University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
UNLV
Tigers Kick Off 2026 Season at UNLV in Week Zero Matchup
Aug 26, 2026 | Football
The game, set for a 9 p.m. CT kickoff, will be broadcast on FOX Network with Tim Brando on play-by-play, Devin Gardner as the analyst and Josh Sims on the sideline. The game will also be available to listen to on 98.9 THE ROAR OF MEMPHIS, Memphis' Athletics flagship station for Tiger Sports Network, with Dave Woloshin (play-by-play), Jarvis Greer (analyst) and Greg Gaston (sideline) on the call.
SETTING THE SCENE
• Memphis' matchup against UNLV marks the beginning of the Charles Huff era in the Bluff City, taking over as the program's 26th head coach on December 8, 2025 after masterminding a six-game turnaround at Southern Miss, giving the Golden Eagles their best record that they had seen since 2019.
• This week's opener marks the first time since 2022 that Memphis has started the season on the road, with that last matchup being a 49-23 loss at Mississippi State.
• The Tigers look to erase a bad taste dating back to last season after ending the year on a five-game losing streak and having a streak of four-straight bowl game wins and 11 victories against nonconference opponents.
• The 2026 Memphis Tigers roster features a grand total of 81 newcomers, split between 20 true freshmen and 61 transfers, with 27 returners from last season.
• Huff brings along 18 players from his 2025 Southern Miss squad, including All-Sun Belt performers: DE J'Mond Tapp, LB Mike Montgomery and SAF Ian Foster.
o The list also includes six players who played for Huff at both Marshall and Southern Miss.
• Memphis returns just four players (CB Chauncey Logan Jr., DL Taylor Burton, WR Brady Kluse, OL Parker Mitchell) that started at least one game for the Tigers in 2025.
• For the first time in program history, the Tigers will be participating in College Football's "Week Zero", an eight-game slate taking place on August 29.
• Dating back to a win over UAB in the 2023 season, Memphis has forced at least one turnover in 27 of its last 33 games. Over that stretch, the Tigers have created 57 takeaways (32 INT, 25 FR).
• Memphis has scored at least 15 points in 85-consecutive home games – the second-longest active streak in the FBS and the fourth-longest streak overall since 1978.
• The Tigers enter the season on an active four-game losing streak, with last season's bowl game marking the first time since 2022 that Memphis has dropped four games in a row.
• The Tigers currently have an active streak of 29 games with two or fewer turnovers, which is the second-longest streak by an American Conference team and the longest active streak in the conference.
o The streak is also the sixth-longest active streak by an FBS program.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• This will be the first all-time meeting between the Tigers and Rebels, the first game in a home-and-home series, with UNLV making the trek to Memphis for the 2029 season.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
• UNLV enters its second season under head coach Dan Mullen, who guided the Rebels to a 10-4 record in 2025, culminating in an appearance in both the Mountain West Conference Championship against Boise State and the Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl.
• The Rebel offense was on a tear in the first season of the Mullen era, finishing 20th in the FBS in total offense with 446.4 yards per game, ranking 23rd in rushing offense (195.5) and 40th in passing offense (250.9).
• A pair of senior quarterbacks (Alex Orji, Jackson Arnold) look favored to continue UNLV's production as 2025 starter Anthony Colandrea transferred to Nebraska after finishing top-30 in the nation in passing yards (3,459) and touchdowns (23).
• Senior running back Jai'den Thomas returns for his fourth season with the program after finishing second in the FBS in yards per carry (7.00), while also posting top-40 finishes in rushing yards (1,036) and rushing touchdowns (12).
• UNLV only has one returner (Taeshaun Lyons) who caught multiple receiving touchdowns in 2025.
• The Rebel defense was also able to take control of games, finishing 25th in turnover margin (0.50), 17th in 3rd down percentage allowed (32.9%) and 22nd in interceptions (14).
• Memphis head coach Charles Huff's 2025 Southern Miss squad finished 5th in the FBS in turnover margin (1.08) and led the nation in interceptions (22).
