by Dennis Freeland
robably the most important personnel move at U of M during the
spring involved Chris Powers, the starting tight end for the past
two years who will always be remembered for the short pass he
caught in the north end zone to beat Tennessee in 1996. Powers,
who is athletic with good quickness, now anchors the Tigers’ offensive
line at center. Except for his own tenacious resistance, the move
probably would have taken place much sooner.
“This has been going on for three years,” Powers laughs. “They’ve
been trying to get me to move to center going back to Coach [Jim]
Marshall. People say, ‘Throw to the tight end more,’ but hey,
I’m touching it on every play now.”
PHOTO BY DAVID SOWELL
Senior Chris Powers: Looking for all-you-can-eat buffets.
The 260-pound senior hopes to add 15 pounds over the summer. “I’ll hit the weights, eat with [tackle Ron] Sells, and take some supplements,” Powers says. “Before, when I was playing tight end, I tried to stay lean so I could run a little bit. Now I’m eating pizza late nights and going to all-you-can-eat buffets. It’s definitely more fun.”
Former Tiger center Bob Rush, who provides commentary on the team’s radio broadcasts, says Powers has good technique and should be able to handle the new position. The only problem he may have, Rush says, is when Memphis faces a team with a monster nose guard.
The move leaves redshirt sophomores Billy Kendall (6-5, 231) and Reid Hedgepeth (6-3, 238) splitting time at tight end. Hedgepeth is a tough, physical player who can block and catch. Kendall adds a tall, agile receiver to the Tigers’ passing game.
Co-offensive coordinator David Magazu returns as the offensive line coach. That is news. Memphis has not had the same line coach in consecutive seasons since 1994. Dan Yanowsky held the job for six years before being replaced when Chuck Stobart was fired after the ’94 season. The lack of continuity at that position has probably hurt the development of some players. For instance, Daniel Gomez, the four-year starter who graduated this year, played under four different offensive-line coaches.
Just before the NFL draft last month, Geoff Calkins, the CA sports columnist, pointed out that Memphis would not have any players taken in the 1998 draft. He further stated that perhaps this was an indication that Rip Scherer had not done such a bad job with Stobart talent.
We think that is unfair to Stobart. The former Memphis coach unapologetically looked first for junior-college talent, then for high-school players who were sleepers – guys who seemed too small, too slow, or for some other reason were overlooked by brand-name football schools. Guys like Isaac Bruce, Jerome Woods, and Steve Matthews fit into the first category; Tony Williams, Marvin Thomas, and Tony Semple the latter. What do these six former Tigers have in common? They were all drafted and are still listed on NFL rosters.
The U of M administration told Scherer they wanted a different program, one built on high-school players. That transition has contributed to three consecutive losing seasons after Stobart had pulled off three straight 6-5 winners. Rebuilding a program which was dependent on junior-college talent into a program that recruits 80 percent high-school players is a tough job. From all appearances, Scherer is doing it right. But it isn’t fair to say that Stobart didn’t recruit NFL-quality players. There were only 17 seniors on the Memphis roster last season. If Stobart had stayed in Memphis, there would have probably been another half dozen or so in that category. Most of them would have been junior-college transfers. And at least one or two of them would have probably been taken in the NFL draft.
As a freshman, Teofilo Riley was a hero, rushing for 572 yards (3.9 per carry). He also broke a long string of games in which Memphis had not had a 100-yard rusher when he broke loose for 119 yards against Southwest Louisiana. Last year, Gerard Arnold took over the tailback job and Riley became the forgotten man. The former all-state selection from Central needed a good spring to regain his role in the Memphis offense, but a foot injury on the first day of drills put him out of action.
Now, with fullback Jeremy Scruggs suspended again and Arnold and true freshman Sugar Sanders performing well at tailback, Riley, who says he should be back at full speed by the end of this month, may move to fullback. “I’ve got to get back in shape. That’s really important going into the fall schedule,” he says, adding that he doesn’t mind moving to fullback. “Anything for a victory.”
ODDS & ENDS: “Coach Holtz used to say you take a bucket of water,
put your hand in the bucket, when you pull it out is how much
you’ll be missed when you’re gone. I think that’s probably true
of all of us.” – Rip Scherer quoting his college coach Lou Holtz.
Scherer had been asked about the effect of losing two veteran
defensive coaches, Keith Butler and Wayne Weedon. Butler is now
the defensive coordinator at Arkansas State. Weedon is the new
athletic director for Memphis City Schools. … It isn’t exactly
considered a hotbed for college football coaches, but tiny Springfield
College (total enrollment: 2,050) has produced four of the assistant
coaches on the Memphis staff – defensive coordinator Jim Pletcher;
co-offensive coordinators Rusty Burns and Dave Magazu; and new
defensive line coach Hank Hughes. ... Huge tackle DeCoryre Hampton
(6-7, 325) was a frequent visitor at spring drills. Hampton sat
out 1997 as a Prop 48. The Parade All-American from Memphis Westwood
is expected to join the team in the fall, but don’t look for him
to start in the opener at Ole Miss. ... Wideouts Richie Floyd
and Damien Dodson enter the 1998 season on Memphis’ top-25 receiving
list. Both tallied more than 600 yards in 1997. 