s QB1?
Okay, Jon Sumrall isn’t handing out starting roles; he’s making players earn them. The QB competition at Tulane is wide open, and no one’s walking in with guarantees. Sumrall made it clear: the best performer in camp will take the first snap of the season. And if he delivers, he’ll keep the job. So, it’s a merit-based system—just like last year, when the staff chose the player who gave them the best shot to win, not the one with the biggest hype. Now, let’s see who comes out on top in the Tulane QB1 battle among these four standouts.
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