Memphis football enters its 2023 season with arguably the most talented roster of the Ryan Silverfield era.
Despite mediocre finishes in the last two seasons, Memphis has been able to assemble a group full of high-level commodities from both the high school ranks and the transfer portal.
However, these upgrades were not the focus of Athlon Sports’ preseason all-AAC teams for 2023. While no Memphis players made the 1st team, two Tigers made the 2nd team, four made the 3rd team and two made the 4th team.
In total, four offensive and four defensive players were selected for the preseason all-AAC teams. That obviously adds up to eight total selections for Memphis football. And for those keeping track, 7 of the 8 Memphis players selected are returners from last year’s 6-6 team. The outlier is Watson, a transfer running back from Old Dominion.
Regardless, Memphis’ presence on these teams shows that general expectations for the Tigers are higher than last year. With a newly revamped AAC and a seemingly easier schedule, critics look to be a bit more confident in Memphis’ chances to succeed in Silverfield’s 4th season.
And for Memphis’ sake, it better hope the critics are right. Because if they aren’t, the program will likely end up in its worst spot in more than a decade.
It’s unsurprising that both Allen and Cantin-Arku found their way onto the 2nd team. Both are tremendous leaders on the defensive side of the ball, and will be crucial towards that unit’s success in 2023.
Allen is easily the Tigers’ best pass rusher, as he constantly made his presence known in the backfield in 2022. He recorded career highs in both tackles and tackles-for-loss with 58 and 10 respectively. His 10 tackles-for-loss led the team. He also tied his career high in sacks with 5, which also led the team.
Cantin-Arku is the team’s projected leading tackler for 2023. His 76 tackles were 3rd on the team last year behind Xavier Cullens’ 111 and Quindell Johnson’s 77. The Canadian star should provide consistent production at the second level of Memphis’ defense.
Memphis’ Third-Team Selections
Henigan is the biggest name on this entire list, and is also Memphis’ best player. The reason he’s on the 3rd team is because of UTSA’s Frank Harris and Tulane’s Michael Pratt. Harris and Pratt are probably the two best quarterbacks in the conference, so Henigan has nothing to be ashamed of there.
It doesn’t change the fact that he’ll be the biggest factor in Memphis’ success or failure in 2023. Henigan threw 22 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 2022, and was also the team’s leader in rushing attempts last year. For the Tigers to win more games in 2023, however, he needs to take another step forward with his production.
Watson was an extremely productive player at Old Dominion. He had 1,112 and 921 yards rushing yards in his final two seasons with the program. His inclusion on a preseason all-AAC team, though, is a little confusing. Memphis has an abundance of talented running backs on its roster, so it’s no guarantee that Watson ends up being the starter.
Likes will be the team’s starting center once again in 2023. Though the offensive line was putrid in 2022, he was a standout in that group and should be a good player once again.
Ross was a significant contributor in the secondary last season next to Johnson and Greg Rubin. Ross is a good player, but it’s a little weird that he was selected and Rubin was not. Nonetheless, the 5-foot-10 defensive back will again be a stable presence in the Tigers’ corner room.
Fourth-Team Selections
Similar to Likes, Gambill was a shining light in the very dark tunnel that was Memphis’ offensive line in 2022. He should be a positive for that group once again in 2023. Luckily, the offensive line should improve with the talent it inherited from the transfer portal.
Hamilton, who transferred in from Ohio State last year, went under the radar in 2022. The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Memphian quietly recorded 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks as a starter on Memphis’ defensive line. It’s certainly arguable that he should’ve been ranked higher than a fourth-team selection.
Senior Editor for Tiger Blueprint. See more of my work on Bluff City Media, where I’m the Memphis basketball beat writer, the Men in Hoodies podcast on Apple and Spotify and on “Sports with Roman Cleary” live on University of Memphis Radio—The ROAR Fridays from 3-4 p.m. during the fall and spring.
