Memphis gets spring practice started on Monday, and there is a lot of excitement for a new era to start as Charles Huff takes over the program.
Huff has been extremely vocal about his vision for the program and “closing the gap”, and this will be the first opportunity to see what the team looks like before the fall. The Tigers will hold 15 practices, including “Spring Fest” on April 18.
The athletic department announced spring fest earlier this week, which gives fans an opportunity to see the team as they wrap up spring practice. It’s unclear what this will look like under Huff.
Many teams across the country are moving away from the traditional spring game, but even if it isn’t a standard scrimmage, it will give fans a chance to see the fully revamped roster a few months before their first game of the season.
Who emerges in the quarterback battle
There were a lot of holes on the roster when Huff took over the program, but the biggest one was the quarterback position. Brendon Lewis graduated, while AJ Hill and Arrington Maiden both entered the transfer portal.
Huff brought in three quarterbacks through the transfer portal, and it will be the first time for one of them to gain an upper hand with the coaching staff. Denzel Gardner, who followed the staff from Southern Miss, looks like someone who will sit and develop, while both Air Noland and Marcus Stokes have more experience.
Noland spent time at both Ohio State and South Carolina, while Stokes was a finalist for the Harlon Trophy, which is the DII equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Huff won’t name a starting quarterback during the spring, but it will give him an opportunity to evaluate all his options in his system before the time comes in the fall.
Size on the defensive line
Huff stressed the importance of having size on the defensive line, and he added many defensive linemen through the transfer portal. Memphis brought in 13 defensive linemen through the transfer portal, and it’ll be interesting to see what the group looks like during the spring.
The group brings a lot of size and depth, and it’ll be fun to see who emerges as the starters. J’Mond Tapp will be a name to watch after he was named to the All-Sun First Team last year at Southern Miss with 70 tackles and 12 tackles for loss.
How it looks with a new coaching staff
“It” is a big word here, and it’s used to cover a lot of things. This is Huff and his staff’s first spring practice in Memphis, and it’ll be interesting to see how he operates through it.
How much coverage will be allowed from the local media, how much will he share during press conferences, and what does the team show in the “spring fest” for fans? These are all questions that will be answered over the next few weeks that will give people a better idea of how Huff runs his program.