Memphis football recruiting on pace to be school’s best ever
Silverfield, staff capitalized on relationships before virus
Last year, Memphis didn't secure its first football commitment in the 2020 class until June 3. That started a busy month in which the Tigers secured 11 commitments.
June has been a busy month this year as well. Of the Tigers' 14 commitments, eight have come this month, including the two highest-rated recruits in the class with linebacker Andrew Jones and running back JP Martin.
The Tigers' class is not only ranked 35th in the country, according to 247Sports, but this also is the earliest Memphis has secured that many commitments since the site began tracking recruits in 1999. It also has Memphis on pace to sign its highest-ranked class in school history.
For Barton Simmons, 247Sports' director of scouting, it shows that Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield and his staff capitalized on early relationships with coaches not being able to recruit in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think this class is meeting some really high expectations to this point in this cycle,” Simmons said. “It's hinting at the potential to really exceed expectations and do some things that we've not seen Memphis do on the recruiting trail.”
Jones' commitment is one of those things. The Louisiana native is the highest-rated player to commit to Memphis since offensive lineman
Obinna Eze signed three years ago.
At 6 feet, 210 pounds, he had offers from Florida State, Georgia, Ole Miss and Arizona, among others. But Memphis' strong recruiting ties to Louisiana helped sway Jones, who had 137 tackles, including 42 for loss, at Ehret High School last year.
“Anytime you can score a win like that, not only does it make your team better, but I think that's the type of kid that other recruits take notice,” Simmons said. “As a player that is a linebacker who is undersized but is a really productive and exciting player on the high school level, he's the exact type of player that Memphis can really be successful with."
Jones' commitment highlights the Tigers' focus on defense in this class. Eleven of their 14 commitments are on the defensive side, including five defensive backs and three linebackers. Both are positions where the Tigers have multiple seniors who will graduate after this season.
The Tigers also have done better in Georgia, a state they typically didn't target under former coach Mike Norvell. The Tigers have three commitments from the state, including offensive lineman Royce White, who was the first to commit in the 2021 class.
Simmons said being able to recruit more in Texas and Georgia shows Memphis is taking the next step in expanding its traditional recruiting footprint of Tennessee and Louisiana.
Of course, it's still early in the cycle. Last July, the Tigers' class was ranked 40th but finished 64th. Time will tell as more schools secure commitments in the fall and winter and the Tigers staff works to keep this class together.
Yet Simmons said the Tigers' early recruiting success is a good sign of things to come under Silverfield.
“They're already in a pretty elite company within the Group of Five ranks, but if you're still going to continue to tier up, it is going to take some wins like that,” Simmons said. “This cycle it seems to be proving that Ryan Silverfield is capable of those kind of wins.”
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