Up and coming
Junior college experiences prep these Tigers for D-1 challenge
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For defensive lineman Michael Edwards, junior-college football was a shock.
For quarterback Riley Ferguson, it was a second chance.
For cornerback Arthur Maulet, it was a learning experience.
“It makes you really grateful for everything when you get to Division 1,” Maulet said. “Let’s just put it that way.”
As the Memphis football team prepares for its 2016 season opener next weekend, stories like these are prevalent throughout the locker room — pit stops at junior colleges in places like Coffeyville, Kansas, or Scooba, Mississippi, that helped shape work ethics and change perspectives.
There’s a noticeable juniorcollege influence on this year’s team, from Ferguson, the starting quarterback, to Jonathan Cook, one of the most important players on its defense. Altogether, six of the Tigers’ 22 projected starters — and four second-string players — spent time at junior college.
“I was thinking that juco was probably the easier way, but it was a lot harder work,” said Edwards, who began his college career at the Football Championship Subdivision level before transferring to Iowa Western Community College. “You met just as many talented athletes, and just as much competition, as any level of football. It got USA TODAY Sports
University of Memphis senior place-kicker Jacob Elliott and University of Tennessee return specialist Evan Berry were named to the USA TODAY Sports’ preseason All-America first team on Thursday.
Elliott holds the U of M record for consecutive extra points with 144 straight and has 324 career points, third all-time at the school.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and seven players from Alabama dominated the numbers for the team.
Watson is the first-team quarterback, while McCaffrey joins LSU’s Leonard Fournette as first-team running backs. The first team also includes Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson, Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, Iowa cornerback Desmond King and Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Watson, McCaffrey, King, Lewis and Memphis’ Elliott are returning from last season’s USA TODAY Sports All-America first team, and Fournette and Florida State offensive tackle Roderick Johnson were second-teamers then. Preseason secondteam defensive backs Damontae Kazee of San Diego State and Marcus Maye of Florida also earned honors in 2015.
In addition to Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, Florida State, Utah, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Southern California and Florida also had multiple players selected.
OFFENSE
QB Deshaun Watson, Clemson: The junior is the preseason favorite for the Heisman Trophy.