Memphis announces three signees

Memphis continues to announce new signees for the 2026 team, adding three names from the transfer portal. Both Dallan Hayden and Jayden Parrish committed before the signing was announced, but kicker Philippe Laforge was a new name who had made no prior announcement.

Linebacker Jayden Parrish signed with the Tigers after spending the last two seasons at Florida State, where he only played in two games. Parrish signed as a three-star recruit and the No. 16 linebacker prospect in the country, but he redshirted during the 2024 season.

In 2025, Parrish played in two games and recorded three tackles in a 77-3 victory over East Texas A&M.

Memphis also brought in a kicker from the transfer portal with Philippe LaForge, who spent his true freshman season at Coastal Carolina last year. LaForge, a Chattanooga native, appeared in all 13 games last season and mainly handled kickoffs. 

The kicker recorded 38 touchbacks on 61 attempts, and he went 2-for-4 on field goal attempts. LaForge made a 51-yard field goal against Georgia Southern, which was his career-long but also the longest field goal by a Chanticleer since 2020, according to Coastal Carolina’s Associate Athletic Director for Communications & Media Mike Uva.

After only attempting four field goals and one extra point, it’s unclear if he will handle all kicking for the Tigers, or if he’ll focus primarily on kickoffs as he did with the Chanticleers.

Memphis also officially announced the signing of Dallan Hayden, who committed to the program on Sunday. Hayden starred at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis before spending time at Ohio State and Colorado. 

With the addition of the three signings on Tuesday morning, the Tigers have announced 34 signings, with a few yet to be announced. 21 of those signees are defensive players.