Memphis wraps up Tuesday with a pair of players and an addition to the staff
Memphis continues to build its 2026 roster, wrapping up Tuesday by adding two players from the portal. The signing of Mississippi State transfer Braylon “Stonka” Burnside was announced, while Middle Tennessee State tight end Hunter Tipton announced his commitment, but his signing hasn’t been announced by the team.
Once Tipton is officially announced, the Tigers will be up to 17 signees.
Burnside joins the Tigers after spending two seasons with Mississippi State. Burnside was listed as a four-star wide receiver on 247Sports, but he was listed as a safety on the Bulldogs’ roster.
The Starkville native had one reception as a freshman before making the move to safety as a sophomore, but Memphis’ social media post announcing him as a signee listed him as a wide receiver.
Tipton committed to Memphis after spending the last two seasons at MTSU and Louisiana Tech. Tipton began his collegiate career by spending two years at the junior college level before joining Louisiana Tech.
After a season, he transferred and landed at MTSU, where he recorded 411 yards and two touchdowns on 39 receptions. Tipton finished fifth on the team in receiving yards, and he had a 76.9 pass blocking grade, which ranked fourth on the team, but a 57.8 rush blocking grade on Pro Football Focus.
It was also reported by Matt Zenitz that former Whitehaven coach Rodney Saulsberry, who stepped down at Whitehaven earlier Tuesday afternoon, would join the program as director of high school relations and player development.
Saulsberry spent 22 seasons at Whitehaven, where he had a career record of 197-62, and reached the state championship game four times during his career.
In Huff’s introductory press conference, he stressed the importance of keeping high school talent in the city, and it’d be hard to argue that anyone has stronger ties to the Memphis high school football scene than Saulsberry.