MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It's been a big offseason for Memphis football, with landmark names returning, a groundbreaking NIL deal with FedEx and national outlets putting Memphis in the expanded playoff picture. Now, we're seeing it all culminate in bigtime recruits choosing to commit to the Tigers.
"This, by far in my nine years, is the most exciting I've ever seen anything in an offseason," Memphis head football coach Ryan Silverfield told the media at the final Tigers on Tour event of the Summer. "The passion from the fans, I haven't seen anything like it, and that's what you want; you want those high expectations, you want the excitement for the season, you want everyone telling you, 'Hey, go out there and do big things.'"
Memphis is fresh off one of the biggest recruiting weekends in program history.
Since then, we've seen two 3-Star prospects commit to the Tigers.
First up was Richland High School's Xavier Johnson who is ranked as the 69th best receiver in the country, according to 247Sports. Johnson had initially committed to SMU in May but decided to decommit in June. He also had offers from Texas Tech, TCU, Arkansas State and several others.
Two days after Johnson chose the Tigers, Cedar Grove High School's Andrew Leslie followed suit. The wide receiver had at least 15 other offers including USF, Liberty and Arkansas State.
"Those are commitments which is great but there are long ways to go before signing day," Silverfield said. "When these kids come to visit they see our wonderful city they get to see our facilities our football program the things we're able to do from an academic standpoint. I think it sells itself and then they get around our players and they see the culture that they've been able to build, that we've been able to build and that it's a lot of fun so I think we're going to see some more exciting names join the crowd."
The Tigers are hoping one of those will be 4-star quarterback recruit Antwann Hill Jr., who was here this weekend. While the incoming senior hasn't made a decision, reports are that Memphis is a front runner.
Hill is fielding offers from over 30 schools including Florida, Alabama and Auburn. With current QB Seth Henigan set to finish his college career at the end of this year, Hill and Memphis could be the perfect pairing.
"You always want to have someone that you can build upon in that position but it's also nice to have a veteran presence," Silverfield said. "Obviously Seth will be gone so, 'Hey, who is the next best player?' You always hope they are on your roster, but you've got to explore every option, whether it's in the portal, in recruiting, high school recruiting."
Memphis Football begin the 2024 season on Saturday, Aug 31. at 6 p.m. at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.