Tag: Justin Fuente

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Memphis Tiger Football

Photo by Wes Hale.

The University of Memphis football program needs to be in a bigger, better conference than the American Athletic. This is a topic much discussed, and one that won’t go away until the dream is realized. The program is just as desperate, though, for a rival. A true, villainous, pure-evil, dressed-in-black-even-when-they’re-not rival. Which made Saturday’s game at UAB fun, and somewhat special as the Tigers work their way through a watered-down AAC schedule. The first “Battle for the Bones” in 11 years meant the heaviest rack of ribs — if not heaviest trophy — in college football would see daylight again. (The trophy weighs more than 90 pounds.) After a slow start, Memphis walloped the Blazers, 45-21, to improve to 5-2 on the season and retain ownership of those bronze bones. It felt like the Tigers turned back a rival.

Is UAB the Tigers’ answer for that role of gridiron gremlin? Not long-term, I don’t believe. They’ve actually only played 16 times (Memphis has won six). Compare that with Arkansas State, a Memphis foe no fewer than 62 times. But can the Red Wolves be considered THE rival for Memphis? Not until they’re in the same conference. Ole Miss and Mississippi State aren’t the answer, both part of the privileged SEC, and both dominant historically against Memphis. Tulane feels like a rival, particularly as the Green Wave has risen to the top of the AAC and won three of the last five meetings with the Tigers. I miss the Black-and-Blue Game with Southern Miss (last played in 2012). I’m not sure which program can play this role for Memphis, but with North Texas, South Florida, and Charlotte coming up on the Tigers’ schedule, I know a void when I see it.

• Saturday’s victory at UAB was the 26th win for Ryan Silverfield as head coach of the Memphis Tigers. It’s a significant number, for me, as it matches the total Justin Fuente compiled over his four seasons (2012-2015) atop the program. This isn’t to suggest Silverfield is as good a coach as Fuente, or has had the kind of impact on the program Fuente had (he has not), but it is a connection to the man we must credit most with turning a moribund program into one expected to play in a bowl game at season’s end, one expected to compete for conference championships. Fuente inherited a bottomed-out operation that had won a total of three games the two seasons before he took over. By his third year, Fuente commanded a 10-win AAC co-champion ranked 25th in the country. There have been few turnarounds in college football history as quick or as dramatic. Silverfield is a beneficiary of that turnaround, having arrived as an assistant to Mike Norvell in 2016 when Fuente departed for Virginia Tech. Will the Tigers win 10 games this season? Win the AAC? Both seem unlikely right now. But is the Memphis program relevant, competitive, worthy of attention? Absolutely. Here’s to 26 more wins, and then some, for Ryan Silverfield.

• Memphis is the only team in the AAC with a player among the league’s top four in passing (Seth Henigan, 265.1 yards per game), rushing (Blake Watson, 84.7), and receiving (Roc Taylor, 79.4). With 593 yards, Watson has already topped last season’s Tiger rushing leader (Jevyon Ducker, 544 yards). With 556 yards, Taylor will likely top last season’s leader (Eddie Lewis, 603 yards) this Saturday at North Texas. A football team doesn’t necessarily require an offensive “big three,” but one can help win a lot of games.

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Cover Feature News

Tiger Football 2016: A Norvell Approach

The University of Memphis football program is auditioning. Surely you’ve heard the whispers — loud as sirens — that the Big 12 Conference is evaluating expansion. One of the fabled “Power Five” conferences that award member schools the largest stacks of TV and sponsorship revenue, the Big 12 has had but 10 members since Missouri and Texas A & M departed for the SEC before the 2013-14 academic year. In the interest of gaining ground — particularly when it comes to revenue — on college football’s other conference titans (SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac 12), the Big 12 is accepting hugs and kisses from schools desperate to land one of possibly four (but at least two) invitations for membership.

This, friends, is the U of M’s last, best chance to become a member of the NCAA’s ruling elite. (At least until further expansion creates “Super-Power Conferences.” Just wait. It’ll happen.) And qualifications for this form of exclusivity are wrapped in and around football. So consider the 2016 Tiger season a 12-game (hopefully 13-game) casting call. In the spirit of the league Memphis is pursuing, here are 12 storylines to follow.

Mike Norvell promises fast-playing Tigers this season.

Missing Pieces: Let’s get this out of the way. Several familiar (and historically significant) names from the 2015 season are no longer on the Tiger roster. Quarterback Paxton Lynch — a first-round NFL draft pick — has essentially taken Peyton Manning’s spot on the roster of the Super Bowl champions. Also gone are an all-conference tight end (Alan Cross), all-conference tackle (Taylor Fallin), a pair of Lynch’s favorite targets (Mose Frazier and Tevin Jones), and a running back who finished second on the team last season with 389 rushing yards (Jarvis Cooper). And, oh yeah, coach Justin Fuente — architect of the most significant turnaround in the program’s history — is now the boss at Virginia Tech. To act as though the 2016 Tiger season will be merely a continuation of last year’s success would be to insult the legacy of these departed difference-makers. The hope must be that the bar has been raised and secured high enough for new difference-makers to emerge.

