The Memphis Tigers know stability. The streak now stands at 12-straight seasons finishing .500+. Ten of those seasons featured at least 8 wins. Five of those seasons featured at least 10 wins. And although Memphis still awaits its first conference championship since 2019, the Tigers are always guaranteed to be in the conversation.
But during this prolonged stretch of success, Memphis hasn’t quite experienced an offseason like this. The Tigers underwent their first head coaching change since December
2019 when Ryan Silverfield left for Arkansas and former Marshall and Southern Miss head coach Charles Huff swooped in to occupy the vacancy. This was Memphis’ first coaching change in the modern transfer portal/NIL world, and it showed. The Tigers lost essentially every non-graduated starter to the portal, and now they are forced to adapt in order to sustain this run of excellence.
With Huff as the new program frontman, here’s a rundown of his first offseason at Memphis and what this reloaded team looks like in 2026:
Who is back?
Memphis enjoyed impressive stability in the Ryan Silverfield era. The Tigers produced four bowl wins and six-straight .500+ seasons, including 10-3 and 11-2 campaigns, under one head coach. Not only did Silverfield stay in Memphis for a while, but the Tigers also enjoyed continuity at the coordinator positions, with Tim Cramsey spending four years there and Jordon Hankins spending five (two as defensive coordinator) — and that retention certainly kept players in house, as evidenced by the senior-laden 2024 team.
However, Memphis lost its entire primary coaching staff and starts anew in 2026. And as expected, the Tigers don’t have much on-field personnel returning. Every primary starter from 2025 is gone. Here are some of the key contributors listed on the 2026 spring roster:
- WR Brady Kluse (3 starts, 22 receptions, 240 receiving yards, 2 TD)
- OT Jonathan Young (1 start)
- DT Taylor Burton (2 starts, 12 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 sack, 2 PBU, 1 FF)
- ILB Donovan Mathena (0 starts, 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 0.5 sacks)
- CB Chauncey Logan Jr. (4 starts, 13 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT)
All stats are from 2025 season only
Chauncey Logan Jr.’s four starts rein supreme on the 2026 spring roster. This amount of roster turnover is the modern reality of college football. From 2024 to 2025, Memphis only retained three starters (two offensive, one defensive), although that lack of retention was due to a senior-heavy 2024 roster, as opposed to the transfer portal.
Who left for Arkansas?
Roughly two months after defeating Arkansas in a 32-31 thriller in Memphis, six-year head coach Ryan Silverfield departed the Tigers for the nearby SEC program. Silverfield brought three assistants along with him, as well as a strength and conditioning coach. While Memphis was ransacked by the portal in January — losing every remaining starter — only a handful of seven players are making the move to Fayetteville.
Coaches (5):
- Head coach Ryan Silverfield
- Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey
- Wide receivers coach Larry Smith
- Offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jeff Myers
- Strength and conditioning coach Noah Franklin
Players (7):
- QB AJ Hill (0 starts, 19/32 (59.4%), 223 pass yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rush, -6 rush yards)
- RB Sutton Smith (5 starts, 102 rushes, 669 rush yards, 7 rush TD, 20 receptions, 109 receiving yards)
- WR Jamari Hawkins (11 starts, 38 receptions, 623 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD)
- G Malachi Breland (12 starts)
- OT Josiah Clemons (0 starts)
- TE Matt Adcock (7 starts, 12 receptions, 70 receiving yards, 3 receiving TD)
- FS Ian Williams (0 starts, 6 tackles)
All stats are from 2025 season only
Arkansas didn’t pillage Memphis’ roster to the degree Oklahoma State did to North Texas or Auburn to South Florida. The Tigers lost a portion of offensive starters to Fayetteville, with starting left guard Malachi Breland, leading rusher Sutton Smith, and second-leading receiver Jamari Hawkins among the highlighted names. Another significant loss was AJ Hill, the Tigers’ projected quarterback of the future. The consensus 4-star prospect was the No. 5 rated quarterback of the 2025 class according to ESPN but will get his opportunity to blossom into a starter elsewhere.
Who arrived from Southern Miss?
