The Memphis Tigers finished last season with an overall record of 10-3 and were the winners of the American Athletic Conference West. Led by experienced playmakers and youthful upstarts, the team shocked college football fans and peaked at No. 20 in AP’s top-25.
Though some of that excitement has made its way into the start of the 2018 season, many questions remain after the team lost a bevy of players such as starting quarterback Riley Ferguson, star wide receiver Anthony Miller, linebacker Genard Avery and other players who were instrumental in the team taking the country by storm. Still, the team remains hopeful they will not only reach last season’s level of success but surpass it.
Positions to watch
Quarterback: With Riley Ferguson graduating from the team following the 2017 season, the Memphis Tigers were looking for a new man to anchor their offense. For much of the offseason, no quarterback made any headway to obtaining the starting role, but it was safe to say the competition had been reduced to redshirt sophomore David Moore and redshirt junior transfer Brady White. On Aug. 21, it was announced Moore decided to transfer, putting White firmly in the starting spot.
Wide Receivers: What makes the receivers so intriguing to watch isn’t that they lack depth, but they will be without All-American Miller after he was drafted to the Chicago Bears in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft. Players like redshirt sophomore Damonte Coxie and junior transfer Antonio Gibson come in hot, while redshirt sophomore Kedarian Jones and junior John “Pop” Williams have the most experience in the offense.
Jones has expressed his faith in the current receiving group despite not having a definite standout.
“With Ant (Miller) gone, I feel the opportunity is there for us as a whole to really help this team win games,” Jones said. “We’re all working extremely hard, which allows us to feed off one another.”
Coxie spoke about his feelings towards the quarterback situation that took up most of the offseason and how things were different from catching passes from Ferguson last season.
“Riley had a lot of experience from playing, so he knew what was coming a lot of the times before it happened,” Coxie said.
To help add talent to the Tigers’ receiving corps, redshirt senior Sam Craft has finally made his triumphant return to the team after suffering season-ending injuries the past two seasons. Craft has acknowledged his injury-plagued past but expressed his excitement to get back on the field.
“There were times when I felt like giving up, but I learned to take it one game at a time,” Craft said. “But now I feel great. I just got cleared, so I’m ready to go.”
What to expect
Offensive line continuing top-notch protection: Memphis boasts one of the best offensive lines in the nation after ending the season only allowing on average 1.25 sacks per game last season. Things have only been getting better for the unit, as they’ll be returning four starters from the 2017 season and boast arguably the most depth on the team. When speaking with redshirt senior Trevon Tate about how a new quarterback will change their approach, he was adamant that things won’t be different with his unit.
“No, the biggest adjustment we had to make was becoming the alpha male group to help out the quarterbacks get a fit for the system,” Tate said. “We’ll help the QBs trust us by showing them we know our stuff and by keeping him from getting hit.”
Defensive line putting more emphasis on pass rush: As strong as the Tigers’ run defense was, it didn’t have the same effect when it came to getting after opposing quarterbacks. Last season, they only were able to produce 26 total sacks, and their leading sack artist on the defensive line was redshirt senior Christian Johnson who had 3.5 sacks.
“We’ve just been focusing on the little things,” redshirt sophomore John Tate said. “Watching film on NFL Players that fit our qualities. As a unit, we know we’ve got to get better getting off the ball and getting into our pass rush moves faster.”
“The entire defensive line, especially guys like Johnathan Wilson and Joseph Dorceus are looking good in pass rushing drills,” Sophomore O’Bryan Goodson said.
Secondary is only getting better: With former defensive back coach Marcus Woodson leaving the team for Auburn, questions arose about how the secondary would perform after exceeding expectations last season. Junior Austin Hall recognizes the significance of Woodson’s absence but understands that the unit’s talent along with his leadership will keep the unit strong.
“I believe my leadership role has become more important now than ever,” Hall said. “I also think that with Coach Ball [Chris Ball] being the defensive coordinator, he has a game plan like no other that will put our young but relentless talent in situations where we can make plays and win games. We may have some playmakers, and we for sure have the coaches to put us in the right positions to make plays.”
The Tigers’ new defensive back coach TJ Rushing spoke with The Daily Helmsman about how his relationships with the defensive backs have been over the summer.
“I think we gained a quick rapport,” Rushing said. “I think that the coaches here have done a good job of earning all the players’ trust, and so they trust that whoever they brought in would do a good job, so it made my job easy whenever I got here. All the guys were ready to learn and ready to buy in, and they did it. So, it made it easy, made it fun, and it’s been making it enjoyable.”
Head coach Mike Norvell leads the Tigers onto the field before a game last season. This year, the team hopes to rebuild the offense quarterback Riley Ferguson and star wide receiver Anthony Miller left holes in.
The Tiger football team gets set for a snap during training camp. The team will open against Mercer on Sept. 1.
