First-year coach Mike Norvell and his staff have gotten a glimpse of the 2016 Tiger football team, as they have been hard at work during spring practice over the past month.
Over the last two years, Memphis achieved incredible success under former coach Justin Fuente and former star quarterback Paxton Lynch. Norvell said he wants to build off what Fuente and Lynch achieved in their time at Memphis and said now it’s time for the Tigers to take the next step.
“We want to take the next step as a program,” Norvell said. “It's going to take everyone involved. It's going to take all the coaches, all the players. We all have to get on the same page on what the expectations are. Last season, this program got a glimpse of greatness. You saw the excitement and what it meant to this community, this university. Everybody is excited about Memphis football. Now, it's our time to build off that. It's our time to show what the 2016 Tigers are going to be.”
To cap off the spring, the Tigers will host “Friday Night Stripes”, their 15th and final spring practice, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium 7 p.m. Friday. The team will compete in a spring scrimmage, lasting one full-length half, and special situations.
Norvell said neither side of the football pulled ahead of the other this spring and he has liked what he has seen from both sides.
“I like that as spring has gone on, it hasn't just been the defense dominating, or just the offense dominating, there's been some back and forth,” he said.
Memphis fans will get a chance to see junior college quarterback transfer Riley Ferguson in action Friday. The 6-foot-4 junior is the frontrunner in the quarterback battle to replace Lynch, who elected to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL draft, as the Tigers new starter under center. The former Tennessee Volunteer threw for 2,942 yards and 35 touchdown passes last season at Coffeyville Community College.
Earlier this month, the Tigers traveled to Nashville for a scrimmage to emulate a road game. After the scrimmage Norvell said he like what he saw from the defense and its improvements throughout the spring.
"The defense has been solid," Norvell said. "We've got to work on being a better tackling team. I thought today that was something that showed up, there weren't as many missed tackles. If you can get the ball down, you give yourself an opportunity to play another snap. We've got some good speed on defense and I like the guys up front. We had some opportunistic plays today, we had two or three takeaways overall in about a 120 play scrimmage. (Defensive coordinator) Coach (Chris) Ball is doing a wonderful job leading those guys."
On the defensive side of the ball, junior safety Jonathan Cook has been making a lot of noise throughout spring practice. Cook, who redshirted for Alabama in 2013 and played sparingly in 2014, transferred to Memphis from Garden City Community College. At Garden City Cook racked up 61 total tackles (47 solo), 5.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two interceptions. The Alabama native should bolster a Memphis secondary that struggled to contain heavy passing attacks last season.
Friday’s event will kick off with the Tiger Lane Block Party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., which will include inflatables and a DJ, as well as many game day experiences, as the Memphis Spirit Squads, the Mighty Sound of the South and Tom III will all be present. Memphis’ players will also arrive at Tiger Lane at 6 p.m. for the Tiger Walk prior to the scrimmage.
Fans will be welcomed onto the field after the scrimmage for autograph sessions. Friday’s event is free to the public.
University of Memphis football coach Mike Norvell smiles during a spring practice. Norvell and his Tigers conclude spring practice with Friday Night Stripes at the Liberty Bowl.
