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Welcome back to the Tigers Football Insider, where we bring you the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Frank Bonner II, Geoff Calkins and John Martin each week.
Defensive back Greg Rubin was targeted a lot by quarterbacks as a freshman last season.
Offenses forced Rubin to prove he could play at a high level as a freshman, and he never backed down. He ranked third in the AAC in passes defended per game behind Ja’ McMillian of East Carolina and Houston’s Marcus Jones.
Rubin’s 14 pass deflections were the second-most in the conference. He got beat by receivers at times but that’s inevitable for a freshman who got targeted as much as he did. He’ll be entering this season with the freshman tag off his back having already proved to the AAC coaches and quarterbacks that he can hold his own.
It will be interesting to see if Rubin will get targeted any less this season or if offenses will still want to force the issue on his side of the field. Veteran defensive back Quindell Johnson said Rubin’s maturity in his second season will go a long way in him having an even better year this season.
“That first to second year is all about maturity and just learning more,” Johnson said. “They can learn from guys like me and they can learn from other guys that have been here. … Greg still having me back there communicating with him I feel like he’ll be more comfortable this year as well.”
Johnson and Rodney Owens are expected to be the starting safeties. I assume that Sylvonta Oliver will be the other starting cornerback opposite Rubin and all three of those guys are listed as fifth-year seniors. Rubin will have a lot of veteran experience to lean on as he continues growing as a player this season.
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Joseph Scates plays with confidence but didn’t join the Tigers with a big ego. “I just want to work,” he said.
Memphis landed two defensive linemen and a linebacker to the 2023 recruiting class on Saturday.
Kicker Chris Howard will join the Tigers, who struggled with field goals last season.
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