Photo Credit: Chris Granger, NOLA.com
GET TO KNOW ZEON CHRISS-GREMILLION
Tulane’s New QB1
The Houston transfer beat out Kadin Semonza after a camp-long battle. Now
the fifth-year dual-threat gets the first snap of the Will Hall era.
Top Tier Tulane
| August 24, 2026
Semonza surged. Zeon answered. And on Monday, Tulane
answered.
After a quarterback competition that remained
neck-and-neck through the final scrimmage of fall camp, Tulane has named
redshirt senior Zeon Chriss-Gremillion its starter for the September 5 season
opener at Duke. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound transfer from Houston won the job over
Kadin Semonza, giving head coach Will Hall an experienced, explosive
dual-threat quarterback to lead his first Green Wave offense.
The decision should not be read as Semonza losing
control of the race. The former MAC Freshman of the Year spent much of camp
looking like Tulane’s steadier traditional passer—quick through progressions,
comfortable in the pocket and accurate in the short and intermediate game. But
Chriss-Gremillion kept answering every Semonza step forward with a play that
showed why his particular skill set is so difficult to leave on the sideline.
Tulane did not simply select the better runner. It
selected the quarterback who gives this offense its widest menu and,
potentially, its highest ceiling.
A Baton Rouge Athlete Built for Big Moments
Before Tulane fans knew him as the newest QB1 in New
Orleans, Chriss-Gremillion was one of Louisiana’s most gifted high school
athletes. The Baton Rouge native starred at Madison Prep Academy, where he won
state championships in football, basketball and track. As a junior quarterback,
he threw for 2,005 yards and 25 touchdowns, added 897 yards and 16 scores on
the ground and led Madison Prep to the Class 3A state title.
His performance in the championship game looked like a
preview of the player Tulane is getting now: 323 yards of total offense and
four touchdowns in a 50-0 win over Union Parish. He finished the season as a
first-team all-state selection, the District 7-3A Offensive MVP and The
Advocate’s All-Metro Offensive MVP.
Football was only part of the athletic résumé.
Chriss-Gremillion could throw down a reverse windmill dunk as a freshman. He
decided to learn the javelin, taught himself the event and won a state
championship only months later. His father, Kerry Gremillion, even had him pull
tires through the neighborhood when he was young to build strength and work
ethic. If Zeon is not the best pure athlete on Tulane’s roster, he belongs on
the shortest possible list.
A quick note on the name: Louisiana’s rosters and much
of the early coverage of his career identified him as Zeon Chriss. Houston and
Tulane now list him by his full surname, Zeon Chriss-Gremillion. Fans who
remember “Zeon Chriss” from the Ragin’ Cajuns or his first season at Houston
are remembering the same player.
The Breakthrough at Louisiana
Chriss-Gremillion signed with Louisiana as a three-star
prospect and the No. 2-rated quarterback in the state in the 2022 class. He saw
limited action as a true freshman, but his first meaningful opportunity hinted
at what was coming. Against Texas State, he completed five of six passes for 84
yards and a touchdown on a fourth-quarter drive that helped make the Ragin’
Cajuns bowl eligible.
He broke through in 2023, appearing in eight games and
making six starts. Chriss-Gremillion completed 66.7% of his passes for 1,222
yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He was even more dangerous on the
ground, rushing for 492 yards and six touchdowns at 6.7 yards per carry. That
average ranked second among FBS quarterbacks with at least 50 attempts.
One of his best afternoons came against Texas State,
once again. Chriss-Gremillion completed 13 of 17 passes for 205 yards and
accounted for four touchdowns, including the go-ahead eight-yard run with 2:21
remaining in a 34-30 comeback win. He was not simply accumulating rushing
yards; he was changing games late.
His season ended prematurely when he suffered a broken
fibula against Arkansas State in November. He entered the transfer portal the
following month and moved to Houston, where former Tulane head coach Willie
Fritz was beginning his tenure.
Glimpses of Proof at the Power-Conference Level
The 2024 season at Houston revealed both the appeal and
the developmental challenge of Chriss-Gremillion’s game. He appeared in 11
games, started seven and completed 63.8% of his passes for 824 yards. He threw
four touchdowns and eight interceptions, numbers that underline the need for
better consistency and ball security. But his legs changed the Cougars’ offense
immediately.
Houston entered an October game at TCU having gone
eight consecutive quarters without scoring. In his first start for the Cougars,
Chriss-Gremillion completed 15 of 18 passes for 141 yards and rushed for 97
more, including a 71-yard touchdown. Houston won 30-19. The 71-yarder was the
longest run by a Big 12 quarterback that season.
Four weeks later, he delivered the most complete
performance of his college career against No. 17 Kansas State.