A Golden Era Is Upon Us (Maybe): The Tigers won more games over the last two seasons (19) than in any other two-year period since football was first played by the U of M in 1912. With seven wins this season, a new standard would be established for a three-year period. (The Tigers won 25 games from 1961 through 1963.) College football absolutely drips with the words “tradition rich.” There are programs, sadly, that are tradition poor. Success has been infrequent and scattered over the 104 years Memphis has suited up a football team. What we’re seeing these days — remember that 15-game winning streak and beat-down of Ole Miss? — is the closest the Tiger program has come to the dawn of a significant era. Can it be golden?

The Tigers gear up for a (with hard work and a little luck) successful season.

The Norvell Way: Filling a departed coach’s shoes has not been difficult, historically, at Memphis. Typically it’s more like flip-flops, with a broken strap. But following Fuente will be different. Mike Norvell is the youngest of 128 coaches in FBS. At age 34 (he turns 35 in October), he’s less than two years older than DeAngelo Williams. The list of former wide receivers (like Norvell) who have found success as head coaches is a short one. But you’ve heard of Bear Bryant. (Hall of Famer Raymond Berry took the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XX; we’ll ignore the result.) Norvell insists his Tigers will play fast, particularly on offense where he built his credentials as a coordinator under Todd Graham, most recently at Arizona State.

“We’re gonna push the pedal to the metal, play as fast as we can,” Norvell says. “The way we practice and train, everything we do is focused on tempo. It’s an offense built for playmakers, and we have some guys here who can be very impactful.”

Among the playmakers Norvell considers integral this fall are tailbacks Doroland Dorceus (698 yards as a sophomore last year) and Darrell Henderson (a freshman), multipurpose threat Sam Craft (back from the basketball court), and receivers Anthony Miller and Phil Mayhue. With a pair of veterans — Trevon Tate and Gabe Kuhn — manning the tackle positions up front, the Tiger offense has the potential for star power. But if it’s going to approach 40 points a game (like the 2015 edition), a rookie will lead the way.

Paxton Who? “When I got here,” says Norvell, “I told the guys, if there’s one position I’ll guarantee competition, it’s quarterback.” Junior-college transfer Riley Ferguson — a member of the Tennessee program in 2013 — took the lead last spring in the Tigers’ quarterback derby, and last week Norvell named him the starter for Saturday’s opener.

Ferguson has size (6’4″, 190 lbs.) and put up solid numbers last fall at Coffeyville (KS) Community College: 67.8 completion percentage, 326.9 yards per game, and 35 touchdowns. As Norvell puts it, the Memphis quarterback will be “the guy who can truly manage the offense . . . play within the system.”

Ferguson is blessed with arm strength — a must at this level — but it’s a more intangible quality that has impressed his coach. “He came in and had a really nice mentality in how he positioned himself with the team,” Norvell says. “Guys like him as a person, but when he’s on the field, it’s all business.”

And why exactly is Ferguson a Memphis Tiger? “[Norvell] is a young coach, and I feel like I connected with him,” says Ferguson, who had been disappointed with his options after Coffeyville until Memphis swept in. “I felt I could be open with him and tell him my story, what I’ve been through. When he showed me the offense, that made me love [Memphis] even more. There’s nothing a defense can do to stop it. The only time the defense can be right is if I make a wrong read or they bring a pressure we can’t pick up. Based on the read-aspect of the offense, it’s unstoppable. And very fast.”

Fill Those Seats! While the Tigers were winning those 19 games the last two seasons, the U of M sold just under half a million tickets for 12 games at the Liberty Bowl. (465,917 to be exact, or an average of 38,826 per game.) Last year’s attendance total of 262,811 established a new record for a six-game home season, and the average attendance of 43,801 was the highest since the stadium opened in 1965.

These are great numbers by the standards of Memphis football, but they must continue to grow. With new seatback sections added, the Liberty Bowl’s capacity is now 56,862. If the program is to convince the Big 12 it’s worthy of membership, 50,000 fans on game day should not be exceptional. Consider: Last November, 55,212 fans showed up to see Memphis play Navy. (Navy! No SEC team on the other sideline.) It was the largest crowd to see a Tiger football game without an SEC foe since 1989. It’s not just the team auditioning folks.

Fall is for football, and, as the season approaches, Coach Norvell and the Tigers are pushing themselves to bring us a heaping helping of wins.

Miller Time: A year ago at this time, Fuente described wide receiver Anthony Miller as “different from anyone else we have.” And Miller had yet to catch a pass in college. As a sophomore, the pride of Christian Brothers High School hauled in 47 passes and averaged 14.7 yards per catch. He caught five touchdown passes but was one of 12 players to reach the end zone on the receiving end of a Lynch toss.

Look for Miller to be a more frequent target this season and for numbers that will capture more national attention. Ferguson has already described Miller as “the best receiver I’ve ever thrown to.” (The Memphis program has seen only one 1,000-yard receiver: Isaac Bruce in 1993.) Ferguson points to junior Phil Mayhue as another valuable target, a possession receiver who will extend drives with his route running and sure hands. When asked about Daniel Montiel, Ferguson says, “We’re gonna use the tight end a tremendous amount.”

