University of Memphis Athletics
Tiger Defense Has Strong Showing In 2011 Blue-Gray Game
Apr 16, 2011 | Football
April 16, 2011
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
During the spring workouts, University of Memphis head coach Larry Porter kept saying that the Tigers' defense had improved. Well, the defense proved its coach right during the 2011 Blue-Gray Game held at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
In the 122-play intra-squad scrimmage, the Tigers' defense recorded 11 quarterback sacks and 17 tackles for loss (TFL) and held the offense scoreless until the final half-hour of the two-hour session.
"Defensively, I thought we started strong," said Porter. "When we got into some situations with third down and redzone, I didn't like the way we performed defensively. On the other hand, offensively, we got off to a slow start and got stopped on those first two possessions, and then on the back end of the scrimmage, we started to pick up steam in third down, redzone and two minute and finished strong, so I have mixed emotions right now."
"Overall, I thought the spirit of the day was good," added Porter. "The attitude was good and I am looking forward to taking this momentum into the summer."
Junior Dontari Poe, who was named one of the two Blue-Gray Game MVPs, paced the defensive effort with two tackles, two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery. Other Tigers with two sacks were senior Daniel Thomas (also six tackles and three TFL) and redshirt senior Tommy Walker (also five tackles and two TFL). Derek Smith led all players with nine total tackles, while Kenyata Johnson, Devin Clark, Corey Jones and Martin Ifedi each added four tackles.
The offense began to click during the red zone and two-minute drills near the end of the game. Sophomore running back Jerrell Rhodes, who shared game MVP honors with Poe, hit pay dirt three times from 13 yards, four yards and one yard out. Redshirt freshman Casey Calvin scored on a 16-yard TD run, and redshirt freshman Brandon Hayes capped the scoring with a 70-yard scamper.
Redshirt sophomore Andy Summerlin connected on three touchdown strikes during the red zone portion of the scrimmage. Summerlin found redshirt freshman Reggie Travis on two of the scores from six and 25 yards out, and then hit Marcus Rucker on a 25-yard touchdown.
Summerlin and redshirt sophomore Will Gilchrist split the quarterback duties in the game. Summerlin was 16-of-27 passing for 269 yards and three scores, while Gilchrist went 10-of-17 for 93 yards. Summerlin also had one interception.
The Rhodes-Hayes tandem led the Tigers' rushing game. Hayes was the top rusher with 131 yards on nine carries and one score, and Rhodes added 101 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns.
"This was without a doubt Jerrell's best day of the spring," said Porter. "He ran hard and he looked very sharp as a runner in terms of his decision making. He was patient and was allowing things to develop. I loved the way he finished the day."
2011 Blue-Gray Football Game Statistics
Passing
Andy Summerlin - 16 of 27 for 269 yards, 3 TD, 1 interception
Will Gilchrist - 10 of 17 for 93 yards
Receiving (Catches-Yds-TD)
Cam Baker (3-103)
Marcus Rucker (4-83-1)
Billy Foster (5-42)
Reggie Travis (3-36-2)
Tannar Rehrer (4-34)
Justin Henderson (3-25)
Kevin Wright (2-22)
Curtis Johnson (1-12)
Jerrell Rhodes (1-8)
Rushing (Carries-Yds-TD)
Brandon Hayes (9-131-1)
Jerrell Rhodes (20-101-3)
Casey Calvin (6-20-1)
Billy Foster (8-9)
Defensive Highlights
Kenyata Johnson - 4 tackles, 1 TFL, interception
Dontari Poe - 2 tackles, 2 QB sacks, fumble recovery
Daniel Thomas - 6 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 QB sacks
Tommy Walker - 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 QB sacks
Johnnie Farms - 2 tackles, 1 QB sack
Devin Clark - 4 tackles, 1 QB sack, 1 QB hurry
Corey Jones - 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB sack
Lonnie Ballentine - 2 tackles, 2 pass break-ups
Martin Ifedi - 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QB sack
Derek Smith - 9 tackles
Scoring Plays
Jerrell Rhodes 13 yd TD run
Reggie Travis 6 yd TD pass from Andy Summerlin
Reggie Travis 25 yd TD pass from Andy Summerlin
Jerrell Rhodes 4 yd TD run
Marcus Rucker 25 yd TD pass from Andy Summerlin
Casey Calvin 16 yd TD run
Jerrell Rhodes 1 yd TD run
Brandon Hayes 70 yd TD run
Postgame Awards
Ralph Hatley Scholar-Athlete Award - Tom Hornsey
Rex Dockery Memorial Award - Fred Harvey
Chris Faros Most Improved Player Award - Lavaris Edwards
Glenn Jones 12th Man Award - Al Bond
Spring Iron Tigers - Jordan Devey, Ron Leary, Johnnie Farms, Zach Gholson,
Fred Harvey, Curtis Johnson, Lonnie Ballentine
Leadership Award - Ron Leary, Akeem Davis and Dontari Poe
Spring Practice Performance Award - Billy Foster and Frank Trotter
Special Teams Award - Ricky Holloway
Jeremy Williams Award (Spring's Most Valuable Player) - Billy Foster
Blue Gray Game MVP - RB Jerrell Rhodes and DL Dontari Poe
