Tigers Football Announces 2017 Class Wednesday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis football head coach Mike Norvell announced the Tigers 2017 signing class Wednesday. The class, the second of the Norvell era, is the best in Memphis football history.

The Tigers posted an 8-5 overall record and a 5-3 American Athletic Conference mark in Norvell's first season in 2015. Memphis earned its third-straight bowl invitation and played in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Memphis begins 2017 spring drills in mid-March, with the annual Friday Night Stripes spring game set for Apr. 14 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Coach Norvell's comments on the 2017 class
"To have the results that we have had today, we will finish up with the highest-rated recruiting class in school history and probably right there around the No. 1 non-Power 5 recruiting class in the country. For all of the rankings and excitement that comes with that, we were able to put together a class of an incredible group of young men. That's what makes this group special.

"We wanted to focus on size, speed and playmaking ability. I believe we hit a home run in every one of those areas. We were able to address a lot of needs that we had and got guys that we feel can be instant impacts.

"Last year (recruiting) was wild. Basically, we had one month to recruit so we were selling a vision and what we wanted to be able to instill into the program. As we went through this year, the kids were able to see it. The relationships were huge. I talk a lot about 'fit' and 'family,' and they were able to see exactly what that fit looked like. To have a year to build those relationships was really important for us. Then, they got to see it play out this past season. It was great for a lot of our prospects and the guys that ended up signing today."

2017 Class Breakdown (click on players' names to go to their bios)

Offense
Connor Adair, QB
Tyce Daniel, TE
Jared Edwards, TE
Obinna Eze, OL
Coye Fairman, WR
Mikhail Hill, OL
Tanis Joseph, OL
Dylan Parham, TE
Nick Robinson, WR
Timothy Taylor, RB
La'Andre Thomas, QB

Defense
Sanchez Blake Jr., DB
Braylon Brown, DL
Terrell Carter, CB
Zay Cullens, STAR
Marcus Green, DB
Desmond Hawkins, DL
Quindon Lewis, DB
Cade Mashburn, LB
JJ Russell, LB
Tamaurice Smith, DB
Tito Windham, DB

Special Teams
Preston Brady, LS
Connor Choate, LS
Riley Patterson, PK

University of Memphis Athletics

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