Tag: Mike Norvell

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• Since the Tigers’ remarkable win at Houston on October 19th (their sixth victory of the season), not a single person has spoken the words “bowl eligibility” to me. Remember when simply becoming eligible for one of more than 30 bowl games was a big deal for the Memphis program? When you go three decades without playing a postseason game (as Memphis did from 1972 to 2002), qualifying for an extra game in December is indeed a big deal.

Those days are gone. The Tigers will play in a bowl game for a fourth straight season, an unprecedented stretch for the program. We’ve reached the point where the strength of a bowl game matters to Memphis, and the 2017 Tigers have the chance to play on or near New Year’s Day, one sacred “Group of Five” slot open in the still-new format that sends 12 teams to “New Year’s Six” bowl games (including four to the national semifinals). The very idea of Memphis being discussed for such elite placement — here in late October — is a cultural shift that would have been impossible to envision as recently as 2011. Better yet, the Tigers control their positioning (at least until selection of the “Group of Five” representative). Win their remaining four games and Memphis plays for the American Athletic Conference championship. Win the AAC title and “bowl eligibility” will seem as distant a notion as the T formation.
Larry Kuzniewski

Tony Pollard

• If you can turn away from the heroics of Anthony Miller, Riley Ferguson, and Tony Pollard (five kickoff-return touchdowns in two seasons) just briefly, the play of Austin Hall and T.J. Carter on the Tiger defense has transformed this team. During one of the first visits I had with Memphis coach Mike Norvell, he emphasized that playmakers must be found on the defensive side of the ball. A potent offense is invaluable, but defensive playmakers can turn a tight game. That’s precisely what we saw on October 14th, when two Hall interceptions were integral in a three-point win over Navy. Then five days later, Carter grabbed his fourth interception of the season, forced a fumble, and accumulated 14 tackles in a four-point win at Houston. To no one’s surprise, Hall and Carter were each named the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Week. The Tiger defense has room to improve, starting with its pass rush. But with Hall (a sophomore) and Carter (a freshman) in the secondary, holes are going to be filled and mistakes (by opposing offenses) punished. Lots to like in this playmaking pair.

• Through four games of its seven-game home schedule, the Tigers have averaged 34,579 fans at the Liberty Bowl. This is a deceiving average, as only 10,263 tickets were sold for the season-opener against Louisiana-Monroe, a game played in near-hurricane conditions. Memphis has drawn more than 40,000 for its last three games (UCLA, Southern Illinois, and Navy). It will be interesting to see the turnout for the three remaining home games: Tulane (Friday), SMU (November 18th), and East Carolina (November 25th). These aren’t the kind of opponents that typically drive ticket sales, but the circumstances (as noted above) are unique this year. Every game the Tigers win makes the next one more significant. Memphis will surely average more than 30,000 fans a fourth straight year, a streak last seen from 2003 to 2006 (three of those “DeAngelo Years”). The question, really, is can the average climb to 40,000? It’s happened only four times in Liberty Bowl history: 1976, 2003, 2004, and 2015.

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Sports Tiger Blue

#25 Memphis 42, Houston 38

We need to be careful about over-using the word epic in describing victories. But in erasing a 17-point deficit at league-rival Houston for their second win in six days, the Memphis Tigers may indeed have secured just such a win Thursday night. Tiger quarterback Riley Ferguson connected with sophomore tight end Sean Dykes — a native of Houston, Texas — for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 left in the game to give Memphis a sweep of its season’s toughest two-game test. Now with a record of 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the American Athletic Conference, Memphis has a path to the AAC West Division championship, having beaten both Navy and Houston.

The first half was as ugly as the second was epic for the Tigers, with six punts and a pair of turnovers allowing the Cougars to take command on the scoreboard. A rare Anthony Miller fumble and a Ferguson interception in Houston territory led to 10 of Houston’s 17 first-half points. The Tigers’ freshman kicker, Riley Patterson, missed a 52-yard field-goal attempt after Houston coach Major Applewhite used three consecutive timeouts at the end of the half, the first time in 64 games Memphis played 30 minutes of football without scoring.

Riley Ferguson, Anthony MIller

Gamesmanship can backfire, though, and the Tigers played like a motivated bunch after halftime. They scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions, four on runs by Patrick Taylor and another on Tony Pollard‘s third kickoff return for a touchdown this season (and the fifth of his two-year career). Pollard’s 93-yard return came with 6:11 left to play in the third quarter, immediately after the Cougars had taken a 24-7 lead on a one-yard run by Duke Catalon.

A fumble by Houston quarterback Kyle Postma early in the fourth quarter was the defensive stop Memphis needed to tighten the margin. (Junior cornerback Tito Windham stripped the ball, which was recovered by freshman nose tackle John Tate.) Taylor’s third touchdown (after an apparent Houston interception in the end zone was ruled incomplete upon review) brought Memphis within 31-28 with 11:15 left in the game.