Memphis and Southern Miss used to share a rivalry, the “Black and Bowl Blue,” from the 1930s through until their shared Conference USA days concluded after 2012. The rivalry has since faded and in 2026, Southern Miss will serve as a key pipeline to reloading the Memphis football team. Head coach Charles Huff accepted a position at Memphis in early December after spending a year at Southern Miss, and the former Sun Belt champion head coach brought four assistants and 17 players along with him to the American Conference.
Coaches (5):
- Head coach Charles Huff
- Running backs coach/assistant head coach Telly Lockette
- Wide receivers coach Aaron Dobson
- Defensive line coach Eric Mathies
- Defensive backs coach Dominique Bowman
Players (17):
- QB Denzel Gardner (0 starts)
- RB Jaylin Carter (0 starts, 38 rushes, 166 rush yards, 2 rush TD, 20 receptions, 133 receiving yards)
- WR Tychaun Chapman (0 starts, 25 receptions, 448 receiving yards, 3 receiving TD)
- WR Jermane Hayes (0 starts, 4 receptions, 36 receiving yards)
- DE J’Mond Tapp (12 starts, 70 tackles, 12.0 TFL, 7.5 sacks, 2 PBU)
- DE Jabari Ishmael (6 starts, 20 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 2 PBU, 1 FR)
- DE Elijah Kinsler (0 starts)
- DT Jaden McKinney (0 starts, 27 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks)
- DT Chris Stokes (0 starts)
- DT Amir Leonard-Jean Charles (0 starts)
- OLB Michael Montgomery (12 starts, 105 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FF)
- OLB Zach Ruffin (0 starts, 3 tackles)
- CB Anthony Richard Jr. (13 starts, 31 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 INT, 8 PBU)
- FS Ian Foster (12 starts, 72 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sacks, 3 INT, 7 PBU, 1 FR, 2 defensive TD)
- FS Dylan King (0 starts, 27 tackles, 1 PBU)
- SS Ahmere Foster (13 starts, 47 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 3 INT, 2 PBU)
- SS Khalil Foster (0 starts, 2 tackles)
All stats are from 2025 season only
The Southern Miss influence is strong within Memphis. The Tigers are taking five-and-a-half starters from the Golden Eagles’ roster, including three starters in the secondary alone. Anthony Richard Jr., Ian Foster, and Ahmere Foster arrive with established chemistry after guiding Southern Miss’ defensive backfield in 2025 — a unit which allowed 229 passing yards per game (86th in FBS). There are three safeties with the last name Foster coming to Memphis, and Ian (older) and Khalil (younger) are the only pairing related to one another. Outside of the defensive backfield, the Tigers shored up the defensive line with J’Mond Tapp and Jabari Ishmael, who could both thrive as instant starters on the edges. Michael Montgomery is another key defensive addition as Southern Miss’ 2025 starting middle linebacker.
However, Memphis didn’t receive nearly as much production offensively from Huff’s former stop. Tychaun Chapman and Jaylin Carter are the primary names to watch this spring as experienced playmakers gunning for increased playing time.
What’s the QB situation?
Memphis owns one of the more impressive quarterback lineages in college football. From the dawn of the College Football Playoff era in 2014 through 2024, the Tigers only fielded four starting quarterbacks — Paxton Lynch, Riley Ferguson, Brady White, and Seth Henigan — and all four served the program well, each ranking top five in passing in program history.
In Silverfield’s final year at the helm, Brendon Lewis started all 13 games at quarterback, but he exhausted his eligibility after six collegiate seasons. The other two quarterbacks who saw valuable game reps in 2025, AJ Hill and Arrington Maiden, transferred to Arkansas and James Madison, respectively. The only QB the Tigers retain for 2026 is Grant Troutman, who did not log any playing time as a true freshman in 2025. Here’s what Memphis’ quarterback room looks like in 2026:
- Marcus Stokes — redshirt junior, transfer from West Florida (Division II)
- Air Noland — reshirt sophomore, transfer from South Carolina
- Denzel Gardner — redshirt freshman, transfer from Southern Miss
- Grant Troutman — redshirt freshman
- Gavin Owens — true freshman
Only two quarterbacks on the roster have fielded a collegiate snap — Stokes and Noland. Stokes arrives from Division II, where he guided West Florida to a 10-2 record in 2025. He was named Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy (the Division II Heisman equivalent) after firing for 3,297 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. The Division II to FBS jump isn’t unheard of, and Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss) and Austin Reed (WKU) are recent examples of success stories making that transition.