Kickers Can Be Stars: Close football contests are often won (and lost) with the kicking game. Memphis has featured the American Athletic Conference’s Special Teams Player of the Year all three years of the league’s existence. Punter Tom Hornsey took the prize in 2013, and kicker Jake Elliott has earned the honor each of the last two seasons. Elliott and punter Spencer Smith were two of the four Tigers named first-team All-AAC after the 2015 campaign. Elliott converted 23 of 28 field-goal attempts last year (including nine of at least 40 yards), and Smith averaged 47.2 yards per punt, with 18 traveling more than 50 yards and 10 punts that pinned the Tiger opponent inside its own 10-yard line. Elliott has his sights set on the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top kicker and first won by the U of M’s Joe Allison in 1992.

Defensive Matters: The 2015 Tigers set a program record by scoring 522 points (40.1 per game). And it’s a good thing, because the Memphis defense gave up 355 (27.3 per game), an increase of 40 percent over the previous season (253 points). This is a trend Norvell and new defensive coordinator Chris Ball would like to reverse. When asked about playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, Norvell starts with linebacker Genard Avery and safety Jonathan Cook (a transfer from Alabama).

“Genard is a very versatile player,” says Norvell, “and very explosive. He maxed out the other day with a 450-pound bench and 600-pound squat. He’s one of the strongest human beings I’ve been around. He’s moving better than ever. Arthur Maulet is a guy who can be a playmaker for us. I like our defensive front. We’ve got guys up there who can create havoc. [Defense] is our most experienced group, and they have a better sense of what they can do.”

Senior linebacker Jackson Dillon has compiled 20.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage over his three seasons as a starter and aims to finish his college career with a third straight winning season, something that hasn’t happened at Memphis since 2003-05. “This is probably the best defense I’ve been a part of,” says Dillon. “Getting off the field after third down, that’s the biggest priority. Winning first and second down.”

Circle the Dates: The Tigers have an early bye week (Week 2) but seven home games. They travel to Ole Miss on October 1st (after beating the Rebels at home last year) and host Houston on November 25th (after losing to the Cougars last year in Texas). The top two teams in the AAC East will visit the Liberty Bowl (Temple on October 6th and USF on November 12th), but the Tigers must face Navy and Cincinnati on the road. The Tigers need a strong start and have three winnable home games to start the campaign (SEMO, Kansas, and Bowling Green).

Ground Control: With a former receiver calling the shots, count on the Memphis offense taking to the air with regularity. But even with the departures of Cooper and Jamarius Henderson (320 rushing yards last season), the Tigers’ ground attack is versatile and deep. Junior Doroland Dorceus led the team with 661 yards a year ago and ran for eight touchdowns. In many offenses, Dorceus would be a threat for 1,000 yards. But Sam Craft is back from the hardwood for his senior season, and freshman Darrell Henderson (from South Panola High School) is expected to get his share of carries. So the Tigers could match last season’s ground production (179.5 yards per game) but without a 1,000-yard rusher for a seventh consecutive season.

Four Words: Smart. Fast. Physical. Finish. These are the areas of emphasis Norvell has implemented, and they’re not all that different from the style of play Fuente preached for four seasons (and to profound success the last two years). A fast team, Novell believes, will hit harder and more often, making for a physical style that will be felt throughout a stadium.

“We judge the finish as strictly as anything in this program,” he adds. “We want to be better at the end than we are at the beginning.” A decent strategy, whether you’re measuring a half, a game, or an entire season.

Underdogs, Now and Forever: In its annual preseason poll, voters (among media) placed the Tigers third in the AAC’s West Division, behind Houston (the overwhelming favorite) and Navy. In handicapping Big 12 expansion, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UConn tend to get more affection (again, among media types) than does Memphis. The underdog status is a motivator for the Tiger coaching staff and players, but not a distracting one.

“I don’t care what [the polls] say,” Dillon says. “They’re just people in suits, making suggestions. They’re not out there at practice, sweating, working.”

“It’s not unexpected,” Norvell says. “We know there are challenges in front of us. If we continue to grow as a football team, we have a great opportunity to put ourselves in a position to be a contender. Last year, we were 8-0 and in prime position but didn’t finish the way we needed to. We’ve got to build ourselves and show that we’re worthy of the respect that’s out there. There’s an anxiety. You’re anxious for the season. You’re anxious to see the development of players, how everything comes together for this specific team. I think we have a chance to do some great things.”

The beauty of college football is that we spend a long offseason and six days a week talking about what could be, what might be, or what should be. Then game day arrives, and the young men in helmets and shoulder pads actually make something happen. Perhaps a year (or two) from now, the Memphis Tigers will be picked to finish fourth or fifth in a division of a new Big 12. Or perhaps they’ll be defending another AAC championship. For now, though, there’s football to be played. A welcome season in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Editorial Opinion

Let the Sun Shine In

Who said there was nothing new under the sun? Depending on your religiosity, the answer is either the Almighty Himself or the vaguely cynical old churchman who authored the Biblical text known as “Ecclesiastes.”