Postma found Steven Dunbar for an 8-yard score on Houston’s next possession to extend the lead back to 10 points. But the Tigers’ again answered, this time with a drive keyed by a bomb to Miller, who finished the game with 10 catches for 178 yards. Taylor’s fourth touchdown made the score 38-35 with 5:32 to play.

The Memphis defense finally managed to force a Houston punt, giving Patterson and friends the ball with 3:17 to play at their own 20-yard line. Ferguson completed passes to Pollard, Miller, Taylor, and freshman Damonte Coxie to set up the game-winner to Dykes.

Mike Norvell

Houston had two more possessions, but each ended with turnovers, the latter on freshman cornerback T.J. Carter‘s fourth interception of the season. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 4-3 (2-2).

Ferguson finished the game with 471 yards passing, completing 33 of his 53 throws. In addition to his kickoff-return heroics, Pollard caught nine passes for 91 yards. Memphis gained 501 yards in total offense (and allowed the Houston offense 554).

Memphis now has seven full days to prepare for Tulane. The Green Wave (3-3 and facing USF Saturday) visits the Liberty Bowl on Friday, October 27th. Three of the Tigers’ four remaining regular-season games will be at home.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• Something is rotten in the state of defense, at least the version played by the Memphis Tigers. Four games into the 2017 season, Memphis ranks 126th nationally (out of 130 teams) in total defense, allowing 513.5 yards per game. Last weekend’s debacle at UCF was the second time the Tigers have allowed at least 40 points this season, and the eighth such game since the start of the 2016 season. Injuries have compromised defensive coordinator Chris Ball’s unit (perhaps most significantly the loss of pass rusher Jackson Dillon for the season). But games must still be played. Four teams on the Tigers’ remaining schedule are averaging more than 450 yards of offense, including the next two (UConn and Navy). We’ve reached the point where an old cliche applies: The Tigers’ best defense is a strong offense. The irony, though, is that Memphis has a quick-strike attack, one capable of scoring in less than three minutes of possession time. Short drives mean only more time on the field for that 126th-ranked defense. Head coach Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey face an uncomfortable challenge: score lots of points . . . but do it slowly.

Jay McCoy

• With his third touchdown catch of the season (against Southern Illinois), Tiger receiver Anthony Miller became just the fourth Memphis player to score 25 career touchdowns. You’ve surely heard of DeAngelo Williams (60 TDs from 2002 to 2005). And Dave Casinelli (36, 1960-63). Each of them has had his jersey number retired by the U of M. But what can you tell me about Jay McCoy, who scored 27 touchdowns as a Tiger? I had to call on the preeminent Tiger historian of them all — sideline reporter Matt Dillon — to learn about this unsung star, who did his damage at the Liberty Bowl from 1968 to 1970. “Coach [Billy] Murphy used him generally to run outside as a tailback,” says Dillon, “but he was strong enough to get tough yards between the tackles if needed. Jay was one of the most versatile players in that era when it was basically three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense. He was also called on to be the backup kicker on field goals and PATs [as a senior]. Skeeter Gowen got most of the publicity McCoy’s last two years, but Jay was one of those multipurpose guys who held everything together. One of the very underrated players in Tiger history.” McCoy is one of only six non-kickers to lead the Tigers in scoring twice (1968 and 1970). He scored 10 touchdowns as a sophomore, eight as a junior, and nine as a senior.

• New England is lovely in the fall. This trip to Connecticut comes at a perfect time for the Tigers. You see, the Huskies rank 127th in total defense, allowing 541.8 yards per game. Their only win this season came against Holy Cross in the opener. Memphis and UConn haven’t played since the 2014 season, when the Tigers won handily (41-10) at the Liberty Bowl. The U of M, though, lost (handily) its only game in East Hartford, the 2013 season finale (Justin Fuente’s second on the sidelines for Memphis). Norvell didn’t pull any verbal punches at his press conference Monday: “I’m embarrassed as a head coach for how we had them prepared to play [at UCF]. We’re going to respond. Talk is cheap; what you see is who you are.” Friday night will indeed be a time for the Memphis football program to respond, and reset its direction for a season not so young any more.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 48, #25 UCLA 45

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

“One game cannot define a season,” said Memphis football coach Mike Norvell shortly after his Tigers had beaten the 25th-ranked UCLA Bruins at the Liberty Bowl. “But one game can be remembered.”

