Former Tiger QBs wearing different sets of stripes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It's been roughly 10 seasons since Martin Hankins and Brett Toney last threw passes as University of Memphis quarterbacks.

Hankins, whose name still appears throughout the records section in the Tigers media guide, led the UofM to its first post-DeAngelo Williams postseason game in 2007. Toney, a valuable reserve, came off the sidelines to preserve another bowl trip, a 2008 invitation to the St. Petersburg Bowl.

As much as they may miss playing the game, they certainly aren't in position to miss the game.

Hankins and Toney, both in their early 30s, have established themselves as college football game officials. This fall, Hankins, 33, will begin his third season in the Southeastern Conference and Toney, 31, his third in Conference USA.

"It's been a lot of fun," Hankins said. "We get to work in some great environments, some great atmospheres."

Toney said being an official has been "a way to stay involved in the game in a way I never did before."

"It's been a great ride," Toney said. "It's been fun."

The transition from player to official has been gradual and somewhat seamless. And it began rather innocently as a means to earn some spending money.

Hankins and Toney, along with another former Tigers quarterback – Will Hudgens -- used to spend their college summers as little league baseball umpires in the Memphis area. Toney said depending on how many games they called, they could earn $350 to $450 on weekends.

"For a couple of college guys, it was a great way to make some money," Toney said.

Accustomed to being in charge on a football field, the quarterbacks enjoyed being authority figures on the baseball diamond. Some seeds had been planted.

Hankins said upon graduation, he pursued a coaching career and spent a season as a graduate assistant on the Memphis staff. During a Tigers' practice that season he helped officiate a scrimmage.

"I thought to myself: `I could do this'," he said. "I thought this is something I could do and still be involved and around the game. I love it."

And so he began, in 2010, working youth and junior high football games. He also officiated a few high school games.

He eventually worked at multiple levels of college football and officiated his first game in Conference USA in 2014. At that game in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he found himself on the same field as his college coach: former Tigers' boss Tommy West, who was an assistant at Middle Tennessee.

Toney, a clinical pharmacist in Memphis, said he never seriously thought his career path would lead him back to the football field. But once you've been in that arena, it's difficult to walk away.

"I never really thought about doing it, to be honest," he said. "I finished at Memphis and started pharmacy school. But my dad (Gary) ran into Jim Campbell, who was the Conference USA head of officials back then."

Campbell's son, Trip, was searching for a person familiar with the game to help him officiate high school football games in Arkansas.

"I ended up giving it a try," Toney said. "It was an eighth-grade scrimmage in Rector, Arkansas, of all places, about two-and-a-half hours away. But I just loved it. I saw it as a way to stay involved in the game."

Toney spent several seasons doing high school games, attended some officiating camps and talked with Hankins about how they could advance to the college level.

"Martin and I had talked about these camps," Toney said. "I had no idea there were referee camps all over the country with people paying big money to go to them."

Toney eventually caught the attention of Gerald Austin, the former NFL official who was conducting a camp in Miami. Toney spent two years on a C-USA split crew and will begin this fall on a full crew for the first time in his career.

"It's a big deal, it's pretty exciting," Toney said. "I'm looking forward to it."

Hankins, who owns the Tigers' single-game completions record (41), passed for 43 touchdowns in his two-year career. Only Danny Wimprine, Paxton Lynch and Riley Ferguson threw more.

A circuit court clerk in Lamar County (Mississippi), he and his family (wife, Kayla and children Lillian, 5, and Daniel, 2) live in Purvis, located south of Hattiesburg. He's enjoying serving the citizens in Lamar Country as much as he enjoys his weekends in the fall.

Like Toney, Hankins attended the officiating camps and said the experience "helped me get in front of a lot of the right people and enhanced my skills."

After officiating junior high games, he gradually worked his way to higher levels. He spent several seasons doing Gulf South, Conference USA and Sun Belt games before joining an SEC crew.

As former college players, and particularly former college quarterbacks, Hankins and Toney admit those experiences have aided their rise to officiating at this level.

"Absolutely I think it has helped," Hankins said. "Every time you put your (penalty) flag on the ground, your integrity is linked to it. It's like every decision you made as a quarterback. Ultimately, you want those players and coaches to decide the outcome of a game.

"So, yes, I like to think it helped playing all those snaps and being around the game."

Toney said as he made his climb through the ranks he was told being a former played gave him a "definite advantage."

"You know defense and strategy and what the teams are trying to do in certain situations," Toney said. "I'm sure experience has helped guys like Martin and myself move up quicker. I'm probably one of the four or five youngest officials in Conference USA and I'm sure Martin is probably one of the youngest in the SEC."

Hankins expected to enter college coaching upon the completion of his playing career. Toney thought he'd stick strictly to a pharmacy career.

"Life is funny that way," Hankins said. "You never know what path the Lord is going to take you on in life. But this is the one He has taken me on. And it's been fun."

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