Facing the Unknown

In preparing for a football team with a new coaching staff, there certainly are voids in complete knowledge of what Missouri State may do offensively, defensively and with special teams. On Saturday, Memphis takes on a team which will bring somewhat an element of surprise into the season opener for both teams.

Kickoff Saturday is 6 p.m. in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The game can be heard locally on AM600 WREC as well as WAMB-AM 1160 in Nashville and WJAK-AM 1460 in Jackson, Tenn. For fans living outside of those radio markets, the game will be broadcast to subscribers through Memphis All-Access at www.GoTigersGo.com/Watch.

The game will also be streamed via the Internet on ESPN3.com.

Missouri State is looking for a change of fortunes this season as former Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel begins his first season as the Bears' head coach. MSU will look to end a streak of five straight years without a winning season.

In ways, Missouri State will have an element of surprise with its game plan Saturday. Memphis head coach Justin Fuente spoke about preparing for the Bears Monday during his first game-week media gathering.

"Sure there is a lot of uncertainty there and you try your best to figure out what their scheme is going to be," Fuente said. "Defensively, obviously you can watch the old film for personnel and then try to figure out what scheme they will follow on both sides of the ball. Then, you try to make your judgment from that.

"So there is a little bit of a guessing game, obviously. But you can look at personnel, then try your best to patch together what they are going to do on both sides of the ball."

In terms of personnel, the Bears may have been 4-8 a year ago, but they certainly return talent.

For MSU, the offense starts with senior center Robert Booker, a preseason All-America and first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference choice for the second straight year.

The Bears were fairly balanced a year ago, averaging 180.3 yards rushing and 166.4 yards passing for 346.8 yards of offense per game.

Redshirt freshman Breck Ruddick, a 6-4 redshirt freshman who prepped at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, is expected to start at quarterback for the Bears. Brode Lambert, listed No. 2 at quarterback, played in four games last year as a sophomore, but passed just four times during the year.

Sophomore tailback Calan Crowder led the Bears in rushing last year as a rookie, gaining 762 yards and scoring four times during the year.

Mario Verduzco is the Bears' offensive coordinator after 14 years on the staff at MVFC rival and NCAA FCS power Northern Iowa.

"They have a bunch of influences there," Fuente said of Missouri State's offense. "For us to say with great certainty which direction they will go would be a stretch. So, you try whatever you can do because it could be more than a coordinator. It can be other assistants and what they got."

Along with Crowder, junior linebacker Dylan Cole was an honorable mention All-MVFC preseason selection.

Cole has started 22 straight games for the Bears and is the team's returning leader in terms of tackles with 92 total stops. He led Missouri State last year with 14.5 tackles for lost yardage, broke up six passes and had three quarterback hurries.

Memphis heads into Saturday's opener with a seven-game win streak dating back to the midway mark of last year's championship season. It is the fourth-longest current win streak in NCAA FBS Football.

Defensively, the Tigers may return just three starters, however every expected starter on the defensive side of the football is a returning letterman.

Up front, junior DAWG linebacker Jackson Dillon has had a tremendous off-season for the Tigers. In his last game, the two-year starter had a career-high 11 tackles in the Miami Beach Bowl victory over BYU. Dillon had three tackles for lost yardage including two quarterback sacks against the Cougars in the bowl game.

Offensively, Memphis returns eight starters including junior quarterback Paxton Lynch. Following a sophomore season in which he completed 259-of-413 passes for 3,031 yards and 22 touchdowns, Lynch ranks third on virtually every career passing chart at Memphis behind Danny Wimprine (2001-04) and Martin Hankins (2006-07).

While Sam Craft (89 carries for 331 yards) and Jarvis Cooper (75 carries for 378 yards) are listed No. 1-2 on the depth chart at running back and are the Tigers' top two returning ball carriers, look also for sophomore Doroland Dorceus, who returns from missing most of last season with an injury, and true freshman Jamarius Henderson to see action in the backfield.

Senior wide receiver Mose Frazier caught a team-leading 47 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns last season while fifth-year player Tevin Jones caught 33 passes for 442 yards. Alan Cross is Memphis' all-time leader in touchdowns by a tight end and is coming off a 28-catch, 373-yard season.

Up front, Memphis has six linemen back with experience as starters for the Tigers while senior transfer Ryan Mack adds experience as a starter during his career at Louisville.

In terms of special teams, Memphis returns its entire kicking game in place-kicker Jake Elliott along with punters Spencer Smith and Nick Jacobs. The Tigers will have a new look with its returners. Sam Craft is listed for kickoff returns while Roderick Proctor will return punts, but the other players listed at the return positions are newcomers.

Following Saturday's opener, the Tigers play on the road consecutive weeks, traveling to Kansas Sept. 12 and at Bowling Green on Sept. 19. Missouri State's home opener comes next week against Chadron State.

University of Memphis Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jarvis Cooper

Sam Craft

Alan Cross

Jackson Dillon

Doroland Dorceus

Jake Elliott

Mose Frazier

Jamarius Henderson

Nick Jacobs

Tevin Jones

Paxton Lynch

Ryan Mack

Roderick Proctor

Spencer Smith

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