Saturday’s nationally televised game featured a combined 93 points and 1,193 yards of offense, but may come to be remembered for the final 10 minutes, during which neither team managed a point. Senior receiver Phil Mayhue caught a three-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Riley Ferguson to give Memphis a 48-45 lead with 9:56 to play. It was Ferguson’s sixth touchdown pass of the day, the game’s sixth lead change, and, as it turned out, the final points of the contest.
Larry Kuzniewski

Riley Ferguson

“That was an exceptional game,” said Norvell. “We talked all summer about this game being a showcase game. Memphis showed well today. Not just our football team, but the community support, every aspect of what we’re trying to do. We didn’t play a perfect game; there were mistakes we made. And against a really good football team. But our guys continued to push, continued to battle. I’m so proud, top to bottom.” A crowd of 46,291 attended the game despite the ABC broadcast and the visiting team traveling across two time zones (with a relatively small traveling party in the stands).

The Tigers had a chance to increase their three-point lead with the ball inside the Bruin 30-yard line with just under four minutes to play. Norvell called a fake field-goal attempt, but freshman kicker Riley Patterson’s pass was intercepted in the end zone. On its ensuing possession, UCLA was hit with an offensive pass-interference penalty. The Bruins’ final breath was extinguished when a Josh Rosen pass on fourth down was deflected by freshman cornerback Jacobi Francis.

An All-America candidate, Rosen completed 34 of 56 passes for 463 yards and four touchdowns, but tossed a pair of critical interceptions to Tiger freshmen Tim Hart and T.J. Carter. Hart returned his 60 yards for a third-quarter touchdown and Carter’s erased a fourth-quarter drive that could have given the Bruins the lead.

A graduate of Memphis University School, Hart was especially pleased to grab some spotlight after being redshirted last year. “I’ve grown a lot,” he said. “It’s a mindset. By coming here, you put your trust in the coaches. Memphis football is at a level it’s never been before. I never took a day off.”
Larry Kuzniewski

Anthony Miller

Senior wideout Anthony Miller had his first star showing of the season, catching nine passes for 185 yards. Ferguson completed 23 of 38 passes for 398 yards and six touchdowns (tying a career high, one shy of the Memphis single-game record). Tailback Darrell Henderson galloped 80 yards on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage and finished with 105 yards on the ground.

“We knew we wanted to be balanced,” said Norvell. “We played 76 snaps on offense and 91 on defense. That was a grind, and against a top-25 opponent.”

Ferguson relished the victory over a high-profile opponent (and high-profile quarterback). “We have to go out and try to score every time we take the field,” emphasized Ferguson. “No matter if the other team scores or punts us the ball. Every time. Nothing changes for us. We believe in our defense. Don’t worry about what the score is.”

As for his favorite target, Ferguson delights in what he’s come to expect as normal. “[Anthony Miller] is so good. If you throw him the ball, he’s gonna make a play. I love having him on any defensive back in the country. It gets the juices going, seeing Ant make a big-time play.” Miller caught consecutive passes — one a 41-yard, diving catch and the other for 33 yards into the end zone — to give Memphis a 27-24 lead just before halftime.

Linebacker Austin Hall and safety Jonathan Cook led the Tiger defense, each with nine tackles and one behind the line of scrimmage. Sophomore defensive tackle Jonathan Wilson sacked Rosen in the second half after serving a suspension in the first half for a targeting penalty in the Tigers’ opener against Louisiana-Monroe.

The win improves the Tigers to 2-0 after a pair of hurricane-related false starts to the season. Memphis has started each of the last three seasons 2-0, a streak unmatched since 1959-61. The Tigers will host Southern Illinois next Saturday at the Liberty Bowl in their final nonconference game of the season.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three Thoughts on Memphis Tiger Football

• There’s no feel to this season. Not yet. No rhythm (if such can be felt in a sport with weekly games). The star of the Tigers’ opener — two weeks ago — was Hurricane Harvey, or at least the last vicious breaths of that ravaging storm that so thoroughly drowned parts of Texas. Memphis escaped with a win over Louisiana-Monroe, but in front of no more than 10,000 drenched fans. Then last week’s game at UCF was mercifully cancelled, this time a hurricane proving too much, even for a football game. So we’re left with what many consider the Tigers’ biggest game of the year — UCLA and a forecast of sunshine! — and very little sense of how strong this year’s Memphis team might be. Quarterback Riley Ferguson and his band of talented receivers were declawed by the weather system on August 31st. Will they be ready to counterpunch a Bruin attack led by NFL-bound Josh Rosen under center, an offense that erased a 34-point lead in less than 20 minutes against Texas A & M? Sixty minutes of football at UCF — in reasonable conditions — would have suggested an answer. Until 11 a.m. Saturday morning, no one really knows, including the Memphis coaching staff. We’ll have a feel for the 2017 Memphis Tigers by mid-afternoon Saturday.

“Our guys, I have to give them a compliment for the maturity they’ve shown,” said Memphis coach Mike Norvell during his weekly press conference Monday. “They’ve handled a lot of different things and quite a good deal of adversity here early when it comes to the schedule and their routine. They’re definitely looking forward to this Saturday.”

