College football season is about one-third of its way through, and four of Louisiana’s five FBS programs will begin October on byes.
So this week felt like a prime time to check in on each team’s top performers thus far in 2025 — essentially a first-trimester progress report — using PFF (Pro Football Focus) grades.
Obviously these grades — or any grading system for that matter — are not an end-all-be-all, but they do provide a useful glimpse into teams’ and players’ performances overall.
We continue this week’s series with Tulane (4-1, 1-0), who rebounded from a Week 4 stumble at Ole Miss with a win this past week at Tulsa before heading into this bye.
———— OVERALL NOTES ————
PFF’s grades for the Green Wave thus far have been respectable, but unspectacular across the board thus far and down notably in most areas from the team’s impressive 2024. But, notably as well, is the fact that Tulane has played three of its five games thus far against Power-Four opponents while working in a new-look roster, including a starting quarterback who arrived uptown at the end of the summer. The highest-rankings grades relative to the rest of the American Athletic Conference have come in special teams (79.3, No. 2), pass-rush (80.7, No. 3), passing (75.7, No. 4) and running (79.8)
———— TOP FIVE OFFENSIVE PERFORMERS ————
1. Omari Hayes, sophomore WR — 89.9 overall
The transfer from Florida Atlantic has been a huge addition to a new-look Tulane passing attack with his team-leading 254 yards and 18 receptions and a receiving grade (89.4) that has been No. 10 nationally and No. 2 in the American Athletic Conference among players with at least 10 targets so far this season. Hayes has split his time between out wide (54.2%) and in the slot (45.8%) and been effective and reliable in each role, including just one charged drop thus far according to PFF.
2. Shadre Hurst, junior G — 80.9 overall
The third-year starter appears to be continuing to improve year after year, including a particular leap in 2025 as a pass-protector. Even with three pre-conference games against Power-Four competition, the Green Wave’s top-graded offensive lineman overall boasts an early-season pass-blocking mark (88.7) tops the American and ranks in the top 10 nationally. Hurst has yet to allow a sack and has allowed just four hurries thus far, according to PFF. And his team-leading run-blocking grade (77.5) isn’t far off from his 2024 marks which were just shy of the team lead as well.
3. Javin Gordon, freshman RB — 79.0 overall
The young back enjoyed arguably his breakout game this past week with three touchdowns at Tulsa, but he’s been solid throughout his first five contests as a tough runner who forces missed tackles (a team-best 15), picks up an average of 3.42 yards per carry after contact and has the ability to pop some longer runs with some regularity with 20.0% of his yardage thus far coming on “breakaway” gains of 15-plus yards. Gordon now has 235 yards and three touchdowns on 50 carries, all team-highs among the running backs and could be a critical complement to his quarterback if he can continue to build on that emergence.
4. Jake Retzlaff, senior QB — 77.9 overall
Just a couple months into his time with the program, the late transfer from BYU has been the straw that has stirred the drink for the Tulane offense early in the season with his ability to make plays with both his arm and his legs. The performance hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but Retzlaff has completed 68 of his 125 passes (54.4%) for 820 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed 58 times for 368 yards and seven touchdowns. His passing (74.8) and running (70.4) grades thus far have found their way to the same ballpark after ebbs and flows in each through five games. As a passer, he has done a nice job limiting both turnovers with a 3.4% turnover-worthy play rate and sacks with just a 10.0% pressure-to-sacks ratio, as he scrambles and picks up first downs as both a passer and runner. His 12 runs of 10-plus yards and four of 15-plus both lead the team, including six forced missed tackles and 124 of his yards coming on “breakaway” plays of 15-plus yards.
5. Zuberi Mobley, senior RB — 71.4 overall
The senior, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, particularly helped lead the Green Wave running backs early as Gordon settled in and has maintained solid overall grades as a member of what may settle in as a bit of a three-man rotation. Mobley has carried 27 times for 136 yards — both fourth on the team — and two touchdowns. His 11 missed tackles forced, four runs of 10-plus yards and two runs of 15-plus yards on 27 touches and his solid pass-blocking marks (73.2) have all stood out among the team’s ball-carriers.
———— TOP FIVE DEFENSIVE PERFORMERS ————
1. Geordan Guidry, freshman EDGE — 82.8 overall
It’s important to keep grades in context, and Guidry’s high marks come in a small sample size of 34 snaps. But the former Ruston star arrived uptown in the 2024 class as a prospect we thought had Power-Four potential, showed some positive things in his limited opportunities as a true freshman and appears to be continuing to progress as a versatile lineman on whom the Green Wave should be able to rely upon more moving forward. Guidry has played in all five games and with snaps spread everywhere from the A-gap to out wide of opposing tackles, and his highest grades have come in run defense (91.5) and tackling (75.8) for the season and at Ole Miss (90.5) and at Tulsa (74.1) the past two weeks in terms of specific games. Again, keep in mind these grades are for a dozen or so snaps here and there, but the trajectory is certainly intriguing.
2. Jahiem Johnson, sophomore CB — 79.0 overall
From Guidry’s small-sample success to the Green Wave’s workhorse. Johnson is the team’s only player defender to play more than 300 snaps already this season and has been the highest-graded of the unit’s starting groups. The former Hammond star, nicknamed “Joker,” was particularly excellent in the season-opening win against Northwestern (87.4), but has also graded out positively the past two weeks at Ole Miss (73.4) and Tulsa (77.6). His coverage grade (78.1) is among the better marks in the American, and his tackling grades the past two weeks (76.6 and 77.9) have been the best of his career thus far as he shows some potential strides in that area. Johnson is second on the team with two interceptions, and his six pass breakups are twice the Green Wave’s next play
3. Javion White, sophomore S — 75.3 overall
The former Franklin Parish star’s coverage grade (89.7) — highlighted by three interceptions and three breakups — has been top-10 in the country and No. 2 in the American among players with at least 10 coverage snaps graded and No. 6 nationally and No. 1 in the conference among players with at least 50 coverage snaps. White has taken a bigger opportunity this season — already having earned more snaps than all of last season — and run with it as one of the Green Wave’s top playmakers on defense. Like Johnson, his best game came in the opener against Northwestern, but his sophomore season has been positive overall, particularly if he his improving tackling marks the past couple weeks end up sustaining as a trend.
4. Santana Hopper, junior DL — 73.9 overall
The lone non-Louisiana native in this defensive top-five list, the transfer from Appalachian State has been a huge addition to the Tulane front with a team-high 5.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks, plus another two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. Hopper has at least 12 snaps in each of PFF’s four alignment distinctions (A-gap, B-gap, over tackle and outside), but has worked far-and-away most heavily over opposing tackles and excelled as a pass-rusher (83.9), including his best game of the season thus far this past week at Tulsa with four tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
5. Bailey Despanie, senior S — 72.9 overall
The fifth-year senior out of Carencro is on pace for arguably his best season to date, highlighted by his discipline and physicality in run defense (89.5) and as a tackler (85.9). Despanie’s run defense and tackling grades have both been in the top six in the conference among defensive backs, as well as in the top 20 and just outside the top 50, respectively. With a slew of new faces and expanded roles all over the Tulane defense, Despanie has been among the familiar and steady leaders of a solid unit overall. His 25 tackles and two pass breakups both rank third for the Green Wave.