When Jon Sumrall sees Jake Retzlaff taking snaps in his offense this August, it will be a long time coming for Tulane’s head coach.
Sumrall recruited Retzlaff back when the quarterback was in junior college in California in 2022. Retzlaff had one offer at the time: from Sumrall at Troy.
“We won our conference championship game that year, play against Coastal Carolina. And two days later I was on a plane to see Jake,” Sumrall said Friday during an American Conference media day. “He was the guy we wanted.”
But it wasn’t meant to be. BYU jumped into the recruiting process late, and Retzlaff signed with the Cougars.
Now, Retzlaff is all his.
After a chaotic exit from Provo, Retzlaff landed in New Orleans this week to enter a quarterback battle. It’s a busy room full of transfers at Tulane. But Retzlaff is the most experienced option for Sumrall to work with.
“The situation with Jake presented [late]. After doing our due diligence on the university side with everything around Jake, we got the green light to move forward,” he said. “And then you check to make sure that academically things are a fit. And then the football component you have to make a decision on.”
Retzlaff was slated to lead BYU until he was sued for civil sexual assault in May. The case was dismissed in June, but BYU was ready to level a seven-game Honor Code suspension in the aftermath, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Rather than sit out, Retzlaff looked for other options.
Tulane needed a quarterback to help a brand new team. Tulane turned over 51% of its roster and has 34 transfers.
“We have two [returning offensive starters]. That is a little bit daunting. We have a starting left tackle and starting left guard. Defensively we are way more experienced. We got three starters. Way more stable situation,” Sumrall joked.
Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, center, runs onto the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Memphis in New Orleans, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Forest)
At quarterback, Sumrall already brought in a few transfers from Ball State, Iowa and Illinois.
“It wasn’t really like had to get another [quarterback]. Or we were not in a good spot. We were very content. We can win with any of those guys,” Sumrall said. “I don’t believe less is more. More is more. I want more good players.”
Retzlaff is participating in player-run practices, but Sumrall isn’t tipping his hand on which quarterback will start just yet.
“We vetted every angle to add a player and he checked all the boxes,” he said. “Nobody has been promised anything.”
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