My favorite cheers every year on Senior Day are for the names we don’t often hear (if at all) over the Liberty Bowl’s p.a. system. These are the student-athletes who have put in the time on the practice field, in the weight room, in film sessions . . . with little chance for game-day glory. Football is a bruising sport, a draining enterprise if you’re a starter. But it can be just as bruising (and emotionally draining) if your collisions come via the scout team. So make sure you’re standing when wide receiver Isaiah Farris (Overton High School), running back Darius Lee, and quarterback Jason Stewart are introduced before Saturday’s season finale with SMU. The last day you put on a helmet and shoulder pads is significant, no matter the level or amount of playing time you get.
The Tigers have enjoyed a renaissance on the offensive line under coach Justin Fuente. There was a time (before Fuente’s arrival) when the notion of “two deep” on the O-line was an absurdity. This season, eight players have had at least one start in the trenches for the Memphis offense. Ryan Mack (Wooddale) joined the Memphis program this year as a grad student (having earned his bachelor’s degree at Louisville) and started three games early in the season. Micah Simmons will finish his career with more than 40 appearances for the Tigers, having first made an impact on special teams as a true freshman in 2012. Tyler Uselton joined the program in 2014 after cutting his teeth at Butler Community College. He started all 13 games for last year’s AAC champions and started the first five games this season (all Tiger wins). Taylor Fallin is another 40-game player, first gaining notice in 2012 when he was named to C-USA’s All-Freshman team. He started 10 games as a sophomore, 12 as a junior, and has manned the all-important left-tackle position this season, protecting Paxton Lynch’s blind side during the quarterback’s record-breaking season.
Five seniors have started at least five games this season for the Memphis defense. Defensive end Ricky Hunter has two sacks among his 22 tackles this season (and 13 sacks for his career). Hunter started five games as a redshirt freshman in 2012 and will finish his career with more than 40 appearances in blue and gray. Safety Reggis Ball has appeared in 48 consecutive games for the U of M dating back to his redshirt-freshman season of 2012. He leads the Tigers with three interceptions this season and has five for his career. Ball returned his first pick 93 yards against SMU in 2013, a game in which he also blocked a Mustang punt. Safety Dion Witty has accumulated 22 tackles and an interception (against Ole Miss) this season, seeing the field in nickel packages and starting five games. Linebacker Leonard Pegues (Olive Branch High School) leads the Tigers in total tackles (60), with 39 solo stops. He appeared in all 37 games from his freshman (2012) through junior (2014) seasons. Linebacker Wynton McManis (Olive Branch) has served as a Tiger captain this season. He leads Memphis with 46 solo tackles and has 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Alan Cross (Millington High School) joined the Tiger program as a walk-on in 2011 and will leave having scored more touchdowns (15 to date, one of them rushing) than any other tight end in U of M history. Cross was named to the Tigers’ leadership council as merely a sophomore in 2013. Wide receiver Tevin Jones is one of five Tigers to reach 300 yards in receiving this season and has averaged 15.7 yards per catch. In just three seasons, Mose Frazier (Whitehaven) has climbed to fifth in career receptions as a Tiger (129). With 1,496 career yards, he needs just 32 more to crack the top 10 in that category. He’s been Lynch’s favorite target this season, catching 64 passes for 694 yards. And he will live forever in one sportswriter’s mind, his name an instant thought-bubble whenever he was tackled: “Down Mose Frazier!”
The finest salute these seniors can be given, of course, would be counting the win total for their last two seasons as Tigers. The last year a senior class departed with (at least) 18 wins over its last two seasons? 1950.