In any case, now that we’ve reached a point on the calendar where the sun is more or less reliably shining, let us submit the idea to the proof test.

What’s new? Between the previous warm season and the one we’re now enjoying, the University of Memphis has acquired new coaches for its two major sports programs — football and basketball. One of the newbies is Tubby Smith, who won an NCAA basketball championship at Louisville some years ago and who, as recently as last season, was named “Coach of the Year” for his work at Texas Tech. Considering that, only weeks before Smith was snagged, UM’s basketball program seemed incurably bogged down, with two straight seasons without a post-season tournament for the Tigers and a contract with then Coach Josh Pastner that had come to seem over-endowed (to many disappointed boosters, anyhow), Smith’s acquisition does indeed seem to make the sun shine brighter.

And, on the football side, there’s new coach Mike Norvell, the former offensive coordinator at Arizona State, who comes in this year to replace Justin Fuente, who, in his brief tenure, had returned the University’s football program to a measure of the sunshine it had seemed to lose in the several previous years and had won a) 19 games in a two-year span, b) a conference championship, and c) a major bowl game. Can Norvell do as well? By the reckoning of several people equipped to judge such things, Norvell’s first recruiting class may be the most promising in the nation, and, in a self-introduction of sorts to the Rotary Club of Memphis on Tuesday, the 34-year-old Norvell, the self-described “youngest head coach in college football,” certainly seemed convincing as he talked up his team as a family and promised to lead his young charges to the “next step” on their lives and to “excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.”

A tall order, maybe, but even in making his case, Norvell lit up the room. It is easy to imagine him doing the same on the practice field.

And sometimes old wine comes in new bottles and seems the riper and better for it. At the very time that political figures in Tennessee and various presidential candidates in the nation at large have been urging a revision of our criminal justice system, here comes what we judge to be a bright new idea from former Memphis schools superintendent, former Memphis mayor, former charter-school entrepreneur Willie Herenton, who two weeks ago proposed an innovative scheme to house youthful offenders in pleasant, rehab-focused local surroundings, near their homes and loved ones, rather than in far-off, menacing penal institutions that double as crime schools.

Worth a try, we say, and, best yet, Herenton, who hopes for official state support, isn’t asking local taxpayers to foot the bill.

Let the sun shine in: That’s not exactly a new idea, but it’s still a good one.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers Name Mike Norvell Football Coach

All of a sudden, Josh Pastner is the old man at the table.

The University of Memphis announced late Thursday that Mike Norvell — 34-year-old Mike Norvell — will succeed Justin Fuente as head coach of the Tiger football program. Norvell has spent the last four seasons as offensive coordinator at Arizona State under head coach Todd Graham. (The Sun Devils have gone 6-6 this season and await a bowl bid.) Norvell also served under Graham at Pitt (2011) and Tulsa (2007-10). He played wide receiver at Central Arkansas, catching more than 200 passes for more than 2,500 yards over his four years as a player.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com had high praise for Norvell: “He should continue what Justin Fuente started, and his background would be perfect if Memphis eventually moves into a Power 5 like the Big 12.”

The U of M will hold a press conference this afternoon (4:30) where the native of Irving, Texas, will be formally introduced. Highlights of the event will be posted at Tiger Blue.

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Sports Sports Feature

Former Tigers Coach Larry Porter Talks Memphis Football

CREDIT: North Carolina University

North Carolina University

UNC running backs Coach Larry Porter

“Ya’ll got it going on over there in football,” are the first words spoken by Larry Porter after his initial greeting on the phone.

The former University of Memphis football coach is now the running backs coach at North Carolina. His second year with the Tar Heels has him busy, but he keeps tabs on the program he played for in the early 1990s and coached from 2010-2011 before being fired after going 3-21.

“I’m fired up,” he says. “I’m proud of the product they are putting on the field. [Memphis coach] Justin [Fuente] has done a great job. The kids are taking what coach is telling them to the field. The community is supporting him. When you put a good product on the field people want to show up.”

Like Porter, Fuente, also struggled out of the gate, going 7-17, during his first two seasons at Memphis. With two more years at the helm, Fuente has the program moving in the right direction. The Tigers finished 10-3, including a bowl win, in 2014. The 2015 squad won eight games before dropping their first to Navy last weekend.

When asked if he feels he could have made significant improvements given more time, Porter let it be known he does not deal in “what ifs.”

“Here’s what I do know,” he says. “Memphis has moved on and I have moved on. I think the focus should be on what is going on now. Me and how I feel is irrelevant at this particular time. I’m excited the university has accomplished a lot since I left. It is a performance-based position and I understand that. But I will always be a Tiger.”

Since leaving Memphis, Porter has also been a Sun Devil at Arizona State and a Longhorn at Texas before landing in Chapel Hill. He was running backs at each stop.

In 2013, Porter’s name surfaced in a Sports Illustrated report that alleged he paid players to sign with Oklahoma State while serving as the team’s running backs coach from 2002 to 2004.
“There was no wrongdoing on my part,” says Porter. “I believe the NCAA did a full investigation and there were no issues.”

