After Memphis football's first preseason practice, coach Charles Huff was in the middle of answering a question about how the Tigers had come together throughout the offseason.
The first-year coach was talking about preparing players to be better husbands and fathers, and then he said this.
"Don't get me wrong: I need to win. Fast. I get it."
It was a pretty good encapsulation of where the program sits as the Tigers officially began their preparation for the 2026 season that begins at UNLV on Aug. 29. On one hand, the Tigers have a roster made up almost entirely of transfers and have position battles going on at multiple spots on each side of the ball.
On the other, there are legitimate championship expectations.
Huff has embraced it since he left
Southern Miss, declaring at his introductory press conference in December that he was in Memphis to "close the gap" between being one of the best teams in the American Conference and actually winning the title, something the Tigers have not done since 2019.
"If we're shying away from championships and CFP and big goals and big dreams, then that's what (the players are) going to do in life," he said on July 30. "So instead of them wanting to be the CEO, they're going to be okay being the foreman. Or they're going to be okay just being in the organization. They're not going to strive to be the top of it."
There's a clear sense of urgency around the entire team, even though it's still July. The Tigers play Week 0, so the preseason practice period has gotten compressed and the high stakes of the first game in Las Vegas means there won't be a lot of time to work things out.
The Tigers still have a quarterback competition to figure out and plenty of other questions that will need to be answered. The expectations and goals, though, have been crystal clear.
"Will we make it there or not? I'll tell you in December," Huff said. "But if we make it, it'll be because they were able to understand that the bigger the goal, the harder the work. If we don't they'll leave here learning that if you set high goals, you've got to work."
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Charles Huff isn't shying away from high expectations for Memphis football
