Everyone knows who will be lined up in the Tiger backfield come Sept. 5 when The University of Memphis faces off against long-time foe Ole Miss, but until last Wednesday Tiger fans didn’t know who Heisman candidate DeAngelo Williams would line up behind?
Head coach Tommy West named Patrick Byrne the starter for the Sept. 5 season opener against Ole Miss.
Throughout spring practice and into summer scrimmages, it was a three-man competition for the starting quarterback position.
Patrick Byrne brings leadership and composure. Will Hudgens can rocket the ball downfield. Billy Barefield can create plays with his feet.
But, it will be Byrne stepping into the shoes left vacant by graduating senior Danny Wimprine.
And those shoes are big.
Wimprine shattered school records during his four years as quarterback, including being the first player in U of M history to rack up more than 7,000 career-passing yards. He also led the Tigers to their first back-to-back bowl trips.
Byrne, Wimprine’s former roommate, has been the No. 1 man on the depth chart since the spring, getting the nod over Hudgens and Barefield. Byrne, a redshirt junior, was co-MVP of the 2005 Blue-Gray Game, completing 12 of 17 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Although he has never started a game at quarterback for the Tigers, he has spent three years as a backup and knows the system well.
“He knows what we like and what we expect,” said head coach Tommy West. “He’s a smart guy.”
Don’t look for Byrne to put up Wimprine-like numbers, but look for him to provide consistency and stability as a leader on the team.
“There will be plays he’ll have to make for us, but don’t make mistakes,” West said. “Don’t beat us at quarterback.”
If Byrne can’t get the job done, West still hasn’t made a decision on who the No. 2 man will be.
Will Hudgens, a redshirt freshman listed at 6’4”, is the biggest of the three competing for the job and may have a lead over Barefield for backup duties. Hudgens started all four years at local Ridgeway High School and threw for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. As a pocket passer, Hudgens can make the long throw.
“Will’s a big, strong-arm guy,” West said.
Hudgens’ ability to launch the deep ball will keep opposing defenses honest and prevent them from stacking the defensive line against the run.
Freshman Barefield can keep a defense honest, too. He just does it differently than Hudgens.
According to West, “Billy is a smaller guy with great feet.”
At 5’10”, Barefield is not likely to stand in the pocket. He’ll be the first to admit that.
“I’m more of a run-around Michael-Vick-type,” Barefield said.
As a junior at Cornerstone Christian High in San Antonio, he racked up 5,052 yards of total offense, the ninth highest total ever in prep football ,according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Senior Maurice Avery who has seen limited time at quarterback may also sneak in a few snaps if Byrne is sidelined.
Although Byrne, Hudgens and Barefield offer different qualities on the field, they all want the same thing.
“We’re all competitive inside, but we want to succeed,” Hudgens said. “We try to help out each other as much as we can.”
The wide receivers will also be helping out the quarterbacks as well.
The Tigers must have veteran receivers step up and make big plays and Maurice Avery and Mario Pratcher will play key roles in the air attack.
“They’re (Byrne, Hudgens, and Barefield) coming along quickly,” Avery said. “But wherever they throw the ball we need to make plays to make them look good.”
And they will throw the ball. Don’t look for the Tigers to change their philosophy and rely on DeAngelo Williams running the ball just because they have a new quarterback.
“We can’t do that,” West said. “We can’t limit what we do, or we’re falling into a trap. I think we need to be even more wide open then we’ve been. We have to be able to throw the ball. That’s what we do. We’re a throwing team.”