• When I think of Memphis-UCLA I think of basketball. The Tigers have played in three Final Fours and faced the Bruins in two of them. Most famously, Bill Walton became a household name in the 1973 championship game, beating what remains the most famous team in Memphis sports history, one led by Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson, and Larry Kenon. Thirty-five years later, the U of M (with Derrick Rose) whipped UCLA (with Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook) in San Antonio.

The Tigers and Bruins have only played once before on the gridiron, a 42-35 UCLA win in Los Angeles in 2014. That was the Tigers’ second game of the season, Paxton Lynch’s second start at quarterback, and the first real indication that a corner might be turned for the Tiger program. Memphis had a chance in the fourth quarter to knock off the country’s 11th-ranked team. There seemed to be a renewal of hope two weeks later when Memphis handled Middle Tennessee at the Liberty Bowl. They went on to win eight of their last ten games and earn a ranking of 25 in the final AP poll. Here’s hoping this week’s game deepens the association of these two schools on the football field.

• AAC commissioner Mike Aresco likes describing his league — and the programs that comprise it — as “Power Six.” The implication is that the AAC deserves equal standing with the likes of the SEC, Big 10, and Pac-12 . . . the fabled “Power Five” that centers college football. Since the Tiger program’s revival in 2014, Memphis has played seven games against Power Five teams and won three of them. Two of those victories came against Kansas, though, one of the weakest programs in the classification.The 2015 upset of Ole Miss was historic (it extended a Tiger winning streak to an astounding 13 games). The four Power Five losses during this period: UCLA, Auburn (in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl), and Ole Miss twice. A win over UCLA — as televised live by the ABC cameras — would be a significant step in the right direction for Mike Norvell and this program. And it would give a little more credence to the notion of a “Power Six” league.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Three (Preseason) Thoughts on Tiger Football

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

• Let’s get right to a prediction, not exactly my specialty. (I had Memphians needing flashlights for the solar eclipse last week.) The Tigers will enjoy their fourth consecutive winning season, not insignificant for a program that last saw such a streak during a period Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter occupied the White House (1973-77). But how many Ws can this team collect?
Larry Kuzniewski

Mike Norvell

With no SEC team on the schedule, and no USF (favorites to win the American Athletic Conference title), Memphis has a favorable path to at least eight wins. I see four primary speed bumps on the schedule. The first comes at UCF on September 9th. No AAC rival has dominated the Tigers more than the Knights, who won nine consecutive meetings between 2005 and 2013 (when the teams last played). The game will be in Orlando, only steepening the Tigers’ challenge. Then There’s UCLA at the Liberty Bowl the following week (the only Power Five team on the U of M schedule). Navy comes to town with its vexing triple option on October 14th. Then the Tigers travel to Tulsa on November 3rd to face a team that beat them handily (59-30) last year in Memphis. Should the Tigers take two of these four games, I see a 9-3 regular season. If they win only one of them, more likely 8-4. (There’s bound to be a “trap game” among those the Tigers will be favored to win.)

• The Tigers could chip away, if only marginally, at the SEC’s headline dominance in the Mid-South. Among the four programs that have large followings in this corner of SEC Country — Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Tennessee — only one received any votes in the AP Top 25, and UT is at number 25. (I’m excluding Alabama in this consideration, as the Crimson Tide is a category of its own.) Ironically, Memphis doesn’t play any of the “big four,” so misses a chance to steal a headline the old-fashioned way. But with Riley Ferguson, Anthony Miller, Doroland Dorceus, and friends sharing end-zone hugs on a regular basis, look for Memphis to capture a few new eyes in 2017. Maybe even a few in orange (or maroon) ball caps.

• My apologies in advance for missing Thursday night’s opener. It takes a major event to keep me from the Liberty Bowl on game day, particularly the start of such a promising season. But I’m delivering my firstborn daughter to her own college campus on Wednesday. As I track the Tigers through the 2017 campaign, I’ll also have an eye on the Wesleyan Cardinals in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Attending college football games is a good way to stay young inside. Raising a bright and talented daughter and checking her into her dorm room is a good way to remember the college experience is a marker on our personal timelines. So keep my seat in the press box warm for the UCLA game. And please excuse my absence this week.

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Cover Feature News

Tiger Football 2017: Air Raid!

University of Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson has not one, but two artistic arms. The senior from Charlotte has adorned himself — shoulder to mid-forearm — with ink in various symbols, shapes, and swirls. But he has a favorite on his left (non-throwing) biceps. It’s an ornate cross, surrounded by six words: “May your light shine over me.” The art tugs at Ferguson’s heart, as it pays tribute to a cousin he lost in 2016, shortly before his first season behind center for the Tigers. But there’s a message, too, that Ferguson’s school of choice — and its football team’s growing fan base — might appreciate, for Ferguson himself has shone brightly since arriving on the U of M campus.

