The reigning American Conference champions selected a starting quarterback for their title defense season.
First-year head coach Will Hall named Zeon Chriss-Gremillion as Tulane’s Week 1 starter, as previously reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Chriss-Gremillion transferred to Tulane this offseason after stints at Louisiana (2022-23) and Houston (2024-25). He started six games for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2023, throwing for 1,122 yards, 11 touchdowns, and five interceptions, while adding 492 yards and six touchdowns as a runner.
Chriss-Gremillion then served as Houston’s primary starter in 2024, logging seven starts and recording for 824 passing yards, four touchdowns, and eight interceptions, while rushing for 388 yards and four touchdowns.
The Baton Rouge, LA native’s highlight as a Cougar involved leading an upset win over a ranked Kansas State team in November 2024. In that contest, he finished 11-of-11 passing and ran in the game-winning 41-yard touchdown.
Chriss-Gremillion remained at Houston in 2025, however, he lost his starting job to Conner Weigman. The 6’3”, 220 pound mobile quarterback still made five appearances as a reserve, seeing his most extensive action in October against Texas Tech. He finished the year with 108 passing yards and 79 rushing yards.
Summing four seasons at Louisiana and Houston together, Chriss-Gremillion accrued 2,263 yards on a 63.9 completion rate, 17 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions as a passer. The crafty runner also posted 992 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on a 4.8 average.
Chriss-Gremillion won the fall camp battle over Kadin Semonza, who spent the 2025 campaign as the Green Wave’s third-string quarterback behind Jake Retzlaff and Brendan Sullivan. However, Semonza did not take any in-game snaps in his first season in New Orleans. Yet, he still possesses vast experience from his 2023-24 stint at Ball State. In that timeframe, Semonza earned 15 starts and threw for 3,384 yards and 28 touchdowns. He was named 2024 MAC Freshman of the Year to cap a season where he finished third in the conference in passing yards and first in passing touchdowns.
Other quarterbacks on Tulane’s roster include redshirt sophomore Dagan Bruno, redshirt freshmen Jay Beamon and Cade Scott, and true freshmen Trace Johnson and Holt Teichman. Bruno is the only one in this group to field a collegiate snap. However, Chriss-Gremillion and Semonza are the lone quarterbacks on the roster to throw a collegiate pass.
Chriss-Gremillion will be Tulane’s fourth different Week 1 starting quarterback in four seasons, following 2023 Michael Pratt, 2024 Darian Mensah, and 2025 Jake Retzlaff. The Green Wave open Sept. 5 at reigning ACC champion Duke, where they aim to defeat the Blue Devils for the second-straight season. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
