(QB Seth Henigan – 247Sports)
Key Players Returning:
QB Seth Henigan, WR Demeer Blankumsee, WR/PR Koby Drake, WR Roc Taylor, TE Anthony Landphere, OC Jonah Gambill, OG Xavier Hill, DE CorMontae Hamilton, DT Keveion’ta Spears, LB Chandler Martin, FS Greg Rubin, KR Sutton Smith, and PK/PT Tanner Gillis.
Key Players Departing:
RB Blake Watson, WR Joseph Scates, OC Jacob Likes, OG Davion Carter, OT Makylan Pounders, DE Jaylon Allen, DT Josh Ellison, LB Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, LB Cincir Evans, CB DeAgo Brumfield (Mississippi State transfer), SS Simeon Blair, and PT Reid Bauer.
(LB Elijah Herring – Icon Sportswire)
Top 10 Recruits:
4 Star Recruits: WR Keondre Henry (Lake Dallas, Texas).
3 Star Recruits: LB Elijah Herring (Tennessee transfer), DS Tahj Ra-El (Old Dominion transfer), RB Mario Anderson (South Carolina transfer), RB Greg Desrosiers Jr. (Massachusetts transfer), CB Jaidyn Denis (Elon transfer), QB Arrington Maiden (College Station, Texas), ATH Chalil Cummings (Starke, Florida), OL Kobe Williams (Amory, Mississippi), and DE Jalen Charles (Mavel, Texas).
2023 Results:
G01 BETHUNE-COOKMAN W 56-14
G02 @ Arkansas State W 37-3
G03 NAVY W 28-24
G04 vs. Missouri L 27-34
G05 BOISE STATE W 35-32
G06 TULANE L 21-31
G07 @ UAB W 45-21
G08 @ North Texas W 45-42
G09 SOUTH FLORIDA W 59-50
G10 @ Charlotte W (OT) 44-38
G11 SMU L 34-38
G12 @ Temple W 45-21
BOWL vs. Iowa State W 36-26
Misc. Team Information:
2023 Record: 10-3 (4th in AAC)
Home: 4-2
Away: 5-0
Neutral: 1-1
AAC: 6-2
Non-AAC: 4-1
Head Coach: Ryan Silverfield
Memphis: 31-19
Career: 31-19
Bowls: 3-1
(WR Roc Taylor – Memphis Athletics)
Returning Statistical Leaders:
Passing: Seth Henigan (318-476, 3883 yards, 66.8%, 8.2 avg., 32 TD, 9 INT)
Rushing: Sutton Smith (63 car., 305 yards, 4.8 avg., 2 TD)
Receiving: Roc Taylor (69 rec., 1083 yards, 15.7 avg., 4 TD)
TDs Scored: Brandon Thomas (9)
Sacks: Chandler Martin (3)
Tackles: Chandler Martin (95)
Interceptions: Cameron Smith (2)
Pass Deflections: DJ Bell/An’darius Coffey/Greg Rubin (3)
Tackles For Loss: Chandler Martin (17)
Forced Fumbles: Bryce Edmondson/Chandler Martin (2)
Kick Returns: Sutton Smith (21 ret., 509 yards, 24.2 avg., 0 TD)
Punt Returns: Koby Drake (15 ret., 1118 yards, 7.9 avg., 0 TD)
Kicking: Tanner Gillis (10-13 fg/fga., 77%, 47-49 xp/xpa., 77 pts.)
Punting: None
Projected Offensive Starters:
QB: 2 Seth Henigan (JR)
RB: 2 Mario Anderson (SR/TR)
WR: 3 Roc Taylor (JR)
WR: 10 Koby Drake (RS SR)
WR: 0 Demeer Blankumsee (RS SR/TR)
TE: 82 Anthony Landphere (RS JR/TR)
LT: 52 Jaylen Nichols (GR/TR)
LG: 71 Xavier Hill (RS JR/TR)
OC: 65 Josh Gambill (RS SR)
RG: 54 Trent Holler (RS SR/TR)
RT: 70 Keydrell Lewis (SR/TR)
KR: 5 Sutton Smith (SO)
PK: 43 Caden Costa (SR/TR)
Projected Defensive Starters:
DE: 12 CorMontae Hamilton (RS SR/TR)
DT: 93 Devin Baldwin (RS SR/TR)
NT: 50 Patrick Lucas Jr. (RS SR/TR)
DE: 8 Javon Denis (GR/TR)
LB: 11 Chandler Martin (RS JR/TR)
LB: 32 Javante Mackey (RS SO/TR)
LB: 31 Elijah Herring (JR/TR)
CB: 1 Davion Ross (RS SR/TR)
CB: 7 Kobee Minor (SR/TR)
FS: 24 Greg Rubin (SR)
SS: 0 Kourtlan Marsh (SR/TR)
PR: 10 Koby Drake (RS SR)
PT: 13 Joshua Sloan (SR/TR)
(LB Chandler Martin – Commercial Appeal)
Team Grades:
Offense
Quarterbacks: A
Running Backs: C
Wide Receivers: C
Offensive Line: A
Defense
Defensive Line: C
Linebackers: A
Secondary: C
Special Team
Kick Returners: A
Punt Returners: B
Kicking: A
Punting: A
Schedule:
08/31 NORTH ALABAMA LIONS | Memphis won (59-0) the only prior meeting between schools in 2022.
09/07 TROY TROJANS | Memphis leads the series 4-1. The Tigers won (32-0) the last meeting between schools in 1941.
09/14 @ FSU Seminoles | Memphis trails the series 7-10-1. The Tigers lost (3-35) the last meeting between schools in 1990.
09/21 @ Navy Midshipmen | Memphis leads the series 6-3. The Tigers won (28-24) last season’s meeting between schools, and their last series loss (21-22) was in 2018.
09/28 MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS | Memphis trails the series 9-17-1. The Tigers won (36-17) the last meeting between schools in 2014.
10/11 @ USF Bulls | Memphis leads the series 8-4. The Tigers are 5-1 since 2014, and their last series loss (42-49) was in 2016.
10/19 NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN | Memphis leads the series 18-4. The Tigers won (45-42) the last season’s meeting between schools, and their last series loss (10-29) dates back to 1980.
10/26 CHARLOTTE 49ERS | Last season’s 44-38 win was the first meeting between schools.
11/02 @ UTSA Roadrunners | The Tigers lost (28-31) the only prior meeting between schools in 2021.
11/08 RICE OWLS | The series is tied 2-2. The Tigers won (14-10) the last meeting between schools in 2012.
11/16 UAB BLAZZERS | Memphis trails the series 6-10. Last season’s 45-21 win was the first meeting between schools since 2012.
11/28 @ Tulane Green Wave | Memphis leads the series 24-15-1. The Tigers are 6-4 since 2014, and their last series win (33-28) was in 2021.
Predictions:
Home: 7-0
Away: 4-1
Neutral: 1-0
AAC: 8-0
Non-AAC: 4-1
Overall: 12-1 (1st in AAC/AAC Champions)
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