• UNLV's leading tackler in 2025 (Marsel McDuffie) and top two pass interceptors (Aamaris Brown, Laterrance Welch) have all left the program, leaving senior Jake Pope as the leader of the defense.
• Pope, an Alabama and Georgia transfer, was stout in his first season of seeing action, finishing second on UNLV in tackles (81), while recording an interception and 1.5 sacks.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
• Memphis was well represented on preseason national award watchlists by numerous student-athletes, as well as Preseason American Conference Teams put out by various publications.
• TE Hunter Tipton, DL J'Mond Tapp, LB Mike Montgomery and SAF Ian Foster were all named to the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl 1000 Watchlist.
• LB Donovan Mathena was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominee Class for the second season in a row, highlighting his continued commitment to on-the-field performance and community service efforts off the field.
o Mathena also was named to the 2026 Allstate Wuerffel Trophy Watch List for the second-straight season.
• RB Manny Covey picked up a nod on the 2026 Doak Walker Award Watch List, annually awarded to the best running back in the nation.
o Memphis has had 10 players be named to the watch list in nine separate seasons since 2004, including players in the past three seasons.
• SAF Ian Foster was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Preseason Watch List, an award given to the best defensive player in all of college football.
o Memphis has had a player on the watch list now in each of the past three seasons.
• Seven Tigers garnered recognition on the 2026 Phil Steele Preseason American Conference Teams, with four first-teamers (DE J'Mond Tapp, LB Mike Montgomery, SAF Ian Foster, DL Jaden McKinney) on the defensive side and a trio of offensive linemen (Phillip Gray, Riley McGehee, Maarten Woudsma) being named to teams, with Gray as a third-team center and McGehee and Woudsma as fourth-team tackles and guards, respectively.
• 11 Tigers claimed 12 spots on the 2026 Athlon Sports Preseason American Conference Team, with DL J'Mond Tapp, LB Mike Montgomery and SAF Ian Foster on the First Team, TE Hunter Tipton and SAF Ahmere Foster on the Second Team, WR Tychaun Chapman, OL Maarten Woudsma, Ian Foster (KR), DL Jaden McKinney and CB Chauncey Logan Jr. on the Third Team, and WR Terrell Timmons Jr. and SAF Dylan Smith on the Fourth Team.
• DL J'Mond Tapp and SAF Ian Foster were both also named to the Sports Info Solutions Preseason American Conference Team, with Tapp listed as a DE and Foster as a defensive flex honoree. SIS's formula for selecting the team is based solely on data scouting and statistical analysis.
• Memphis had six honorees on the Pro Football Network Preseason American Conference Team, including DL J'Mond Tapp, SAF Ian Foster and RB Manny Covey (PR) as first-team selections. OL Riley McGehee picked up his second preseason honor on the second team, along with CB Anthony Richard Jr. SAF Ahmere Foster also picks up his second honor, this time on the preseason all-conference third team.
• Five Tigers were named to HERO Sports' Preseason Group of Six All-America Teams, with SAF Ian Foster and DL J'Mond Tapp on the first team, along with TE Hunter Tipton, LB Mike Montgomery and SAF Ahmere Foster all being named to the third team.
• DL J'Mond Tapp was also recognized in ESPN's Adam Rittenberg's Top 15 Non-QB Playmakers as the only member from a non-Power 4 School, along with being named to The Athletic's Freaks List.
o DL J'Mond Tapp also was named to the 2027 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 List.
• TE Hunter Tipton also picked up a nod on the 2026 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watchlist, awarded to the most outstanding offensive player with ties to the state of Texas through high school and/or college.
NEW FACES ON STAFF
• Head Coach Charles Huff built up a new coaching staff across the board, also bringing his assistant head coach, Telly Lockette, from Southern Miss and Marshall prior to the duo's time with the Golden Eagles.
