MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Tigers suffered an agonizing blow in their 40-0 week 1 win over North Alabama. Running back Sutton Smith, who was expected to be one of the stars for the Tigers this season, went down injured in the first quarter and left the game on crutches.
While his status remains up in the air, it gives other guys a chance to make a name for themselves in the blue and gray, including offseason transfer Greg Desrosiers.
"Sutton is Sutton, and he’s a great football player, but I'm Greg, and I'm going to have to do what Greg does," Desrosiers said. "I'm going to step up obviously and take the load but try and fill the void in my own way. I’m going to show off my speed, show off my catching skills; I mean, anything I feel like I can do anything on the field.”
Desrosiers didn’t always have that fearlessness and belief, especially when he was seven years old and in the O-line playing football for the first time.
"One of my first plays, I had to block, and I was holding onto one of the S-lineman’s legs holding on, and he was looking down at me like 'What are you doing?' And I was just lying there, and the ball is like 60 yards down the field. I just looked like an idiot.”
After his stint as an O-lineman, he transitioned to the backfield. But even there, it didn’t come naturally.
To help, Desrosiers started running track. At first it was the 800 meters, but then, he set his sights on the decathlon, a 10-event sport ranging from the 100 meters to the pole vault.
"I didn’t know the magnitude at first," Desrosiers said. "So my first decathlon, I was like, 'This is tough.'”
Desrosiers didn’t give up, and instead, in his junior year of high school, the now Memphis Tiger placed third nationally at the U.S. New Balance meet. He went on to compete in the decathlon and play football at both Louisville and UMass before transferring to Memphis this offseason.
"Being a football player and also being on the track, I have confidence; I can do anything that I need to do," Desrosiers said. "When I step on the football field, I'm one of the best athletes on it. I kind of just picture myself scoring, honestly; I look at the end zone and that’s my finish line.”
Desrosiers has already found his finish line once for the Tigers this season, and with his focus fully on football now, he plans on doing much of the same.
The Tigers host Troy on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.