Tasked with a challenge no previous Tiger quarterback has faced — replacing a first-round NFL draft pick — Ferguson managed to break that quarterback’s single-season touchdown record (he tossed 32), complete 63 percent of his passes, and compile 3,698 yards through the air (a figure topped only by Paxton Lynch, now a member of the Denver Broncos). Playing for a rookie coach (Mike Norvell), Ferguson turned a transition year into an 8-5 season, enough to give Memphis its most wins (27) over any three-year period in the program’s history. For only the second time (the first being 2015), Memphis scored more than 500 points. All Ferguson has to do now is follow that success . . . and improve.

“We’ve been working on our chemistry,” says Ferguson. “Everybody in the offense is way more comfortable than we were at this time last year. We were out there thinking last year, learning. Just like anything, the more you practice something, the better you get. It will be a huge advantage for us.”

A quarterback is relentless in his work on mechanics: footwork, arm angle, release point, follow-through. But as his senior season approaches, Ferguson has focused more on the tool between his ears. “There’s always room for improvement,” he says. “Last year I was in the film room, but I need to get in there even more, to pick up anything I can from an opponent. Learning defenses, identifying keys.”

When it comes to shining that fabled light, Ferguson emphasizes how comfortable he’s become representing Memphis, both the school and community. “It’s kind of a smaller Charlotte [his hometown] to me,” says Ferguson. “The people here are great, and my teammates. I truly believe [coming here] is the best decision I’ve made in my life.”

“If you look at the last month of [last] season,” notes Norvell, “Riley was playing at a really high level. He needs to continue to progress from that. If he can go out and command this offense, make the right decisions, he’s got some good playmakers around him.”

Mike Norvell

Speaking of playmakers …

Ferguson would not have compiled his gaudy numbers without one Anthony Miller. As a junior, the former walk-on (and graduate of Christian Brothers High School) broke single-season receiving records that had been held for more than two decades by Isaac Bruce, a man now on the cusp of election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Miller’s 95 receptions shattered Bruce’s 1993 standard of 74. His 1,434 receiving yards was 40 percent better than Bruce’s mark of 1,054 (also in ’93). He set a new Tiger record for receiving yards in one October game (250), then a new record for receptions in a November game (15). With 71 catches and 854 yards this season, Miller would break the Tiger career marks in only three seasons. (Miller missed his freshman season with a shoulder injury.)

“I look at those numbers [now],” says Miller, “and they look good. But when I look at the film, I had plenty of opportunities where I could have made those numbers grow. Dropped balls. Missed assignments. The wrong route. Things we can clean up this season.”

Miller is now a focal point for any defense preparing to face the Tigers, this despite his name being left off the American Athletic Conference’s all-league team after the 2016 season. He embraces the extra attention and doesn’t shy from goal-setting standards beyond the reach of most human receivers. “Riley and I have this connection,” stresses Miller. “He knows when it’s crunch time, I’m the one to throw the ball to. But I’m not the only one on offense; we’re full of weapons.”

As for individual goals, take a deep breath: “Twenty touchdowns and 2,000 yards,” says Miller. “We’re just going to continue to work. We’ve got depth everywhere. People think they know the firepower we have, but I don’t think they really understand.”

Riley Ferguson

When Miller speaks of weapons, he means a collection of skill-position players as adept and deep as any Memphis team has seen in years. Senior tailback Doroland Dorceus led the Tigers with 810 rushing yards last season and with a similar campaign this fall would move into second place on the Tigers’ career chart, behind only DeAngelo Williams. But when Dorceus isn’t carrying the ball, Ferguson may be handing it or tossing it to any of a trio of sophomores: Patrick Taylor (546 yards in ’16), Darrell Henderson (482), or sophomore Tony Pollard, a graduate of Melrose High School who earned AAC Special Teams Player of the Year honors last year for his kick-return prowess.

The Tiger receiving corps is no less deep, with senior Phil Mayhue (677 receiving yards as a junior) supporting Miller as a downfield threat. Sophomore John “Pop” Williams and freshman Damonte Coxie impressed during training camp and hope to climb the depth chart as the season unfolds. (The unit took a hit during preseason camp when senior Sam Craft was lost for the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. Craft had been granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing most of the 2016 season with a back injury.)

“Our skill-position players are as good as I’ve had,” says Norvell, who spent four seasons in the high-flying Pac-12 Conference as an assistant with Arizona State before taking the Memphis job. “Guys who understand this offense know they can get the ball on any play; you have to do your job to get open. If the defense does its job and takes someone away, it will leave one-on-one matchups for others. We’re versatile and we create opportunities.”

Can Miller actually improve on his record-breaking numbers from 2016? “Everyone can improve,” says Norvell. “No one here is a finished product.”

Anthony Miller

When asked about the offensive line entrusted with protecting Ferguson and opening holes for Dorceus, Taylor, and friends, Norvell says he’s enjoyed watching the competition in camp. Despite the offensive production last season, the line graded out as serviceable, at best. Veterans like center Drew Kyser and right guard Gabe Kuhn are back, and in freshman Obinna Eze from Nashville, the Tigers have 283 of the highest-rated pounds in recent recruiting history.

