Tulane almost certainly will begin the season with zero true freshmen starting and possibly none on the two-deep depth chart.

Do not mistake that absence for a lack of potential. Sumrall said he loved what he had seen from the freshman class as a whole, and it was more a reflection of the high talent level of the rest of the roster in the transfer portal era.

He singled out Josh Lewis, a freshman defensive end from Dutchtown High, as the perfect illustration.

“When I was here in 2012 (as defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator), he probably would have come in and started,” Sumrall said. “He’s a dude’s dude. He’s a real guy. He works hard, has great length, is very athletic and is going to be really good here. I don’t want to name all the names yet, but there’s a couple of thes

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