First look — Memphis going through coaching transition

Memphis is going through a coaching transition with Ryan Silverfield moving on to Arkansas after six years with the Tigers.

The Tigers hired coach Charles Huff from Southern Mississippi, who previously coached Marshall. Assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Reggie Howard, a former Carolina Panthers player, will be the interim coach against NC State in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 on ESPN.

Silverfield went 50-25 in his six years at Memphis, including 27-21 in the AAC.

Memphis lost its last three games of the season — Vs. Tulane, at East Carolina and vs. Navy — to finish 8-4 overall and 4-4 in the American.

NC State won three of its last four games to finish 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC.

Talented, but well traveled quarterback

Senior quarterback Brendon Lewis is has started at Colorado, Nevada and now Memphis.

The 6-3, 210-pounder played at Colorado from 2020-2022, and then transferred after coach Deion Sanders was hired. He played at Nevada from 2023-2024, appearing in 24 games

Lewis has gone 239-of-343 passing for 2,567 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, and he’s rushed 141 times for 618 yards and nine touchdowns.

Lewis going 8-5 was a big deal due to Colorado going 9-21 during his three years there, and 5-20 at Nevada in two years.

In some ways, he’s similar to Florida State dual threat quarterback Tommy Castellanos, but maybe not as fast. He also could be compared to Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris in his feel for the game. NC State defeated both quarterbacks this season.

Lewis had 199 yards passing and a touchdown, and 16 carries for 103 yards rushing and two scores in a 32-31 win over Arkansas on Sept. 20. The Razorbacks were the lone P4 squad on Memphis’ schedule.

Lewis threw for over 300 yards in two games this season, and had four other contests over 200 yards passing. He had at least 10 carries in all but two games this season.

Well-rounded offense

The Memphis offense was in the top 60 in passing offense (240.3), sixth in red-zone offense (43 of 45), 19th in scoring offense (36.2) and first downs (262 total) and 38th in rushing offense (192.5). The Tigers ran the ball 436 times and threw it 378 times this season.

Three different running backs rotated in with senior Greg Desrosiers Jr. the main back. He had 96 carries for 563 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 32 passes for 228 yards and a score.

Junior Sutton Smith brings big-play speed to the backfield, but is the smallest of the three backs at a listed 5-9 and 185 pounds. Senior Frank Peasant played five years at Middle Tennessee State before transferring to Memphis.

Lewis’ favorite wide receiver from Nevada is also at Memphis. The 6-2, 197-pound Braham played two years at West Virginia, and then broke out at Nevada last year with 56 catches for 724 yards and four scores. 

Braham has snagged 63 passes for 889 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He has topped 100 yards in three games this season, including having 11 catches for 113 yards in a 38-32 loss against Tulane on Nov. 7.

Junior Jamari Hawkins, sophomores Christian Ross and Brady Kluse and senior Marcello Bussey round out the receiving unit.

Tall fifth-year senior right tackle Travis Burke, who is 6-9 and 315 pounds, was named first-team all-conference in the American. He started his college career at Gardner-Webb for two years, and then played two years at Florida International.

Redshirt sophomore left guard Malachi Breland is the biggest of the Memphis offensive lineman at 6-5 and 340 pounds.

Fast, but smaller defense

Memphis is allowing 22.0 points, 127.4 rushing yards and 239.3 passing yards per game this season.

The Tigers have 17 sacks, six fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions this season. Opponents converted 42 percent of its third-down opportunities.

Senior defensive lineman William Whitlow Jr. was named first-team all-league, with senior cornerback Omarion Cooper on the second team.

The 6-2, 260-pound Whitlow had 31 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks and Cooper had 36 tackles, one interceptions and seven passes broken up.

Senior linebacker Sam Brumfield is the heart and soul of the defense with a team-high 106 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception at 5-11 and 225 pounds.

Safeties Kamari Wilson and Chris Bracy have a combined 152 tackles. Four different linebackers have at least 60 tackles this season.

Sutton Smith has a kick return for a touchdown and averaged 8.3 yards on 15 punt returns. Former Ohio kicker Gianni Spetic, a junior, went 15 of 19 on field goals with a long of 55. He is 46 of 61 in his career, including 5 of 8 on field goals of 50-plus yards.

Freshman punter Lachlan Carrigan averaged 43.3 yards on 42 punts.