(Norvell notes offensive linemen have the most challenging leap from high school to college football, so patience is urged on the Eze watch.) Norvell says another newcomer, massive juco transfer Roger Joseph (6’5″, 317 lbs.), has a chance to make an impact up front.

The Tigers may have won eight games by averaging 38.8 points last season, but they lost five because they allowed 28.8 points per game (and a staggering 49.8 in the five defeats).

A completely revamped secondary will back a group of veterans at linebacker, the hope being measurable improvement in slowing opposing offenses. Senior linebacker Genard Avery — a first-team All-AAC honoree last fall — will be the face of the defense. Avery led the Tigers with 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage (including five sacks) and finished second on the team with 63 solo tackles.

Patrick Taylor

It’s the defensive backfield that proved most vulnerable for Memphis a year ago, and the unit has new blood. “I’ve been really impressed with the young guys in our secondary,” says Norvell. “[Safeties] John Cook and Shaun Rupert have done a great job of providing leadership. [Freshman cornerback] T. J. Carter came in as a highly rated young man, and my favorite thing about him is his work ethic. He’s come in to earn his position; he brings the right mentality every day at practice.”

The return of pass-rusher Jackson Dillon, who missed the 2016 season with a knee injury, is the college equivalent of a major trade acquisition. The Oklahoma native had 20.5 career tackles for a loss in three seasons prior to his injury.

“He’s a great leader,” says Norvell, “and we have some guys on our defensive front who have played a good deal of football.” Senior end Ernest Suttles and sophomore end Jonathan Wilson (three sacks last season) will lead the push on the line of scrimmage. Look for sophomore Austin Hall to be a playmaker at the STAR position (a hybrid linebacker/safety role). Hall started 11 games as a redshirt-freshman and had 7.5 tackles for loss. “We want to attack the football,” emphasizes Norvell. “Whether we’re playing a base defense or pressuring, we want to be impactful and make sure we’re communicating.”

The good news on special teams is that Pollard is back to return kicks along with all-AAC punter Spencer Smith. But the Tigers must replace placekicker Jake Elliott, a two-time AAC Special Teams Player of the Year and now a member of the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. Freshman Riley Patterson will be staring down uprights this season. (Patterson connected on a 54-yard field goal as a junior at Edwardsville High School in Illinois.)

The feeling around the Tiger program is one of general comfort and confidence, not what you’d necessarily expect under the command of a second-year head coach who turns 36 in October. Whether or not the U of M has become a “football school” remains debatable, but don’t doubt a collective buy-in when it comes to the Norvell mission.

“Coach Norvell has continued the culture Justin Fuente started,” says Miller, who spent his first three seasons (including a redshirt year) under Norvell’s predecessor. “There were players here not willing to work, and [Fuente] got rid of those guys. Those of us who stayed, when you work hard, it doesn’t go unnoticed. I’ve tried to continue that. We were brought in as soon as [Norvell] got here. When coaches come in, it can be hard for players to adjust. But his offense is effective, and he’s one of the greatest football masterminds I’ve been around.”

Merely five seasons removed from a two-season train wreck during which the Tigers won three of 24 games, Memphis is favored to win the American Athletic Conference’s West Division. The Tigers even received votes in the Top 25 Amway Coaches Poll. “Nothing changes for us,” says Norvell. “It’s about staying focused on today, the steps in front of us. Preseason recognition is a great compliment, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to get it done. It shows a level of respect for our program, not just where we are but where we’re going. But we gotta go out there and get it.”

Riley Ferguson

The 2017 SCHEDULE

The Tigers have a favorable schedule, one without the likes of USF (favored in the media poll to win the league crown), Temple, or Cincinnati. Their three East Division foes are UCF and a pair of teams expected to finish near the bottom of the standings (East Carolina and UConn). A September 16th visit from UCLA and one of the country’s top quarterbacks, sophomore Josh Rosen, will highlight the home schedule. (*AAC game)

August 31 (Thursday) — LOUISIANA-MONROE

September 9 — at UCF*

September 16 — UCLA

September 23 — SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

September 30 — at Georgia State

October 6 (Friday) — at UConn*

October 14 — NAVY*

October 19 (Thursday) — at Houston*

October 27 (Friday) — TULANE*

November 3 (Friday) — at Tulsa*

November 18 — SMU*

November 25 — EAST CAROLINA*

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Sports Tiger Blue

Tiger Football Steals February

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Somehow, some way, University of Memphis football managed to steal a week in February from University of Memphis basketball. Tubby Smith’s squad merely split a pair of games in Florida last week.  At least in terms measured by the likes of Rivals.com and 247 Sports, second-year Tiger football coach Mike Norvell has secured the finest recruiting class in the program’s history (or at least as far back as rankings history goes). And this is a very big deal if you like fall Saturdays at the Liberty Bowl. For it can be said that the finest college football programs have two things in common: a big day in January (at a bowl game) and a big day in early February.

