MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tuesday was day one of spring practice for the Memphis Tigers. Coming off a 10-3 season and a win the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, head coach Ryan Silverfield's squad rides a lot of momentum going into 2024.
Spring ball is the first step in what the Tigers hope will be a American Athletic Conference Championship season. After all, last year's conference champion, SMU, heads out to the ACC.
"I don't sleep last night, I was like, 'here we go, spring football,'" Silverfield said. "I was so antsy I didn't want to go home last night, but someone had to feed the dogs."
The old saying is that it's not about X's and O's, it's about the Jimmies and the Joes. New faces aplenty in the Tigers facilities. The most significant one may be in the runningback room. Blake Watson, who ran for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, graduated and headed to the NFL Draft.
Memphis replaces him with Mario Anderson, a transfer from South Carolina, who ran for more than 700 yards for the Gamecocks. Memphis will still have veterans Sutton Smith, Jay Ducker and Brandon Thomas to round out the position group.
"That's gonna be a fun room to watch. I don't sit there and say the cupboards bare there," Silverfield said. "It's good to see them I can't wait to watch that room develop."
The Tigers will not have to worry about the quarterbacks room either. At least, not the starter. Seth Henigan returns for his fourth year as the Memphis starting quarterback. Now the program's all-time leader in completions and passing yards, the only thing he lacks is a conference championship.
"It's kind of refreshing to not walk up to the podium and say, 'okay, let's talk about the quarterback competition,'" said Silverfield. "We can talk about the guys behind Seth, but we know we've got our (starting) quarterback."
Henigan has changed his number every season and continues the tradition as a senior. He'll bring back his high school number, nine, hoping to employ the championship magic he had at Denton Ryan High School in Texas.
"I was nine my senior year of high school. We were undefeated, 15-0, won our district and won the state championship. I'm just trying to bring that championship mindset back to myself."
Memphis will play their spring game April 20 in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
