Head coach Mike Norvell made a name for himself with his high-octane Arizona State offenses, something that has translated over to his first Memphis Tigers squad.
Last Saturday, the Tigers outscored the visiting Kansas Jayhawks 43-7 at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, totaling 394 yards of offense, a lot of that can be attributed to Memphis’ defense forcing six Kansas turnovers and giving the offense great field position.
The University of Memphis had several key players returning on offense from last season’s 9-4 team, with a number of those players making an instant impact on the field.
Anthony Miller
Last year’s leading receiver has started the 2016 season with a bang – 14 receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown. Miller finished Saturday’s game with five catches for 93 yards and an 84-yard touchdown catch, while also adding 56 rushing yards on three carries for his second consecutive 100-total yard game. It was well documented prior to the beginning of the season that Miller and incoming quarterback Riley Ferguson were establishing a connection, and it shows; the receiver leads the team in receptions and is nine catches ahead of second place Daniel Hurd and Phil Mayhue.
Riley Ferguson
Ferguson came in as a decorated junior college quarterback, and worked his way to the starting job over the now-injured Brady Davis. So far this season, Ferguson has been excellent behind center, completing 41 passes out of 64 attempts, 64.1 completion percentage, for five touchdowns and two interceptions. The quarterback especially rebounded from Week 1 against SEMO, going 15-for-24 for 189 yards and two touchdowns, with zero interceptions being his most improved stat. Ferguson, who tossed two picks against SEMO, played smart and either took the sack or threw the ball out of bounds instead of forcing a play.
Doroland Dorceus
Dorceus, last year’s leading rusher, has been impressive over the past two games while receiving a smaller workload, totaling 21 carries for 61 yards and a team-leading two touchdowns. Dorceus returned this year as the Tigers’ main weapon out of the backfield, especially with fellow running back Sam Craft out with an injury. One area of concern for the running back has been his 2.9 yards per carry average so far this season, but history has shown that Dorceus can turn it on in an instant.
Patrick Taylor
Probably the surprise of the season so far, freshman running back Taylor has jumped to the top of the team’s rushing leader board, carrying the ball 20 times for 174 yards. Taylor has averaged 87 yards per game so far this season and has 114 yards more than last year’s rushing leader Dorceus despite having one less carry. On Saturday, Taylor carried the ball 13 times for 88 yards, and, while he was unable to find the endzone, he did manage to have a 32-yard run, showing his speed despite being listed at 6-3, 216. Taylor’s workload increased from seven carries in week one against Southeast Missouri State to 13 against Kansas, and if his production keeps up, expect him to become one of the stars of the 2016 season.