Larry Kuzniewski

Mike Norvell

When Memphis opens its season on September 2nd against UL-Monroe, count on true-freshman Obinna Eze being among the five starting offensive linemen. You could well see two more fresh-out-of-high-school players in the starting lineup: receiver Nick Robinson and cornerback T.J. Carter. Each of these young men enters the program as four-star recruits (out of a magic five), and such sought-after talent does not arrive on campus with room for a redshirt in the locker.


True freshmen play major college football under one of two circumstances: the team’s roster is so thin, they’re forced onto the field . . . or they are exceptionally talented. We’ve seen plenty of the former scenario over the years with the U of M program. (Remember when Larry Porter didn’t have a full allotment of scholarship players?) But the latter — exceptional talent — is something to anticipate.

It’s a good time to remember that quarterback Paxton Lynch was redshirted before growing into a first-round NFL draft pick. Anthony Miller redshirted before becoming the most prolific single-season receiver in Tiger history. Neither was a three-star recruit, to say nothing of four. And Memphis has three of the four-star studs on the way.

A select few college football programs (the haves) are magnets: the top recruits in the country actively seek membership in their annual campaigns for league and national championships. Most college football programs (the have-nots) are fishermen: they cast lines hither and yon, hoping for a nibble from top recruits, settling for smaller fish more often than not.

The Memphis program is hardly a magnet. Not yet. Many more wins and a few league championships must be secured before remotely considering such status in these parts. But Norvell has landed at least three players who would have been welcome on most SEC and Big 10 campuses, three members of a class considered by some to be the best of any program outside the “Power Five” leagues. Add them to a team led by Miller and a quarterback (Riley Ferguson) who threw more touchdown passes as a junior than Lynch did as a senior, and you have as many reasons for optimism as Memphis football could count in a generation or two.


It’s early February. An over-achieving basketball team under the guidance of a wise, accomplished coach is worth supporting. Twenty wins and postseason play (if only the NIT) are possibilities. As March Madness approaches, though, consider the strides taken last week by the Tiger football program significant, and in the direction of an important football game — someday soon — in early January.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tiger Football: The Rising Continues

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Twenty-seven wins (so far) over the last three years for the Memphis Tiger football team. This is a good time to pause and consider another recent three-year period (2009-11) during which the U of M won a total of five games. By the most quantifiable measure (victories), the Memphis football program has improved more than five-fold during a single presidential administration. This has occurred, remember, in the middle of the SEC jungle, where attracting talent — the depth of talent required to win consistently in college football — has proved nearly impossible for generations. The turn-around has been Herculean.

Here are a few achievements of the 2016 Memphis Tigers that will stay with us.

• Points galore. Offense sells tickets. Offense keeps television viewers tuned in. The last three Memphis teams have scored more points than any previous team over the program’s 105-year history. The 2016 Tigers have scored more points in 12 games (474) than the 2014 team did in 13 (471), and you’ll remember that 2014 team featured Paxton Lynch at quarterback and finished ranked 25th in the country. Should Memphis score 49 points in its bowl game (merely 10 points above its average), it will break last year’s season record for points in a season (522). For perspective, the season point totals during that miserable stretch from 2009 to 2011: 262, 173, 195.

Larry Kuzniewski

Anthony Miller

• Ant-Man. Entering this season, the Memphis single-game record for receptions was 13 (Maurice Avery in 2003), for receiving yards, 186 (Bob Sherlag in 1965). Isaac Bruce held the single-season records for receptions (74) and receiving yards (1,054). All of these marks now belong to junior Anthony Miller, the former walk-on from Christian Brothers High School whose two fourth-quarter touchdowns beat Houston last Friday. The game-winning score was Miller’s 15th catch of the contest. Miller had 250 yards in a Tiger loss to Tulsa on October 29th. With a bowl game to play, he’s caught 84 passes for 1,283 yards. Before the 2015 season, then-Tiger coach Justin Fuente described Miller as “different from anyone else we have.” He saw what was coming. Should Miller return for his senior season — and he’s suggested he will — the Tiger receiving record book can be placed on the highest proverbial shelf in the Hardaway Hall of Fame.

• Big wins.The Tigers didn’t beat Ole Miss this season, but they did handle a Top-20 team at the Liberty Bowl (Houston) for a second straight season. You have to go back a quarter century to count the two previous Memphis wins over Top-20 opposition (Tennessee in 1996, USC in 1991). And with hindsight, the Tigers’ 34-27 win over Temple at the Liberty Bowl on October 6th is significant, as it’s the only conference loss suffered by the Owls, who play Navy this Saturday in the AAC Championship. Counting wins is one thing. Notching memorable victories helps build a culture of success.

