Memphis announced the signing of Jah’Keevi Garnett on Tuesday morning, just a few days after spring practice wrapped up. Garnett is the second player to sign with the Tigers since the end of spring practice, after JJ Clayton signed with the program on Monday.
Garnett, like Clayton, played at Garden City Community College, and he just wrapped up his sophomore season with the program. The linebacker recorded 60 tackles, including seven tackles for loss, 3 sacks and two forced fumbles, according to his social media page.
His best game came in his final game of the season against Hutchinson Community College, which was ranked the No. 1 JUCO team. Garnett recorded 13 tackles and a tackle for a loss in the 27-14 loss.
Garnett primarily plays the nickel position and has shown that he can be a very versatile player on the defensive side of the ball. The linebacker does a nice job reading a play after the snap, and he can make plays in the open field or by filling the gaps at the line of scrimmage.
While he shines as a tackler, Garnett has the ability to drop into coverage and defend against the pass.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker held offers from Toledo, Duquesne, Central Michigan, South Alabama and New Mexico, in addition to Memphis, and according to 247Sports, he was previously committed to Toledo. Garnett joined Clayton on a visit to Memphis over the weekend, and the Tigers’ coaching staff was able to do enough to sign both JUCO linebackers.
Garnett is listed as a three-star linebacker on 247Sports, and it will be interesting to see what type of role he plays in 2026. Charles Huff now has 12 linebackers on his team after the recent additions, and it’ll be interesting to see if he adds any more JUCO players now that spring practice has wrapped up.
It’s unclear if Garnett, like Clayton, is a spring graduate, but it would make sense that his situation could be similar. The linebacker will have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The NCAA’s new transfer portal rules eliminated the spring transfer portal, so it’s not a surprise to see Huff look to add depth from the JUCO ranks. In previous years, players had the opportunity to enter the transfer portal following spring practice, giving players a chance to find a different opportunity if they didn’t like their current fit.
Now, players are locked into their teams after the winter transfer portal, giving coaching staffs a better look at what the team will look like in the fall during the spring practice window.
Memphis will start its season during “week zero” in a critical non-conference matchup against UNLV.