Although the football program was put on probation for not following its drug-testing policy and recruitment guidelines, the allegation of payments to players was unfounded, according to the NCAA and OSU’s independent review.

As for his job at UNC, Porter says he’s happy because he’s still doing what he loves to do.  “I always enjoy having an influence on young men,” says Porter. “(North Carolina) presents a new situation. And it’s a nice place to live.”

Still, Porter’s goal is to once again head a program of his own. “Absolutely,” he says. “It’s what drives you. It’s what should drive every coach. You do your job and you let your work speak for you.”

But he’s in no rush to move on. “My life has always been about God’s plan,” he says. “I’ve been blessed and in great situations. So we will see what happens.”

Porter’s Tar Heels are ranked 17th in the nation by AP. The team is preparing for a home game against the Miami Hurricanes. But Porter is well aware of the Tigers’ upcoming conference battle with Houston. Before hanging up the phone he has two final words: “Go Tigers!”

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Former Tigers Coach Larry Porter Talks Memphis Football

CREDIT: North Carolina University

North Carolina University

UNC running backs Coach Larry Porter

“Ya’ll got it going on over there in football,” are the first words spoken by Larry Porter after his initial greeting on the phone.

The former University of Memphis football coach is now the running backs coach at North Carolina. His second year with the Tar Heels has him busy, but he keeps tabs on the program he played for in the early 1990s and coached from 2010-2011 before being fired after going 3-21.

“I’m fired up,” he says. “I’m proud of the product they are putting on the field. [Memphis coach] Justin [Fuente] has done a great job. The kids are taking what coach is telling them to the field. The community is supporting him. When you put a good product on the field people want to show up.”

Like Porter, Fuente, also struggled out of the gate, going 7-17, during his first two seasons at Memphis. With two more years at the helm, Fuente has the program moving in the right direction. The Tigers finished 10-3, including a bowl win, in 2014. The 2015 squad won eight games before dropping their first to Navy last weekend.

When asked if he feels he could have made significant improvements given more time, Porter let it be known he does not deal in “what ifs.”

“Here’s what I do know,” he says. “Memphis has moved on and I have moved on. I think the focus should be on what is going on now. Me and how I feel is irrelevant at this particular time. I’m excited the university has accomplished a lot since I left. It is a performance-based position and I understand that. But I will always be a Tiger.”

Since leaving Memphis, Porter has also been a Sun Devil at Arizona State and a Longhorn at Texas before landing in Chapel Hill. He was running backs at each stop.

In 2013, Porter’s name surfaced in a Sports Illustrated report that alleged he paid players to sign with Oklahoma State while serving as the team’s running backs coach from 2002 to 2004.
“There was no wrongdoing on my part,” says Porter. “I believe the NCAA did a full investigation and there were no issues.”

Although the football program was put on probation for not following its drug-testing policy and recruitment guidelines, the allegation of payments to players was unfounded, according to the NCAA and OSU’s independent review.

As for his job at UNC, Porter says he’s happy because he’s still doing what he loves to do.  “I always enjoy having an influence on young men,” says Porter. “(North Carolina) presents a new situation. And it’s a nice place to live.”

Still, Porter’s goal is to once again head a program of his own. “Absolutely,” he says. “It’s what drives you. It’s what should drive every coach. You do your job and you let your work speak for you.”

But he’s in no rush to move on. “My life has always been about God’s plan,” he says. “I’ve been blessed and in great situations. So we will see what happens.”

Porter’s Tar Heels are ranked 17th in the nation by AP. The team is preparing for a home game against the Miami Hurricanes. But Porter is well aware of the Tigers’ upcoming conference battle with Houston. Before hanging up the phone he has two final words: “Go Tigers!”

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 37, #13 Ole Miss 24

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

If it’s not the biggest win in Memphis Tiger history, it will lead the conversation for years to come. After falling behind by 14 points in the game’s first six minutes, the Tigers scored 31 unanswered points, held 13th-ranked Ole Miss scoreless in the fourth quarter, and completed the program’s 13th consecutive win. Now 6-0 on the season, the Tigers will surely enter the AP Top 25 as they stare at a second half of the season packed with American Athletic Conference foes.

“I couldn’t be prouder to be associated with this city, this community, and this program today,” said Memphis coach Justin Fuente after the game. “The 8:30 Tiger Walk this morning was unbelievable. We want to encourage them to keep coming, make this place a true home advantage.” The crowd of 60,241 was the seventh-largest to see a Tiger game at the Liberty Bowl. The upset was also witnessed by a national TV audience, courtesy of ABC’s cameras.

Larry Kuzniewski

Paxton Lynch delivers.

“[Ole Miss] is really talented,” said Fuente. “You could see that on the field. But our kids clawed, fought, and scratched, and found a way to win the game.” The win is just the Tigers’ third (in 29 games) against an SEC opponent since the monumental upset of Tennessee in 1996 (the last time Memphis beat a nationally ranked opponent). The Rebels beat second-ranked Alabama four weeks ago, but now find themselves 5-2 on the season.

