Last weekend, the Memphis Tigers held its first official visit weekend, and it appeared to be a success.
I called this “The Biggest Recruiting Weekend In Memphis Football History.” That is held to be true on account of a source telling Tiger BluePrint that Memphis is the current leader in four-star quarterback Antwann Hill Jr’s recruitment, as well as SMU three-star wide receiver Xavier Johnson flipping his commitment to Memphis.
I had the chance to ask a couple of visitees what stuck out about Memphis, and what was head coach Ryan Silverfield’s recruiting pitch.
Amir Thomas – Running Back
Among the visitors were Amir Thomas, Antwann Hill’s Houston County High School teammate. I asked Thomas what stood out about his visit: “The major point, I would say, was brotherhood with an emphasis on hard work.”
He said “The opportunity to potentially play alongside my brothers is surreal. I’ve known them since we were kids.” He said. “I felt at home. All the coaches are very genuine. I really enjoyed my time in the 901.”
Thomas’ preferred walk-on offer from Memphis is his only division-one offer. Something to monitor as schools like Florida and Florida State -who are after his four-star teammates Antwann Hill and Peyton Joseph- are not offering Thomas. Tiger’s head coach Ryan Silverfield is pulling out all the stops to recruit the boys from Houston County.
Sam Browder – Offensive Line
Sam Browder, a three star offensive tackle (On3) tells Tiger BluePrint that Memphis is “high” on his list of schools.
He said “It was an awesome weekend in a great city. A major point the coaches wanted us to know was the connections the city had – that’s something that’s really important to me. There are business opportunities with connections like FedEx, AutoZone, and Nike. Something else that stuck out was the facilities. They are the nicest I’ve been to.”
Browder has 15 offers from group of five schools.
Whether it’s brotherhood, hard work or business opportunities, Ryan Silverfield has many items to sell recruits on.
