Three non-QB questions for the Tigers’ offense ahead of fall camp

Memphis opens fall camp on Thursday, and there are a lot of questions on both sides of the ball. Charles Huff brought in 71 new players, and there are decisions to be made at nearly every position.

While it’s basically a brand new team, the group has been together since spring, so the coaching staff should have a good idea of who will start in the fall. In previous years, a second transfer portal opened after spring ball, but that was changed ahead of this offseason.

The change gives the coaching staff a better opportunity to evaluate the team during spring practice, so they should have an idea of who will start.

Despite the spring practice window, there are still questions that need to be answered for the offense. The biggest one is the quarterback position, but there are more questions outside of that.

Here are three non-quarterback questions for the offense as they start fall camp.

How does the offensive line mesh?

The offensive line will feature a lot of new pieces, with left guard Parker Mitchell expected to be the only returning starter from last year’s team. A big question will be how the group meshes with so many new pieces.

Old Dominion transfer Maarten Woudsma was at the American Conference Kickoff last week and spoke about how the offensive line was coming together with so many pieces.

“A big thing for this summer, and even the past semester, was really just building a level of trust and continuity between the offensive line,” Woudsma said. “So even if we have somebody coming in or stepping in for somebody else. There’s no drop-off between how we’re communicating, how we’re blocking, or combination blocks. There’s some continuity between everything, no matter who’s in.”

There has been a ton of talk about the quarterback battle, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who starts as the signal-caller if the line doesn’t come together. There is optimism, though, and Woudsma, Philip Gray and Riley McGehee were named to Phil Steele’s preseason All-Conference third and fourth teams.

How do they utilize the running backs?

Memphis brought in three running backs from the transfer portal this offseason, and it will be interesting to see how they use the three. Most preseason magazines predict Jaylin Carter will be the starter, but Manny Covey and Dallan Hayden both have Power Four experience.

Carter followed the coaching staff from Southern Miss after running for 166 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman, and his relationship could help him see early playing time.

Hayden, a Memphis native, will finish his career with the Tigers after running for 1,185 yards and eight touchdowns in four seasons. Covey ran for 198 yards last year at Cincinnati, and he was named the offensive Player of the Game in the 2025 Liberty Bowl.

At Old Dominion, offensive coordinator Kevin Decker had two running backs finish the season with more than 600 rushing yards, and there’s a good chance that fans see a lot of all three of the Tigers’ backs.

Who emerges as the go-to receiver?

Like most positions, Memphis added a lot at the receiver position, and it will be interesting to see who emerges as the go-to receiver for the quarterback. It feels like Tychaun Chapman and Terrell Timmons Jr. are the early favorites, but multiple receivers on the roster could emerge as a favorite target.

Brady Kluse and Bryce Dorsey both return from last year’s team, and they’ll look to make an impact with a group that looks very different from last year’s group.

At media days, Huff said that both quarterbacks spent a lot of time with the receivers in the summer building chemistry, but it will still be a few weeks before the team will know who the starter will be. Huff has said he would like to announce a starter during the week before the opener against UNLV, which is on August 29.