Tiger quarterback Paxton Lynch likely climbed some NFL draft boards by completing 39 of 53 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns, one thrown with surgical precision over 31 yards to Mose Frazier, extending the Tiger lead to 31-14 early in the third quarter. Lynch threw his first interception of the season in the second quarter, a pass deflected by Tiger wideout Jae’lon Oglesby. He now has thrown 13 touchdown passes.

Ole Miss All-America Robert Nkemdiche – a defensive tackle – was lost for the game carrying the ball on a third-and-one play early in the second quarter. He suffered a concussion on the play. “Every time he goes in on offense, they give him the ball,” said Tiger linebacker Jackson Dillon. “So we just swarmed him.”

Ole Miss opened the scoring with a trick play just 20 seconds into the game. Rebel receiver Laquon Treadwell took a lateral pass from Chad Kelly, then tossed a lob to Quincy Adeboyejo who pranced down the right sideline for a 68-yard touchdown.

“I thought it was a great call for them,” said Fuente, “knowing how excited we were to play. We over-committed and they hit us. We didn’t make a tremendous amount of adjustments. We were able to put some pressure on the quarterback, keep the ball in front of us.” The Tiger defense came up with two fourth-down stops, one at the Rebel 34-yard line late in the second quarter that ultimately led to a six-yard scoring strike from Lynch to sophomore Anthony Miller. For the game, Miller caught 10 passes for 132 yards.

Ole Miss marched 68 yards in just over a minute of playing time and pulled within ten points (31-21) on a touchdown pass from Kelly to Treadwell midway through the third quarter. A 24-yard field goal by Gary Wunderlich with 16 seconds to play in the period brought the Rebels within a touchdown of the lead. But the Tigers chewed up much of the clock in the final period behind the running of Jarvis Cooper (76 yards on 17 carries), extending their lead with a pair of field goals by Jake Elliott, who moved into fifth place on the Memphis career-scoring chart (256 points).
Larry Kuzniewski

Drew Kyser clears a path for Jarvis Cooper.

Alan Cross caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Lynch to open the Memphis scoring in the first quarter, breaking the Tiger career record for scores by a tight end (13). Cross was effusive in his praise of Lynch after the big win. “He’s come a long way,” said Cross. “I’ve seen him go from a young man to a man in just the snap of a finger. Today he kept his composure, made some good reads, made some good slide protections. He’s a good leader.”

The Tigers outgained the Rebels, 491 yards to 480, and held Ole Miss to 40 rushing yards on 24 carries. Sophomore safety Chris Morley led Memphis with seven unassisted tackles, one of them in the Rebel backfield.

Noted Fuente, “I think there was a point in the first quarter when the guys were like, ‘Yeah, maybe Coach hasn’t been lying to us. Maybe we can do this.’ My message has been you don’t have to be better than you are. You don’t have to be somebody you’re not. Your best you is what we need. We need you to prepare, we need you to play well. They settled down and made some plays.”

When asked about the remarkable progress the Memphis program has made in less than four years on his watch, Fuente deflected the spotlight as best he can. “If you think there have been distractions before, wait till now,” he said. “I’m going to continue to try and protect them, but I know the attention will come. I appreciate [the magnitude of today’s win], and I don’t want to diminish that. I respect that. But it cannot be our focus. We are in the middle of a season. I’m going to relish it for a few hours with my family, but then we have to turn the page.”

On the next page will be a Friday-night tilt at Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane lost at East Carolina today to fall to 3-3 on the season. The Tigers will return to the Liberty Bowl on Halloween when Tulane comes to town.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Power of One Man

It is amazing to see how one man is able to create such joy. He attracted thousands upon thousands of people of all races and religious backgrounds to galvanize around a common ideal. His followers clapped and cheered with the ecstasy that comes with the release of long-held, pent-up emotion, and everyone seemed so happy. A record number of people watched him this week on national TV. Even longtime doubters who had previously lost faith are returning to the fold in record numbers. No, I’m not talking about Pope Francis. I’m talking about Justin Fuente.

Did you see that game? I haven’t seen a shoot-out like that since Waco. Of course, I’m talking about the Memphis Tigers’ 53-46 win over Cincinnati last week. It was all you could ask for in a football game: 45,000 screaming fans, lots of scoring and suspense, thrilling long runs and acrobatic catches, and a key interception to end the game. What a way for the Tigers to make their national television debut.

The Liberty Bowl wasn’t packed out, but I’ll bet it will be soon. The Fuente-coached Tigers were 7-17 after the first two seasons. Now they’ve won 11 in a row and are averaging almost 50 points a game. I’ll leave the stats to Geoff Calkins, but most impressive for me is that the Tigers are 4-0. The last time the Tigers went 4-0 was in 1961, and risking the revelation of my decrepitude, I was there.

