Memphis football announced the signing of kicker Tarik Ahmetbasic on Sunday. Ahmetbasic spent three seasons with Michigan State before making the move to Charles Huff’s team.
The kicker is from Clinton, Michigan, and he was named First-Team All-State in Division 1 by the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News while he was in high school. He was 16-of-18 on field-goal attempts and had 98 career touchbacks on kickoffs.
Ahmetbasic was originally committed to Division-II powerhouse Grand Valley State, but he decommitted after receiving a preferred walk-on offer from the Spartans.
He committed to Michigan State as a preferred walk-on in January 2023, and he signed with the program in February. The kicker served a redshirt season during his first year on campus.
As a redshirt freshman, he appeared in one game against Prairie View A&M, and he made a PAT and had two kickoffs that totaled 125 yards. He didn’t appear in another game that season and didn’t appear in any games last season.
He entered the transfer portal on January 20, and it appears he will join the Tigers with three years of eligibility remaining.
Memphis entered the spring with three kickers on the roster, including two who joined the roster from the transfer portal.
Philippe Laforge signed with Memphis on January 13 after spending his freshman season at Charlotte. With the Chanticleers, Laforge appeared in 13 games, mainly handling kickoffs, and he made two field goals.
About a week later, Harrison Tuck signed with the program after spending two seasons with Alabama State. The Australian is listed as a kicker and punter, but he was mainly used as a punter for the Hornets.
The only kicker that was on the roster last season is Oliver Castaneda, who hasn’t seen any action over the last two seasons.
With the addition of Ahmetbasic, Memphis has four kickers on the roster, and Tuck is the only player listed as a punter. It’s unclear how Huff will use the four kickers next season, but it appears that there will be a competition for the starting job.
Last season, Gianni Spetic handled the place kicking, and he went 49-for-49 on PATs and 15-for-20 on field goal attempts, including 4-for-5 on 50+-yard attempts. Spetic entered the transfer portal after the season and landed at Texas.
Ahmetbasic is the third player to sign with the Tigers since the end of spring practice.