Memphis walk-on Samuel finding way at RB
Traveon Samuel was halfway through a drill when Memphis running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr. yelled out to him.
“Hold that ball high and tight!” Jones said.
It’s a reminder Samuel is still getting used to a new position. While at Louisville from 2015-17, he only had 17 carries while being used more at receiver. Last year at Troy he played one game and had no carries.
But two weeks into his time at Memphis, the 5-foot-7 senior walk-on has held his own at running back. He’s also still working on the details, including how he carries the ball.
“I make mistakes here and there,” Samuel said. “This is one of the most complicated offenses in college.”
Samuel left Louisville as a graduate transfer after catching 57 passes for 746 yards and two touchdowns in three seasons.
He played one game at Troy last season before being suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Samuel said that he got into an incident with a teammate and used his redshirt year.
Once Samuel entered the transfer portal, he started talking to Memphis coach Mike Norvell, who said he and his staff did their homework and made plenty of phone calls before accepting Samuel’s commitment in May.
“After we got a chance to visit with him and get to know him, I really like the young man,” Norvell said. “He’s got a great future and he’s made some sacrifices to be here.”
Samuel was attracted to Memphis’ high-powered offense after seeing how Tony Pollard and Darrell Henderson thrived in it. Memphis also needed an upperclassman at running back instead of receiver with Patrick Taylor being the only non-freshman or sophomore in the group.
He also found familiar faces in defensive back John Broussard Jr., a former high school teammate, and quarterback Brady White, who he met at a high school 7-on-7 tournament in Los Ange
les in 2014.
So with his experience, does Samuel consider himself more of a running back or a wide receiver?
“It really doesn’t matter, I can play both,” he said. “In high school, I was more a running back than wide receiver and when I got to Louisville, I transitioned more into a receiver.”
He’s a darkhorse in the competition for the No. 2 running back but he’s juggled time between the first and second unit since the second day of preseason practice.
Before he gets a defined role, he still fine-tuning his skills. For every catch and his ability to separate from a defender, there’s a coach reminding him to hold that ball up.
But with his experience, he’s made a fast impression on the coaching staff.
“This is not his first rodeo,” offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said. “He understands how fall/preseason practices work and he’s working like a grown man, like a mature man.”
You can reach Tigers football beat writer Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_b) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com