Also competing for the starting job is Noland who is now on his third school in three seasons. The 4-star recruit (ranked 7th among class of 2024 QBs according to 247Sports) spent time at Ohio State in 2024 and South Carolina in 2025 before turning to Memphis. He logged three passing attempts and one rush in the Gamecocks’ 51-7 thrashing of Coastal Carolina in November and looks for increased opportunity with a new coaching staff.
Gardner (who has familiarity with Huff from Southern Miss), Troutman (the lone incumbent), and Owens (the lone true freshman) have all yet to throw a pass on the college stage. While experience is often a good indicator of quarterback battles, Memphis did ride with an inexperienced true freshman before in 2021, when Seth Henigan first made his debut.
Who are other key portal additions to watch?
Outside of the Southern Miss additions, here are some of the more experienced transfers Memphis landed in the portal:
- RB Manny Covey, Cincinnati (1 start, 28 rushes, 198 rush yards, 1 rush TD, 8 receptions, 82 receiving yards)
- RB Dallan Hayden, Colorado (0 starts, 70 rushes, 326 rush yards, 1 rush TD, 4 receptions, 15 receiving yards)
- WR Terrell Timmons Jr., Colorado (1 start, 3 receptions, 58 receiving yards)
- TE Hunter Tipton, Middle Tennessee (10 starts, 39 receptions, 411 receiving yards, 2 receiving TD)
- G Skyler Grant, Old Dominion (13 starts)
- G Maarten Woudsma, Old Dominion (13 starts)
- OT Riley McGehee, Arkansas State (13 starts)
- OT Aaron Karas, Colorado State (12 starts)
- DE Joseph Head Jr., Mississippi State (0 starts, 8 tackles)
- DT Devan Lowe, Georgia Southern (6 starts, 21 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks)
- DT K.J. Miles, Temple (1 start, 22 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 PBU)
- FS Dylan Smith, Oklahoma State (4 starts, 12 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 FR)
All stats are from 2025 season only
Memphis is renowned for the running back talent that funneled through the program in the last decade, and with zero returning rushing yards from 2025, the Tigers will have to turn to their transfer portal hauls — Manny Covey and Dallan Hayden. Covey was buried in a crowded Cincinnati backfield but impressed in his lone start, which coincidentally was in Memphis’ stadium. He rushed for 78 yards on 11 attempts and caught five passes in the Liberty Bowl, the venue where he should see expanded playing time in 2026. And although Hayden didn’t start last year for Colorado, he provides valuable experience to the tune of 1,185 career rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns, even starting a College Football Playoff game back in 2022 with Ohio State.
The offensive line restocks with established Sun Belt veterans Skyler Grant, Maarten Woudsma, and Riley McGehee, as well as former Colorado State right tackle Aaron Karas. While those four arrive with starting experience, SEC transfers Brian Grant (Tennessee) and Koby Keenum (Mississippi State) could be intriguing adds that gained plenty of reserve reps in 2025.
Elsewhere on offense, the wide receiver room looks for a new No. 1 and Terrell Timmons Jr. is a candidate to fulfill that massive void after 21 receptions across four seasons at NC State and Colorado. One of the top receivers should also be the tight end Hunter Tipton. His 39 receptions ranked first among all Conference USA tight ends last year, and he’ll be at his fifth school in five years.
Defensively, Devan Lowe provides substantial size to the d-line at 6’2”, 360. The former JUCO standout started half of Georgia Southern’s games last year and made plenty of impact on the interior in 407 snaps. The defensive line also gains fellow American Conference transfers K.J. Miles (Temple) and his brother Xavier, along with edge rushers Joseph Head Jr. (Mississippi State) and Stone Chaney (Michigan State).
The defender that arrives with the most collegiate starts is former Oklahoma State safety Dylan Smith, who ran out with the first team 16 times at his prior stop. Smith has 75 career tackles and two interceptions, playing a key role on an Oklahoma State team that qualified for the 2023 Big 12 Championship Game.
The Charles Huff era at Memphis kicks off Aug. 29 in Las Vegas at UNLV for a Week 0 matchup.
