Memphis football Head Coach Ryan Silverfield met with the media on Monday morning inn between the Tigers’ season opening 45-10 win over Chattanooga on Saturday and trip to Georgia State for their first road game of the season this upcoming weekend.
Silverfield gave some lingering thoughts on the season opener, gave injury updates on the availability of key players, and discussed the matchup with Georgia St. this weekend, among other things.
“Going back and watching the film, we did a lot of great things, but there’s still a lot of things that could be cleaned up,” Silverfield said about the game against Chattanooga. “A lot to learn from this film, but our guys have the right mindset and approach and now blinders are on, focus forward on Georgia St.”
Silverfield particularly highlighted starting quarterback Brendan Lewis’ performance of 22/28 from the field, with four of the six incompletions being dropped passes, Tennessee St. transfer Jalen Bell’s work on the defensive line, and the effort of the defense in general with their two forced turnovers and field goal block.
Along with debuting a new team this season, the University of Memphis debuted FedEx logos in the end zones and on the field of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and a patch on their jerseys honoring FedEx founder Fred Smith, who passed away on June 21. Smith was a massive booster of the University of Memphis and most notably donated $50 million to the ongoing renovations of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
“To see our guys were dawning our patch, it’s the least we could do to honor such a great man, especially everything he’s done for so many and what he meant to the city of Memphis,” Silverfield said.
Looking forward to the road tilt against Georgia St., a game that was supposed to happen in 2017 before it got cancelled due to a hurricane, Silverfield mentioned the former Power 4 talent they have, as well as the odd configuration of their football stadium. The Panthers play at Turner Field, a stadium designed for baseball, as it was the former home of the MLB’s Atlanta Braves.
Silverfield talked to Vanderbilt’s football staff about it, as they went to Georgia St. and lost last year inside Turner Field.
“They just said, ‘Hey, you know, be aware because it got us, you got to have your guys prepared for everything that could come with it,’” Silverfield said.
Finally, Silverfield gave injury updates on running back Greg Desrosiers Jr. and Purdue transfer wide receiver C.J. Smith, both of whom are considered day-to-day and are questionable to play this weekend. Desrosiers got hurt in the first quarter of the game against Chattanooga and did not return to the field, while Smith missed the season opener.
The Tigers will continue their season at Georgia St. at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.