Chriss-Gremillion went a perfect 11-for-11 through the air, rushed for 75 yards
and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 41-yard run with 2:31 left. The
24-19 upset was Houston’s highest-ranked win in seven years.
He finished 2024 with 388 rushing yards and a team-high
four rushing touchdowns. More revealing than the raw yardage: Chriss-Gremillion
forced 35 missed tackles as a runner, the most by any Big 12 quarterback. He
also produced 26 rushing first downs and five runs of at least 15 yards.
Chriss-Gremillion returned to a reserve role behind
Conner Weigman in 2025, appearing in six games. Even in limited action, the
explosiveness flashed again when he hit Amare Thomas for a 64-yard touchdown
against Texas Tech. He entered the portal after the season and committed to
Tulane in January, bringing 13 career starts and experience in both the Sun
Belt and Big 12 to New Orleans.
Why Zeon Won the Tulane Job
Tulane’s choice came down to two quarterbacks who
offered different answers. Semonza provided the cleaner traditional passing
profile. Chriss-Gremillion provided the offense-changing rushing dimension
while showing enough progress as a passer to keep the competition even. The
closer Zeon came to matching Semonza throw for throw, the harder it became to
ignore everything else he adds.
With Chriss-Gremillion on the field, every zone-read or
run-pass option can force a defender to account for the quarterback. His speed
can punish an undisciplined edge. His 220-pound frame allows Tulane to use him
in short-yardage situations. His home-run ability can rescue a broken play or
turn a routine read into six points. That changes the numbers for every other
player in the formation before the ball is even snapped.
His arm should not be reduced to an accessory, either.
Chriss-Gremillion has completed 63.9% of his career passes and owns a 66.7%
season as a starter. At Louisiana, he connected on an 87-yard touchdown that
traveled more than 60 yards in the air. At Houston, he showed the same
downfield power on the 64-yard score against Texas Tech. The arm talent is
real. The next step is pairing it with consistent timing, progression work and
decision-making.
That is the bet Tulane is making. The Green Wave
believe they can manage the variance while unleashing the athletic ceiling.
Chriss-Gremillion did not need to become Semonza to win the job; he needed to
become reliable enough as a passer that his rushing advantage could break the
tie. By the end of camp, he apparently had.
What QB1 Must Look Like Against Duke
The QB1 label does not erase the reasons this
competition lasted so long. Chriss-Gremillion has thrown 15 interceptions
against 17 touchdown passes in his career, and Houston’s 2024 offense
experienced both the explosive highs and uneven lows that can accompany his
playing style. Duke will try to make him win from the pocket, stay patient and
prove he can string together efficient drives without giving the defense extra
possessions.
Hall summarized his standard for the position after
Tulane’s final camp scrimmage: “Drive us to score. Don’t turn the ball over.”
That will matter more than the number of designed runs, deep shots or highlight
plays Chriss-Gremillion produces in Durham.
Tulane does not need him to throw 40 times or carry the
offense by himself. It needs him to stay ahead of the chains, make the correct
reads, protect the football and use his athleticism when the defense gives him
an opening. With a deep running back room and playmakers such as Jaylin Lucas
around him, Zeon’s presence should create opportunities without requiring him
to force them.
Semonza’s ability also gives Tulane a legitimate second
option if the offense needs a different rhythm. But the first opportunity
belongs to Chriss-Gremillion—and he earned it by showing that Tulane’s most
dynamic quarterback could also become its most complete one.
From Baton Rouge to QB1 in New Orleans
Chriss-Gremillion’s college path has taken him from
Lafayette to Houston and now back home to Louisiana. Along the way, he has won
games with his arm, changed games with his legs, recovered from a broken
fibula, won a starting job at the Power Four level and waited through a season
as a backup.
Now the fifth-year senior gets another first start—this
time for a Tulane program coming off a conference championship and College
Football Playoff appearance, with a new head coach and a national spotlight
waiting at Duke.
The quarterback battle is over... for now. And if his
career has taught us anything, the next play is always capable of becoming the
one everyone remembers. Zeon Chriss-Gremillion is QB1, but Semonza still has a
lot to offer Tulane.
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Sources and Further Reading
1. On3 — Tulane
names Zeon Chriss-Gremillion starting quarterback for season opener
2. Tulane Athletics
— Zeon Chriss-Gremillion player biography
3. Houston
Athletics — Zeon Chriss-Gremillion player biography
4. Houston
Chronicle — From high school in Louisiana to UH, Zeon Chriss has always been
‘ready to roll’
5. ESPN Southwest
Louisiana — Ragin’ Cajuns QB Chriss continues to prove no moment is too big
6. Houston
Athletics — Football upsets No. 17/15 Kansas State
7. Louisiana
Athletics — Key stops help Louisiana defeat Texas State
8. On SI Tulane —
The Tulane quarterback battle is over. The quarterback battle is not over.