Interest in Memphis football is seemingly at an all-time high after the Tigers finished the 2014 campaign with a 10-3 record and a tri-share of the American Athletic Conference Championship, and on Friday fans had their first chance to take a peek at next year’s team in the annual spring game at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Nearly 10,000 fans were in attendance for the exhibition that pitted the team’s offense against the defense under modified scoring rules that awarded points to the defense for stops and turnovers. The defense led 19-10 at halftime, but the Tiger offense rallied in the second half to take a 41-29 victory.
The Memphis defense put points on the board through creating turnovers, including a 47-yard fumble return touchdown by defensive end Ernest Suttles in the first half. The fumble was the first of three turnovers by the Tiger offense for the night.
The defense was stifling in the scrimmage’s opening quarter, creating stops and three-and-outs on the first few drives, but as the game transitioned into the second quarter and beyond the defense was only able to generate stops through turnovers as the offense began to look more comfortable and put more points on the board.
“I thought (the defense) played pretty well,” Memphis football coach Justin Fuente said. “We get in there towards the end and start rotating guys through and things like that happen, but I thought they came out and set the tone early in the scrimmage and I thought the offense bounced back, and that’s kind of what you want.”
Quarterback Paxton Lynch began to get in a rhythm in the second quarter, and finished the game with 207 yards and two touchdowns through the air while completing 18-of-23 passes.
Backup quarterbacks Clay Holgorsen and Jason Stewart were also able to make an impact in their time on the field, as each completed passing touchdowns of more than 60 yards in the third quarter. Long touchdown passes were a theme of the night, with Lynch also completing a 54-yard throw to running back Jarvis Cooper for a score.
After the game, Lynch was named the recipient of the 2015 Jeremy Williams Award, awarded to the best Tiger throughout the spring practices.
Interest in Tiger football has been renewed due to the team’s success a season ago, but Fuente is still attempting to figure out how exactly to go about using that success to inspire the current Memphis squad.
“What we’ve tried to do is try to recognize that this is a new team and we’ve got to create our own identity,” Fuente said. “We’ve got to find as coaches ways to push the buttons to get the most out of our kids, but also without beating them over the head with last year but also hold the kids that worked with us last year — the seniors — up as an example.”
The spring game signifies the end of spring practice for the Tigers, as attention now shifts towards offseason workouts and the coming season. Memphis opens the 2015 schedule Sept. 5 against Missouri State at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch was named the winner of the Jeremy Williams Award, presented to the most outstanding player throughout spring practice. Photo by David Minkin
