Paxton Lynch. Riley Ferguson. Brady White. Seth Henigan.
Those four quarterbacks started 153 of Memphis’ 154 games since the Tigers joined the American Conference in 2013. Those four names spanning 12 years are responsible for the pinnacle of Memphis football history. Each one delivered a 10-win season. Each one delivered a season-ending AP Top 25 finish.
They consist of four of the top five in program history both in passing yards and passing touchdowns. Each one started for multiple years and cultivated
a new standard when donning the blue and silver stripes.
So how do you follow that quarterback lineage?
“I’m excited about the new challenges with the new quarterbacks,” Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield said. “It truly is an open competition, but I think there are different dynamics and different things we can do.”
While Memphis is pitting Brendon Lewis, AJ Hill, and Arrington Maiden against one another in fall camp, one name stands out due to sheer experience. Brendon Lewis arrives to the 901 with 35 starts under his belt and 39 total games logged. The seasoned sixth-year senior held starting roles at Colorado and Nevada, and now he looks to win the battle at Memphis.
“There’s big shoes to fill, and it’s a great opportunity that I have,” Lewis said. “It gives confidence to me knowing great quarterbacks have played for this university, and I have the opportunity to join them.”
Unlike Lynch, Ferguson, White, or Henigan, Lewis will only have a maximum of one season as Memphis’ primary starter, as the sixth-year senior retains one final year of eligibility. The Dallas native understands the expectation that comes with that year. In fact, that lineage is why he transferred to Memphis in the first place.
“What lured me to Memphis was the history of success,” Lewis said. “It was something I wanted to be apart of. You see the things Coach Silverfield and Coach (Tim) Cramsey have done here at Memphis are incredible, and I it’s something I wanted to be apart of, especially with this being my last year of college. Memphis can put me in the best position to play at the next level. That was the biggest thing. Then I saw the guys I would be able to play with — the pieces they already had and the pieces they were bringing in — it was just a great fit for myself.”
Lewis may have been overlooked in the portal due to his 9-26 record as a starter, but the statistics and tape spoke for themselves. Last season at Nevada, he produced 2,290 yards as a passer on a 67.6 completion rate, delivering more than twice as many touchdowns (16) as interceptions (7).
“In the portal, there’s a bunch of different names and I wanted somebody with experience,” Silverfield said. “Then you put on his film — 35-game starter — and sure, was he perfect? No, he’ll be the first to admit that. The thing he hangs his head on is not being able to win some of his games. But hopefully we change that. He has been able to prove to win. But you watch the skillset he has and then you hear how intelligent he is and how hard he works, that dude checks off a lot of boxes of what we want to have in a quarterback.”
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Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesBut what separates Lewis from Memphis’ last four quarterbacks is his expertise in the mobility department. Paxton Lynch’s 321 rushing yards in 2014 is the highest mark attained by a Tiger quarterback in the program’s 12-year history in the American Conference. Conversely, in 2024, Lewis provided 775 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on a 4.9 average, solidifying himself as a true dual-threat quarterback.
“I don’t think anybody looks at Paxton Lynch or Riley Ferguson or Brady White or Seth Henigan and says, ‘Those are a bunch of really great running quarterbacks,’” Silverfield said. “Brendon Lewis, you look at him, he’s 227 pounds, but he doesn’t look like it. He can run. You add that element with him being intelligent, him being a gym rat with the arm strength — he’s a bit unique.”
Lewis understands his mobility is one of his defining features. He ranked 10th in the FBS in quarterback rushing yards in 2024, concluding the year as Nevada’s top ball-carrier. He nearly led the Wolf Pack in the category in 2023 as well. After spending the spring with Memphis’ fourth-year offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey, Lewis is eager about the possibilities in this offense — a unit which ranked 22nd, 6th, and 12th in scoring in Cramsey’s first three seasons.
“Me being a dual-threat is a big part of my game,” Lewis said. “It puts a lot of stress on defenses for them to have to worry about me as well as the weapons we have on our offense. Coach Cramsey has experience working with dual-threat quarterbacks, so he already knows how to run an offense with a dual-threat quarterback and a non-dual-threat quarterback which shows how good of a coach he is. I have complete confidence that he’s gonna put myself and the offense in the best position to go out there and score as many points as we need to win games.”
But the ability to run the football isn’t Lewis’ only feature the coaching staff has raved about this offseason. The former Colorado and Nevada starter has drawn eyeballs for his arm strength — a quality which the other quarterbacks competing for the No. 1 job also exude.
“I love Brady White and I love Seth Henigan — they’re like sons to me — but neither of them had elite, elite arm strength,” Silverfield said. “They had enough and were very successful and productive. Brendon Lewis and the other quarterbacks have very strong arms. They all can rock it. They have the ability to run with the arm strength. Then you top that off with intelligence.”
Becoming distinct as a Memphis quarterback in this era isn’t easy. Paxton Lynch was a first-round NFL Draft pick. Riley Ferguson threw for 4,257 yards in a season. Brady White started a New Year’s Six bowl. Seth Henigan holds all the major career program records.
But Memphis only has won conference championship since joining the American in 2013, and that’s one objective that inspires Lewis on a daily basis. At the end of his final collegiate season, that’s what he wants to be his defining feature as he aims to join one of college football’s most impressive quarterback timelines.
“That’s our biggest goal. We all in that locker room want to win a conference championship,” Lewis said. “Coach is doing a great job leading us and putting us in the best position to win that conference championship. It’s up to us. We all want it really bad. We all know we haven’t won a conference championship in a few years. That’s the main goal, and we’re gonna do everything we can to make that happen. That’s what’s been pushing us every day.”
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