Memphis pumped for spring game
Players ready to return to Liberty Bowl
The last time the Memphis football team was in the Liberty Bowl, Riley Ferguson was throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to Anthony Miller in a 48-44 victory over Houston. Mike Norvell was being doused with Gatorade on the field. A still-to-be-determined bowl game was right around the corner.
In the five months since, the Tigers have spent most of their time preparing privately, away from the roar of a crowd. There were weeks of winter conditioning workouts in January and February, many of them in the darkness before sunrise. Then there were weeks of spring practices, in front of only a handful of recruits and supporters.
So the Tigers’ return to the Liberty Bowl on Friday for their annual spring game, Friday Night Stripes, will be a welcome change.
“Everybody’s going to be excited to play in front of the fans,” running back Doroland Dorceus said. “The fans get to see what we’ve been working on and what it’s going to look like this upcoming season.”
The spring game is, in many ways, designed to mimic the atmosphere of a real game day in the fall. The players will bus to the Liberty Bowl and walk down Tiger Lane in their customary Tiger Walk, beginning at 6 p.m. They’ll then warm up on the field and play two full quarters, followed by an overtime period with local media members serving as guest coaches.
“Right now we’re a little bit low on offensive line numbers, just to be able to break into two separate teams. So we’re going to go offense/ defense,” Norvell said. “We’re going to get a full half of play in, just like a normal game, and then we’ll have a little bit of fun there at the end.”
Last year’s spring game got off to a sloppy start, with a fumbled snap on the first offensive play and a wave of penalties and incompletions shortly thereafter. This year, Norvell said, both the offense and defense are more comfortable with their respective schemes, and he hopes that heightened understanding will translate onto the field.
“We’ve been able to get a lot further along than where we were a year ago because guys do have a base understanding of what we want to accomplish,” he said.
Memphis returns nine offensive starters and six defensive starters from a year ago, so many of the faces on the field Friday night will be familiar to fans. The most noticeable difference this spring, Dorceus said, will be the speed at which they operate.
“Everybody knew we went fast last season, but we took the tempo to another level,” he said. “Now everybody knows each other, everybody grew together and we know what to expect. We’re rolling now.”
“We’re able to focus on the little things now,” wide receiver Phil Mayhue added, “and make sure that we’re moving faster.”
Norvell said he’s been pleased with the team’s tempo and stamina in spring ball thus far but Friday’s spring game is just another step in the lengthy process of preparing for 2017.
“But we’re going to have to have a great summer,” Norvell said. “Coach (Josh) Storms, he’s done a tremendous job. Our guys are bigger. They’re moving faster. But we’re still three, four months away from when we have to be prepared to kick off for Game 1.
“So there’s going to be a lot of work that goes in, but I like where we’re at.”