TIGERS

Henderson caught three passes for 39 yards and two scores Saturday, including a 15-yard touchdown pass from Riley Ferguson to cap the Tigers’ opening drive.

Though Memphis’ running backs collectively struggled to run the ball Saturday, finishing with only 129 yards on 26 carries, the trio of freshmen still affected the game. Altogether, they accumulated 229 all-purpose yards.

“They’re very sharp young men,” Norvell said. “The thing I like about them is every one of them is physical. Every one of them understands the importance of pass protection. So those are things that I think give you an opportunity to be ready. Because you can be a young talented running back, but if you don’t protect, you can’t play.”

Norvell said young running backs can struggle with pass protection because they are not accustomed to the many variations of blocking responsibilities that come with a college offense, but “we’ve got an extremely bright group and they’ve done a really nice job with it.”

Henderson, the 2014 Mississippi Gatorade player of the year, stood out in spring ball and had long been expected to be a key component in Memphis’ offense. Pollard and Taylor, meanwhile, have each assumed larger roles, for different reasons. The offseason departures of Jarvis Cooper and Jamarius Henderson created more opportunities for Taylor, while Pollard has taken first-team repetitions in practice because senior starter Sam Craft has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“In this system, it’s just next man up,” Pollard said. “I just have to do my job and just maximize the plays that I have.”

Both Henderson and Pollard admitted to having early jitters in their first college game, and Taylor bobbled an exchange with Ferguson on what would have been the first carry of his college career. Norvell was pleased, however, with how the Humble, Texas, native responded in the fourth quarter.

Henderson and Pollard said they, too, got more comfortable as they spent more time on the field.

“I was a little shaky at first,” Henderson said. “But after my first play, I kind of settled down, like, ‘I can do this.’ ”

As the Tigers enter a bye week, with two weeks to prepare for a Sept. 17 matchup against Kansas, Henderson said he is focused on trusting his running tracks on each play. For Pollard, it’s about maximizing his opportunities in Craft’s absence.

“With so many playmakers, there’s a limited amount of plays you get,” Pollard said. “So you’ve just got to make sure you do your job, do the best that you can.”

MILLER SIDELINED

Wide receiver Anthony Miller was one of several players who did not practice Tuesday because of injury. Norvell said the redshirt junior has a “mild sprain” and is expected to return by the end of the week.

Craft, redshirt junior offensive lineman Zach Collins (undisclosed), senior linebacker Jackson Dillon (knee) and redshirt freshman receiver Mechane Slade (leg) also did not practice Tuesday.