• Backfield stars. Miller stole the show with his romp through the receiving record book, but he got there on the right arm of junior quarterback Riley Ferguson, the transfer who entered the season as an unknown value asset. He proceeded to pass for 3,326 yards (second in program history) and 28 touchdowns, tying the record set by Lynch last season. Ferguson was named Offensive Player of the Week by the AAC three times. And let’s not forget the efforts of Doroland Dorceus. The junior tailback gained 783 yards on the ground and averaged a stellar 6.2 yards per carry. He scored ten touchdowns and now ranks fourth in Tiger history with 25 for his career.

Larry Kuzniewski

Riley Ferguson

• Steady crowds at the Liberty Bowl. In 2013, the Tigers hosted seven games and sold a total of 199,760 tickets (28,537 per game). For seven games this season, the U of M sold 261,419 tickets (37,345 per game). That is growth that can be counted in blue-clad bodies (the difference is greater than the stadium’s current capacity). This year’s average attendance dropped by more than 6,000 from last year’s, but Ole Miss visited in 2015 and more than 60,000 fans at that game boosted the season total considerably. (The Rebels won’t be back until 2019.) The goal, I’ve felt all along, should be 40,000 fans in the Liberty Bowl for a Tiger football game. Any game. (The largest crowd this season was for the opener against SEMO: 42,876.) It’s a shame an upper portion of the Liberty Bowl couldn’t be shaved off for game day, because the atmosphere would be enhanced without empty sections framing fans on either side of the stadium. Winning and scoring (a lot) sell tickets. Based on 12 games under the watch of coach Mike Norvell, the future appears bright for U of M football.

Categories
From My Seat Sports

Giving Thanks for Sporting Events of 2016

This is my favorite column of the year, a chance for me to fill that mocking space on my screen with the sports-related subjects I’m most grateful to have in my club car on this train called life.

Gratitude. Give it a chance.

• I’m grateful for Year Seven of the Memphis Grizzlies’ “core four.” I wish we could come up with a more distinctive tag for our “fab four”: Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, and Zach Randolph. They’ve earned that much, sticking together in one of the NBA’s smallest markets in an age when as many as five years with a franchise — for a single player, let alone a quartet — is considered lengthy. For some perspective, the Lakers’ great foursome of the Eighties — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper — played exactly seven seasons together. More recently in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Bruce Bowen broke up the band after seven years. Four years with one super-teammate (Dwyane Wade) was enough for LeBron James, and they won a pair of titles together. We won’t see another foursome like this at FedExForum.

Tubby Smith

• I’m grateful for Georgia Tech hiring Josh Pastner . . . and Memphis hiring Tubby Smith. Exhale. Last winter was excruciatingly uncomfortable for anyone in proximity to Pastner and the multiplying empty seats on game nights at FEF. And that contract(!) that made it all but impossible for the U of M to dismiss him. Thankfully, these kinds of divorces seem to unfold as they should. A good man is in a happier place. And a good program can aim to be great again under the wise watch of a man aiming to take a sixth program to the NCAA tournament.

• I’m grateful for an early look at Alex Reyes. The big righty appears to be on his way to stardom with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was nice to watch a few Reyes outings at AutoZone Park, the latest Redbirds coming attraction.

• I’m grateful for George Lapides and Phil Cannon and all they gave the Memphis sports community. Like days of the week, a sports community — its teams, its fans, its sponsors, its venues, its media personalities — has a “feel.” George and Phil brought a warmth — and distinct passion — to sports in Memphis. They live on in every one of us who attends a ball game now and then.

• I’m grateful for Mike Norvell’s energy and confidence. He’s the first Memphis Tiger football coach in generations to face an imposing task in filling his predecessor’s shoes. He has graciously saluted Justin Fuente’s achievements in building the program . . . while emphasizing it’s not where he and his staff want it be. Not yet. His prematurely gray hair gives Norvell the appearance of a man beyond his 35 years. So does his attention to detail and single-minded focus in making Memphis a premium program. It’s the hardest sports job in town.

• I’m grateful for my daughters’ continued commitment to team sports. One will play her senior high school softball season as an All-Metro outfielder, while the other played her first varsity soccer season as merely a freshman. They are bright, skilled, beautiful young ladies. And they know well the values that make a good teammate. Such is necessary in the wide world that awaits them.

• I’m grateful to be following in the footsteps — literally, and rapidly — of my 5K-running wife. Her commitment to not just running, but competing, is a healthy rebuke of any middle-age ceiling on athleticism. I’m especially grateful for her waiting for me at the finish line, one race after another.

• I’m grateful for you. And every one of the Flyer readers who give us a platform to share news, views, and analysis of the people and events that make Memphis such an extraordinary town. I appreciate your counterpoints, value your applause, and listen to your criticism. You give my job redeeming value.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.