MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It's officially one month away from the beginning of the Memphis Tigers football season on September 3. On Wednesday, the team opened up fall training camp in preparation for week one against Mississippi State.
That feeling of anticipation for a gameday atmosphere was in the air. Head Coach Ryan Silverfield said his team had a little pep in their step on the first day of camp.
"Obviously, we want that. I don't care if it's practice week one, or an OTA, or winter conditioning. We want them to have that sense of urgency, the understanding that every day is important no wasted reps. But I do think, maybe the hair was up. A little bit of goosebumps as we’re running out and taking the field for the first practice," Silverfield said.
Likely no one has more goosebumps than sophomore quarterback Seth Henigan. Henigan will be the undisputed starter in week one. His confidence from year one to year two as the starter is night and day.
"It’s a whole different vibe for me personally just with being the starter and getting all the reps with the ones and knowing that the whole team is rallying behind me and I’m trying to push the defense," Henigan said.
"He sees things a little bit better. That confidence allows him to play a little bit faster and put us in a better position as an offense," said Silverfield.
Henigan lost his favorite receiver in Calvin Austin III to the NFL. So far, there’s no replacement for his production. Henigan is divvying out pieces of the pie, hoping to find "the guy" in his receiving core.
"We’ll miss (Austin) for sure, but at the end of the day, a new cycle of receivers is going to come in every single year. There’s change every single year so just trying to figure out who that next guy might be," Henigan said.
Change is nothing new for Silverfield either. In his third year alone, he welcomes two new coordinators, the NIL era, and constant talk of conference realignment.
"The main thing about college football is the only constant is change," he said. "Every day, there’s going to be something that occurs. It may be a player. It may be a coach. The reality is how do I handle those situations and you learn."