After announcing 10 signees early in the day, Memphis announced two more additions Monday afternoon from the transfer portal. Cornerback Anthony Richard Jr. and quarterback Denzel Gardner join the team after spending time at Southern Miss last season.
Richard and Gardner’s announcements move the Tigers to 14 players out of the transfer portal, and 12 of those players follow Charles Huff and other assistant coaches from Southern Miss.
Memphis will be the fifth school that Richard has played for in his career. The cornerback spent two seasons at Division II Harding, including a redshirt year, before transferring to FCS Northwestern State.
After a year with the Demons, Richard signed with Huff at Marshall before following him to Hattiesburg last year. Richard recorded 31 tackles, two interceptions and 10 pass deflections in 13 games with the Golden Eagles.
Richard only allowed 22 receptions and two touchdowns on 38 targets, and he had the fourth-best coverage grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus. Richards has one year of eligibility remaining.
Denzel Gardner is a young quarterback who was redshirted as a freshman this past season at Southern Miss. Gardner was a three-star recruit out of high school and chose the Golden Eagles over offers from Boston College, Houston and South Florida.
The 6-foot quarterback played for high school powerhouse DeMatha Catholic and finished as the all-time winningest quarterback with a 38-8 record, according to his bio on the Southern Miss website.
In high school, Gardner showed off his arm with 50-plus hard shots downfield, while adding a duel-threat ability to keep defenses on their toes. The Maryland native is comfortable sitting in the pocket, but he can also move outside the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find the open man.
Obviously, college is much different from high school, but Gardner has the potential to be a nice player under the Tigers’ coaching staff. At his introductory press conference, Huff said he wanted a quarterback that could get out of the pocket and run, and Gardner fits that mold.
The quarterback has four years of eligibility remaining, and it will be interesting to see what other quarterbacks the new staff brings in.
West Georgia quarterback Marcus Stokes has a visit scheduled for January 10, according to On3.