My father took me to the games of the then-Memphis State University in Crump Stadium when I was a child. That’s where I first learned to hate the Confederate flag. Ole Miss fans would come to town with lots of swagger and would take over the Peabody Hotel. They were drunk and obnoxious and treated Memphis like a home game. In the stadium, they would wave a sea of Stars and Bars flags and sing “Dixie” after every touchdown, with Colonel Reb smiling from the sidelines. The roar of that “Hotty Toddy” cheer still rings in my ears. It was among the first uses of public profanity heard in the South, and parents covered their children’s ears before the revolting Rebel fans yelled, “by damn!”

The Memphis side of the stands responded with thundering chants of “Go to hell, Ole Miss, go to hell!” Dad didn’t object, so I guessed it was alright in this context. What amazed me most was my father’s reaction to a Memphis State touchdown. Not ordinarily a demonstrative man, he would leap to his feet, look at me, and holler, “whoo hoo hoo,” several times in a row. I always found it interesting that he had such enthusiasm when it wasn’t even his school. He just adopted the Tigers and passed the custody on to me.

Billy “Spook” Murphy was coach in 1961, and the quarterback was the “golden boy,” James Earl Wright. I always smiled when I thought of what his monogrammed shirts spelled. Wright was injured, and the torch was passed to Central High graduate Russell Vollmer. Both men have since been inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. With Vollmer as quarterback, the Tigers went 26-3-1 in three seasons.

Any old-timer can see the comparisons to Paxton Lynch. There’s a problem, unfortunately, with Coach Fuente. How you gonna keep him down on the farm after he’s seen the national spotlight? There’s no question that he’s already in demand at major colleges with huge football budgets, but since this is Fuente’s team, wouldn’t it be nice if he stayed in Memphis and built a powerhouse?

Of course anything can happen, and like most fans, I’m not looking past the University of South Florida. But with an electrified fan base in Memphis, Ole Miss better watch their ass next time they come to town. And, oh yeah, the Pope was a winner too.

Randy Haspel writes the “Recycled Hippies” blog, where a version of this column first appeared.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 53, Cincinnati 46

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

It’s a measure of the Memphis football program’s growth that a crowd of 45,172 could be drawn to the Liberty Bowl for a game — on Thursday night — that they could have watched on TV at home with the rest of the country courtesy of ESPN. And with nary an SEC foe in sight.

But how do Memphis and Cincinnati — merely front-runners in the American Athletic Conference — keep such a crowd (and national audience) energized? How about combining for 1,322 yards of offense, 12 touchdowns, and 11 lead changes in 60 minutes of game action. Not until Tiger linebacker Leonard Pegues picked off a desperation toss by Bearcat quarterback Hayden Moore with six seconds left — inside the Memphis 
Larry Kuzniewski

Sam Craft

20-yard line — were the Tigers able to secure a program-record 11th straight victory and a 4-0 start to the 2015 season. In doing so, Memphis earned its first AAC win of the season and dropped league favorite Cincinnati to 0-2 in AAC play.

“I want to thank our fans and the city of Memphis for putting on such a great show tonight,” said Memphis coach Justin Fuente, whose career record is now, for the first time, above .500 (21-20). “It was a special atmosphere. We have a lot of improvement to do, on both sides of the ball. I felt lucky at halftime to only be down two points. But we found a way to get it done. Our kids showed great perseverance. There were things I didn’t like: too many penalties [nine for 100 yards] and we didn’t play well defensively [752 yards on 100 plays by Cincinnati]. The kids have worked incredibly hard. We’re not in uncharted territory when it comes to being in battles. I’m happy that we won, but 752 yards is not something I’m proud of.”

Just five days after scoring 44 points in a win at Bowling Green, the Tigers extended a program-record of consecutive 40-point games to six (dating back to the end of the 2014 season). The U of M’s final points of the night were scored on a three-yard run by junior Sam Craft with 53 seconds to play. After losing a fumble on his team’s opening possession, Craft found some vindication by carrying on three successive plays for the final 20 yards in the Tigers’ game-winning drive.

Larry Kuzniewski

Justin Fuente

“Sam’s one of the first guys who came here over other places,” noted Fuente. “He’s from Memphis. I know he was excited to play tonight. This game meant a lot to him on a personal level. When he struggled early, I wanted him to know that we were going to come back to him, and he’d play a big role in the game. Maybe he was too excited. But I wanted him to know he’s important to us.

Also important to the Tiger cause is quarterback Paxton Lynch. The junior completed 24 of 36 passes for 412 yards and two touchdowns, one of them for 82 yards in the first quarter to Anthony Miller, the longest scoring strike of Lynch’s career. For the season, Lynch has now thrown eight touchdown passes without an interception. He also carried the ball 11 times for a team-high 61 yards (losing nine yards on a Bearcat sack) and converted a two-point conversion that gave Memphis a 46-39 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“I told the defensive guys to just keep plugging away,” said Lynch. “Like last week when we were in a shootout with Bowling Green, just get a stop, give the offense a chance. We believe in each other and always have each others’ backs. We’re resilient; we never give up. We’ll fight to the last minute of a game.”

Are such games energizing for a quarterback? Or just tiring? “Definitely very tiring,” he said. “And emotional, but that’s how football is. You play long enough, you’re bound to play in one of these games. You just have to stay locked in. The mindset is to go out and score on every drive.”

Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel went down on a violent (but legal) hit from Tiger cornerback Chauncey Lanier late in the first quarter. He was taken to a local hospital where reports had him conscious and moving all extremities. Reserve Hayden Moore (a redshirt freshman) completed 31 of 53 passes for 557 yards and four touchdowns. Three Cincinnati receivers accumulated more than 100 yards for the night: Max Morrison (162), Chris Moore (153), and Shaq Washington (120).

Over its last two games, the Memphis defense has allowed a combined 1,063 yards through the air. Dion Witty led Memphis with eight solo tackles. Reserve cornerback Arthur Maulet returned an interception 59 yards for the Tigers’ first touchdown of the game in the first quarter.

Miller led the Tigers with 156 yards on five catches. Roderick Proctor had 78 on just three receptions. The Tigers have scored 215 points in their first four games. The program record is 471, scored over 13 games last season.

When asked about the magnitude of reaching 11 straight wins less than four full seasons after inheriting a team near the bottom of college football’s barrel, Fuente deferred such a big-picture view. “I have a hard time with that,” he said. “I’m happy for the program, but for me, it’s about the season. I know how many difficult challenges we have ahead, and how much better we’ve got to get to win just one more game. I’m proud of it, but I’m kind of a small-picture guy. We’re trying to focus on just one at a time. The bottom line is we’re 1-0 in the conference and now we go to South Florida next week.”

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

My Choice for Memphis Mayor

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Larry Kuzniewski

Justin Fuente

Early voting has begun, and I’ve made my choice for the next mayor of Memphis.

My pick for mayor is an up-and-comer who loves a challenge. What some might call “the worst job in the country,” he calls an opportunity.
He balances a lot of responsibilities at his current high-pressure job. But he manages and delegates effectively. He and a few assistants oversee a team of about 90 people, most of whom are only high school-educated.

He hasn’t been in Memphis long, but his outsider perspective means he’s not cynical and defeatist.

He’s not above working on weekends – in fact, he lives for a Saturday at the office.

Sorry A C, Jim, Mike, and Harold. Maybe next time, Mongo. There’s one man who has shown he has the guts, vision, and leadership to tackle seemingly insurmountable odds and effect real, positive change.

His name is Justin Fuente. He coaches the University of Memphis football team.

I know what you’re probably thinking, and, at first, I didn’t believe in him either. I even called him “another ‘who’ hire instead of a ‘wow'” the day it was announced he’d been selected to coach my alma mater’s embarrassment of a football team. I don’t remember whom I preferred at the time, or why I even thought anyone else would be crazy enough to take the job, but I will happily admit I was wrong. With the success Fuente has had here, I’m more inclined to call him a genius or a wizard than a coach. If he can fix Memphis football, let’s see what else he can do.

If Coach Fuente can transform the Memphis football program from trolley fire to conference champion in just three seasons, I’d like to see what he can do for Memphis Animal Services. Did you see that reverse flea-flicker Paxton Lynch threw Saturday at Bowling Green? That demonstrates that Fuente’s not scared to get creative and make bold decisions, a strength I would like to see him apply in addressing the city’s issues with blight.

We talk about attracting and retaining talent to the city, and so far he seems to have done a pretty good job with that. Just imagine the positive attention the city will get if Memphis beats Ole Miss this season. If that happens, we should bypass the mayor thing and crown him King of Memphis for life eternal so he never moves on to a “bigger” job. What better gig is there than king?

I’m sure he’d decline, deflecting the praise onto his players and assistant coaches. But it would backfire, because that kind of humility is another leadership quality that would make him a perfect mayor and/or king of the city. Shoot, bring the staff along too. City Council, start packing your things. I’d offer the players something too, but I’d hate for some NCAA violations to interfere with these good-time feelings in Tiger Nation.  

Former U of M athletic director R.C. Johnson used to say “It’s a great day to be a Tiger,” and it made me cringe every time. But we can finally say without irony that these are halcyon days indeed for Your Memphis Tigers, who have started the season 3-0 for the first time since 2004. That means they’re already halfway to bowl eligibility for the second year in a row, with a  fairly friendly schedule ahead. They’ve won 10 straight games for the first time since Kennedy was president. That’s good for one of the longest winning streaks in the country. In football! Can you believe it? It still feels a little like Bizarro World to me.

For others, it feels too good to be true. Every postgame show, at least one caller asks: “How long before somebody snatches him up?” “What happens when he’s gone?” “What do we have to do to keep him here?” How typically and hilariously Memphis is that? “Things are going great, so we should probably start preparing ourselves for when it all inevitably goes to hell.”

I understand. Sports fans in this town have been burned before. But I promise it’s OK. If I had a dollar for every time a fellow alum told me “I love Tiger basketball, but I root for (insert SEC school here) in football ’cause … you know …” I could upgrade my season tickets. Now? They’re complaining about having to work in the morning after attending Thursday night’s Cincinnati game. The train’s on the tracks (literally, it’s on Southern just south of the stadium), and it’s moving in the right direction. Enjoy it.

Jen Clarke is an unapologetic Memphian and a digital marketing strategist.