Memphis AD: Tigers football has the ‘right guy leading us’
University of Memphis atheltic director Ed Scott (center) attends a street naming ceremony for former U of M football player Glenn Rogers Sr. Oct. 25, 2024. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Memphis athletic director Ed Scott shared his thoughts on Tigers football while giving a vote of confidence to head coach Ryan Silverfield when he spoke at the coach’s weekly radio show Wednesday.
The Tigers (7-3, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) entered this season as the favorite to win the AAC Championship.
Memphis hasn’t been mathematically eliminated from the title race, but after a 44-36 loss at UTSA last Saturday it appears the Tigers will likely fall short of that goal. Memphis has two conference losses in a league that has two teams with unblemished conference records (Army and Tulane) and one program with one conference loss (Navy).
“I think sometimes you have to step back from the situation and understand how good we really are,” Scott said to coach’s show host Jeff Brightwell during a gathering at Brookhaven Pub & Grill. “Nobody is happy with 7-2 and if I said anything different, you all know I’d be lying.
“I expect to win every game that we lace ‘em up, and Navy and UTSA tripped us up pretty good. But at the end of the day, we’re still 7-2 and I think that’s really important for folks to understand.”
Silverfield is in his fifth season as head coach and Scott is confident about where he can take the program.
“Most importantly, I think we have the right guy leading us and that’s really the thing that I’m most happy about,” Scott said. “My relationship with Ryan is phenomenal.
“At the end of the day, he’s working extremely hard. He’s not happy where we are. He wants to win every game and if we have that same mentality, then that’s the common denominator.”
Scott also referenced the injuries Memphis has dealt with.
University of Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield leads his team onto the field during a game against North Texas Oct. 19, 2024. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
The Tigers lost linebacker Javante Mackey and safety Kourtlan Marsh before the season even started. Running back Sutton Smtih suffered a season-ending injury during the first quarter of Memphis’ season opener. Running back Greg Desrosiers Jr. just returned last week after missing five games.
Running back Brandon Thomas has missed the last two games and the Tigers lost receiver Demeer Blankumsee during the second quarter against UTSA. Blankumsee had six catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns before getting hurt while celebrating a score.
“Football sometimes is a war of attrition,” Scott said. “And, so, I think we need to keep that in mind, too, as we’re looking at a record of 7-2 and 11 years of (being) bowl-eligible. So that’s the minimum standard now. When you have all those things in place, it just gives you perspective.”
The Tigers will play host to Rice on Friday (8 p.m., ESPN2) at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The stadium has been in the midst of a renovation project all season.
The university was tasked with raising $50 million dollars as part of a $50 million match pledge by FedEx Corp. founder Fred Smith and his family.
Scott stated the project will now cost $222 million, which is $2 million more than the $220 million price tag that was originally projected. According to Scott, Memphis has just less than $27 million left to raise for the project.
Scott said the university’s Auxiliary Service Foundation, which is taking over ownership of the stadium from the City of Memphis, will be renamed and moved from university administrative control to athletic department control.
“That foundation will come under my leadership in athletics,” Scott said. “So that’s huge for us.”
Funding for the Tigers’ $7 million track, field and soccer complex renovation is moving along as well, according to Scott. The Liza Wellford Fletcher Stadium is named after former Memphis soccer player Eliza Fletcher, who was killed in 2022.
“We’re pretty close to getting to that $7 million dollar mark to be able to move the needle and put some shovels in the ground,” Scott said. “That’s really exciting.”
Topics
Memphis Tigers Football Ed Scott Memphis Tigers Athletics Liza Wellford Fletcher Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Ryan SilverfieldFrank Bonner II
Frank Bonner is the Memphis Tigers football beat writer. He is originally from Indiana but arrived in Memphis after spending two years in Tulsa, covering Oklahoma State football and basketball. He covered high school sports in Columbus, Indiana for two years before getting his Master’s degree in Sports Journalism at IUPUI. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.