The Tulane Green Wave lost one of their running back contributors when he signed with Central Michigan via the transfer portal. The Tulane Green Wave has had some attrition at the running back position, with numerous departures from the transfer portal finding new homes.
Trey Cornist, a redshirt freshman, confirmed his commitment to the Central Michigan Chippewas via the portal after entering on December 8, ending his limbo status of the previous several weeks.
Tulane’s football team is already losing three running backs from last season, with starter Makhi Hughes leaving for the Oregon Ducks and Shaadie Clayton-Johnson remaining in the portal.
Cornist gained 149 yards on 22 attempts and scored one rushing touchdown against the USF Bulls in the team’s opening conference game of the 2024 season. Through six games, he led the team in rushing average at 6.8 yards per carry.
While the potential to contribute should be greater without Hughes, Cornist chose to make a fresh start. It leaves the Green Wave with two remaining backs and a pair of portal players, Maurice Turner and Zuberi Mobley.
Similar to the outgoing rushers, the squad now has a clean slate to build a scheme around its new top backs. Offensive coordinator Joe Craddock and running backs coach Brock Hayes will lead such efforts.
Tulane concluded the season rated 25th in the nation in rushing offense, and Hughes was in the top 20 with 15 of the team’s 32 running touchdowns.
Barnes accounted for six of them, as did Ty Thompson, who is now a tight end and is tied for second on the team after Hughes. Thompson is anticipated to be a similar red zone menace as he was last season. McClure averaged 6.1 yards per carry on a just 20 attempts.
In their first season under Sumrall, the Green Wave leaned primarily on the run game, demonstrating the blue-collar mindset he seeks to inculcate in his players. The strategy combined Hughes’ talent with Darian Mensah’s inexperience at center.
It’s unclear how cautious the offense was while developing a redshirt freshman, and the playbook might expand further depending on the experience of whoever wins the job under center. Kadin Semonza and TJ Finley both have more credible experience, and Donovan Leary, despite not getting much playing time, is a junior further along in his development.
In training camp, they’ll work on chemistry with the offensive line, but mostly with their wide receivers and running backs. One of the new rushers, Turner, was a three-star wide receiver commit out of high school. He’s had 24 receptions for 167 yards in 365 career snaps.
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