Riley Ferguson | Memphis
Gone are the days of Paxton Lynch leading the Memphis Tigers. He parlayed his great 2015 into a spot on an NFL team. While he is trying to replace a Tennessee Vol legend at quarterback in Denver, an ex-Tennessee Vol is trying to replace him in Memphis.
Ferguson is coming from Coffeyville Community College after transferring there from UT. He had a leg injury and redshirted his freshman year at Tennessee in 2013. He felt UT was never the right fit for him. But now he finds himself at Memphis. Ferguson has a strong-arm but hasn’t seen a SEC caliber defense.
Last year’s offense was potent under Coach Justin Fuentes. But he is now at Virginia Tech and Coach Mike Norvell is the new coach. We expect Ferguson to be serviceable, but we aren’t expecting him to be as good as Lynch. His effectiveness should be limited under a new head coach and the loss of last year’s top receiver. Good QB, but we will face better.
Next: 9. Kyle Shurmur-Vanderbilt