• Offensively, Kevin Decker and David Weeks both come in from Old Dominion to serve as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach, respectively. Rounding out the offensive staff are Andy Kwon coaching the offensive line and Aaron Dobson coaching the wide receiving corps.
• Lance Guidry joins as the program's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after spending time as a defensive analyst at LSU in 2025 and time as Miami's defensive coordinator after being Marshall's defensive coordinator under Coach Huff from 2021-2022. The defensive position groups are coached by Eric Mathies (defensive line), Dominique Bowman (safeties), Tim Duffie (cornerbacks) and Mac Goode (linebackers asst.).
AN ONGOING BATTLE
• A battle has been brewing at the Quarterback position all the way from the spring through fall camp between redshirt sophomore Air Noland and redshirt junior Marcus Stokes.
• Noland, a lefty transfer from South Carolina, was a highly touted high school prospect, spending his first collegiate season at Ohio State after being ranked as the 7th-best QB in the country by 247Sports in the class of 2024.
• Stokes, a West Florida transfer who was once committed to Florida in high school, dominated at the Division II level in 2025, winning Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year, D2CCA Super Region 2 Offensive Player of the Year and being a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award, given to the most valuable player at the NCAA Division II level.
BUILDING UP THE BACKFIELD
• After mentoring multiple first-round running backs in Saquon Barkley at Penn State and Najee Harris at Alabama, Head Coach Charles Huff has built a balanced group of tailbacks who could all go off on a given day, guided by assistant head coach and running backs coach, Telly Lockette.
• Dallan Hayden comes in as the most experienced of the group after stints at Ohio State and Colorado. The Memphis native returned home for his final season, looking to build off of a current mark of 1,185 career rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
• Manny Covey is set for his first season in the blue and gray after playing a versatile role at Cincinnati over the past two seasons. He currently has a career average of 5.78 yards per carry, while also having a 100-yard receiving performance under his belt and 156 career punt return yards.
• Jaylin Carter followed Coach Huff from Southern Miss after rushing for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns and logging 137 receiving yards as a true freshman in 2025.
FAMILIAR FACES ON DEFENSE
• Coach Huff brings over multiple members of his 2025 Southern Miss defense that finished 1st in the nation in interceptions (23) and fifth in turnover margin (1.08).
o Current Memphis Tigers Ian Foster, Ahmere Foster, Mike Montgomery and Anthony Richard Jr. account for 10 of those 23 interceptions.
• Counting all Southern Miss to Memphis transfers, the 2026 Tigers team has the following production from Southern Miss' 2025 season -
o Tackles - 411 of 1,095 (37.5%)
o Tackles for Loss - 26.5 of 78.0 (34.0%)
o Interceptions - 10 of 23 (43.5%)
o Sacks - 12.5 of 30.0 (41.7%)
• DL J'Mond Tapp follows Huff to Memphis for his final season after finishing in the top 40 in the FBS in sacks (7.5) and being named to the All-Sun Belt First Team in 2025.
• LB Mike Montgomery also follows to lead Huff's defense yet again after finishing in the top 30 in the nation in tackles per game (8.8) and picking off a pair of passes for the Golden Eagles last season, earning a Third Team All-Sun Belt nod.
• The third piece of a key trio of Southern Miss transfers from Huff's 2025 campaign is SAF Ian Foster, who picked off three passes, returning two for touchdowns while adding 72 tackles, being named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team.
• Of the numerous pieces that Huff brings from Southern Miss are Ahmere Foster, Anthony Richard Jr. and Dylan King in the defensive backfield, who all contributed to last year's dominance in Hattiesburg.
o The three combined for 5 interceptions and 105 tackles.
• The Memphis defensive line is set to be anchored by multiple Southern Miss transfers in addition to Tapp in Jaden McKinney and Jabari Ishmael, who combined for 48 tackles in the interior tackle spots.
o DE Elijah Kinsler also comes in from the Golden Eagles after a limited role during his freshman season in 2025.
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