I'm interested to see who steps up to be the go to guy. And if Mr.Gainwell joins this group in the summer. If Craft gets a sixth, his vast experience and versatility would be a welcomed addition to this group. Interesting times.
After Memphis' practice ended Tuesday, sophomore Damonte Coxie was one of the last to leave the field due to extra workouts with junior quarterback Brady White.
Coxie had already had a solid day of practice, including winning his 1 on 1 match-ups with T.J. Carter, but to him, there was more room to improve, especially with a group of new quarterbacks.
"Everybody likes to work and we're still hungry," Coxie said.
It's the attitude that all of the receivers have knowing they had to fill the dominant production of Anthony Miller, who's now preparing for the NFL draft. Not counting Tony Pollard, who will see time at receiver out of the backfield, Coxie is the team's leading returner at the position with 21 catches for 323 yards.s
Fortunately, the group started mentally preparing for life after Miller last season.
"We knew early that eventually we'd be without Miller and Phil (Mayhue) and the rest of the seniors," Coxie said. "We knew we had to step up early and we couldn't wait till they left us to step up so we knew we had to start working early."
New wide receivers coach Desmond Lindsey said this group has a chance to be special. But with very little production returning from last year, the goal this spring is seeing who can be consistent and committed to getting better.
"These guys control this depth chart moving forward," Lindsey said. "They understand that, so every position is open and the cream will rise to the top."
Coxie, Pop Williams, junior transfer Antonio Gibson, sophomore Hunter Hill and junior Tre'Veon Hamilton all had good moments Tuesday, and Lindsey said that the group progressed as a whole from Saturday.
He also added that his desire is not to see this group replace Miller, the school's all-time leading receiver, but establish their own identities with the team.
"I don't think you can replace Anthony Miller and we're not trying to have the next Anthony Miller." Lindsey said. "We want the first Damonte Coxie, the first John 'Pop' Williams, the first Mechane Slade. We want the first right now."
Tigers will practice in pads Wednesday
Memphis will practice in pads Wednesday. After two practices in shorts, it was something most were already looking forward to.
"We're really anxious to get the pads on and show the offense what we can do," sophomore safety La'Andre Thomas said.
Head coach Mike Norvell said it would be an opportunity to see just how much his team has improved. It also would be a test to see exactly how much stronger his team had gotten after promoting their growth in the weight room.
But Coxie took Thomas' sentiments a step further with a challenge of his own.
"Nobody can hide when the pads are on, so we're ready," Coxie said.
AAC, ACC partner on officiating
The AAC announced Monday that it partnered with the ACC on a football alliance that will see both conferences "work together on a wide range of officiating matters, including scheduling, training, development, recruitment, retention and evaluation."
Dennis Hennigan, the ACC’s supervisor of football officials, will now be in charge of assigning, hiring and training officials for AAC football games. The AAC’s supervisor will be named later and will be responsible for weekly evaluation of officials and be the primary person between the conference and its coaches.
“This alliance will provide both conferences with a deep roster of the best college football officials and will provide for greater efficiency and consistency in the training and evaluation of officials as well as enhanced opportunities for the recruitment of officials," AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco said in a release.
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Memphis Tigers WRs eager to replace Anthony Miller by committee
