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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.
Safety Quindell Johnson and kicker Chris Howard were named to the All-AAC First Team, which was announced by the conference on Wednesday.
The Tigers had six athletes earn all-conference honors with tight end Caden Prieskorn and linebacker Xavier Cullens being named to the second team. Defensive lineman Jaylon Allen and cornerback Davion Ross received honorable-mention honors.
Johnson, who was named to the second team last season, led the league with four interceptions this year. It’s the most interceptions by any Memphis player since 2017 and it’s the 16th most picks in college football this season. He also finished his last collegiate season with 73 tackles, five tackles for loss, a fumble recovery, two forced fumbles and four pass deflections.
Howard led the AAC with 20 made field goals on his way to earning a first-team selection He started the year making his first 14 field goals before finishing the regular season 20-of-23 and making 45 of his 47 extra-point attempts. Howard’s perfect streak fell two field goals shy of Stephen Gostkowski’s school record of 16 consecutive made field goals. Howard was the league leader scoring 8.8 points per game and his 105 total points were the most in the conference.
Prieskorn became one of quarterback Seth Henigan’s favorite targets this year which earned him a spot on the all-conference second team. He led all AAC tight ends with 46 catches and 593 receiving yards. His six touchdown catches tied for the most in the conference. He was just one touchdown, two catches and 64 receiving yards shy of the single-season tight end records set by former Tiger Sean Dykes.
Cullens earned second-team honors by leading the conference and ranking second in the nation with four fumble recoveries. He also tied for second in the AAC with three interceptions and tied for fourth with 104 tackles. Cullens finished the regular season with 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, a forced fumble and two interceptions that were both returned for a touchdown.
Allen received his honorable mention honors by tallying 56 tackles and leading the team with nine tackles for loss. He also totaled four sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, one pass breakup and six quarterback hurries. Ross was included in the honorable mention by finishing with 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a forced fumble, five pass deflections and a quarterback hurry.
The six players included in the all-conference awards helped the Tigers qualify for their ninth straight bowl by finishing the regular season with a 6-6 record. Which bowl game Memphis will participate in is still to be determined.
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Independence Bowl representatives watched the Tigers play Saturday in Dallas. But, the loss to SMU probably diminishes the chances to play in Shreveport.
NCAA football box score for the Saturday, Nov. 26 game between the Memphis Tigers and the SMU Mustangs from Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas.
Memphis football star, former city employee was inducted into the American Football Foundation Hall of Fame as a player and official. He also went into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
This game features two quarterbacks who are ranked in the top 20 in the nation in average passing yards and a receiver who leads the nation in average receiving yards per game.
Memphis’ defensive coordinator said his unit tries to take away what teams do well. Against the Mustangs, that means limiting the No. 1 receiver in the country and a top-10 quarterback.
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