Starting Strong: Tigers Poised for a Big Week One Performance

No other week in college football provides excitement quite like week one. This Saturday as stadiums fill throughout the country, every team and fanbase alike will hold a hope of a special season ahead. New stars will be born, new records broken, and colossal upsets will ultimately unfold. After all those hot, early mornings in fall camp, week one serves as the first opportunity to “put it into practice.” Monday’s official depth chart release provided Memphis fans their first glimpse of what the 2023 Memphis Tiger football team will look like. This Saturday, who are the players that are poised to stuff the stat sheet after a long offseason of preparation?

Sutton Smith

Perhaps no other Memphis returner enters the 2023 season with as much hype and anticipation as second-year running back Sutton Smith. With the Memphis coaching staff hinting at Smith seeing opportunities out of the backfield, in the slot, and on special teams, the true sophomore will seemingly have ample opportunity to make his mark on every game this upcoming season. Logging 116 all-purpose yards against Tulane last fall, Smith’s best performance thus far may become an average production output in year two. Bethune-Cookman, who surrendered an average of 207 rushing yards to opponents last season, would surprise the masses if their struggling defense drastically improved in Raymond Woodie Jr.’s first game. Simply put, it’s clear the Memphis coaching staff has big plans for the Powder Springs, Georgia native, and an all-conference-type season wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise if things unfold as planned.

Geoffrey Cantin-Arku

When Cantin-Arku arrived in Memphis last year, the beginning of his Tiger career started rather quietly. Through his first six games, the Syracuse transfer only averaged around 4 tackles per contest. Toward the end of 2022, however, Cantin-Arku’s in-game production skyrocketed. To close the season against SMU and Utah State, he logged double-digit tackles and appeared to look much more comfortable in his role with the Tigers. As a redshirt senior, Cantin-Arku will now be looked upon as the next leader of a historically productive Memphis linebacker room. Fellow linebackers Bryce Edmondson, Chandler Martin, and CJ Johnson will all be experiencing their first game playing major minutes in a Memphis uniform, so look for Cantin-Arku to come out and set the tone with a strong performance in game one.

Seth Henigan

The Bethune-Cookman secondary allowed 200 or more passing yards in 7-of-11 games last season. Seth Henigan threw over 250 yards in 9-of-12 games as a sophomore in 2022. If the third-year starter doesn’t have a strong statistical performance in week one, it’ll be likely due to Tevin Carter coming in for mop-up duty early in the second half. The Wildcats may correct their defensive woes in 2023, but it’ll be difficult to turn things around in a single game. Henigan has a new-look receiving corps that Tiger fans would love to see gel quickly this upcoming Saturday.

William Whitlow Jr.

William Whitlow Jr. is a name that local media probably haven’t mentioned enough this offseason. In quiet fashion, the redshirt freshman produced a solid performance in his first year as a rotational defensive end in 2022. With the Tigers’ DL room appearing to be as deep as it’s been in several years, some Tiger fans may have been surprised when Whitlow was named a game-one starter alongside Jaylon Allen on Monday. A look at his 2022 game log, however, shows he was highly productive with limited reps last season. As a second-stringer, Whitlow finished third on the team in sacks last fall, and while the Memphis coaching staff added a lot of talent to the defensive line via the transfer portal, Whitlow appears to be developing nicely in his third season within the program. Bethune-Cookman, who surrendered an alarming 42 sacks last season, may serve as a coming-out party for a Memphis defensive line that looks to be much improved in 2023.

Simeon Blair

An Arkansas grad transfer who has yet to play a game in a Memphis uniform, Blair was named a team captain by Ryan Silverfield and staff on Monday. If that doesn’t tell all you need to know, he’s been praised as a hard-hitting safety who has emerged as the vocal leader of the Tiger defense. Raved about by the Memphis staff throughout offseason, Blair could very well lead the team in defensive snaps played just as he did with the Razorbacks in 2022. The Memphis secondary will need to fill a void vacated by Quindell Johnson, and Blair will receive the first opportunity to do so this upcoming season. Like Johnson, look for Blair to be extremely active in providing run support for the Tiger defense this season. Stepping down in competition from the SEC level, many national writers expect Blair to put up gaudy stats in 2023.