2018 Football Roster
Joey Magnifico
- Position:
- TE
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-4 / 235
- Class:
- Redshirt Junior
- Hometown:
- Cordova, Tenn.
- Prev School:
- St. Benedict at Auburndale
Career
Played in 53 games … Made 35 starts … Had 71 receptions for 1,064 yards with 12 TD … Pulled in the most receiving yards by a tight end in program history … Had 15 games with two or more receptions ... Had a career-long reception of 58 yards ... Had two solo tackles … Member of four of the top five offenses in program history (2018: 1st; 2017: 2nd; 2019: 3rd; 2016: 5th) ... The four offenses piled up more than 27,000 yards (27,060 total/6,765 per game/501.1 per game).
Honors (Academic/Athletic)
2018-19 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team … Dean’s List for 2018 fall semester ... Tiger 3.0 Club for the 2017 fall, 2018 fall and 2019 spring semesters ... 2019 Mackey Award Watch List … 2019 Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List … 2017, 2019 All-American Athletic Conference second team.
2019 (Redshirt Senior)
Played in 13 games with 12 starts at tight end … Missed the 84th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic due to injury … Team’s fifth-leading receiver in catches (20) and yards (335) … Hauled in two TD passes … Had three games with at least 50 receiving yards … Had four catches of at least 30 yards … Logged five games with at least two receptions … Set career-highs for receptions (6; tied), receiving yards (87) and all-purpose yards (87) at Temple … Had a 36-yard reception vs. the Owls that helped set up Memphis’ first score of the game … Pulled in a 27-yard pass at the Temple 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter … Catch set up the UofM’s TD that pulled the Tigers to within two at 30-28 … Became Memphis’ all-time leading receiver among tight ends after hauling in 30 yards vs. SMU … Surpassed former NFL tight end Alan Cross’ career record of 1,050 receiving yards … Had a career-long kick return of 40 yards vs. the Mustangs … Pulled in a career-long catch of 58 yards at South Alabama … Scored first TD of the season in Memphis’ 47-17 win vs. Tulane … Finished with 31 yards on three catches against the Green Wave … Scored a TD in back-to-back games (Tulane and at Tulsa) … His only catch at Tulsa was a five-yard catch in the end zone to give Memphis a 28-14 lead … Recorded 74 yards on three catches in Memphis’ 55-24 win vs. Southern.
2018 (Redshirt Junior)
Started all 14 games at tight end, including the Birmingham Bowl ... Fourth on team in both receptions (21) and receiving yards (363) ... Nearly equaled his yardage total from the previous two seasons (365) ... Second on squad with five TD catches ... Led team in yards per catch (17.3) ... Had six games with two or more receptions ... Played a key role in blocking for Darrell Henderson, who was FBS’s second-leading rusher with 1,909 yards …Hauled in a career-best two TD in key win at SMU ... First score was a 16-yard strike from Brady White to get Memphis on the board in the second quarter (7-3 lead) ... Second TD catch vs. the Mustangs came early in the fourth quarter, a 9-yard connection with White ... His second TD gave the Tigers some breathing room at 21-12 ... Had a season-high five catches vs. SMU (43 yards) ... Rolled up a season-high 65 receiving yards (2 catches) at ECU ... Had a season-long 44-yard reception twice vs. Connecticut and Wake Forest in the Birmingham Bowl ... His 44-yard catch vs. the Huskies was the first score of the game ... His 44-yard reception vs. Wake Forest moved the Tigers deep into Demon Deacons’ territory late in the contest ... Recorded two receptions in back-to-back outings vs. UCF in The American Championship Game (54 yards) and Wake Forest in the Birmingham Bowl (49 yards) ... Scored a TD on a 9-yard pass from White vs. Houston in the second quarter (17-7 Memphis lead) ... Logged a solo tackle vs. the Cougars ... Other TD came on a 5-yard pass in a home win over Tulsa.
2017 (Redshirt Sophomore)
Played in all 13 games, including the AutoZone Liberty Bowl … Made eight starts … Moved into starting role at tight end with the graduation of Daniel Montiel … Led all tight ends with 21 receptions for 280 yards … Tied for team lead among tight ends with three TD … Recorded five multi-reception performances … Also played a key role in blocking for Darrell Henderson, the fifth 1,000-yard rusher in program history … Logged career-bests for catches (6) in the home win over UCLA … Had a season-high 83 yards receiving vs. UCLA … Caught a TD vs. the Bruins … TD catch was a 2-yard reception from Riley Ferguson for the Tigers’ first score of the game … Short TD reception was set up by Henderson’s 80-yard scamper down inside the Bruins 20-yard line … Hauled in two catches for 29 yards in the comeback win at Houston … Had a 17-yard reception that set up a Patrick Taylor Jr. 9-yard TD run that cut the Houston lead to 31-21 near the end of the third quarter … Pulled in a season-long reception of 25 yards in a home win over Southern Illinois.
2016 (Redshirt Freshman)
Saw action in all 13 games … Made three starts … Played behind All-American Athletic Conference first team tight end Daniel Montiel … Grabbed nine passes for 85 yards and two TD … Had two multi-catch games … Had two receptions for a season-high 26 yards in the regular-season finale win over Houston … First catch vs. the Cougars was a 14-yarder to carry the Tigers to the Houston 2-yard line late in the first quarter … His reception set up a Phil Mayhue TD catch to give Memphis a 21-10 lead … Logged a TD catch in a road win at Cincinnati … Recorded his two-yard TD reception from Jason Stewart early in the second quarter for a 20-0 Memphis lead … Posted his first collegiate TD catch in the first quarter vs. SMU … His four-yard TD reception gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead … Tied a season high with two catches vs. the Mustangs … Had a season-long 15-yard catch in a home win over Kansas … Received his first collegiate start vs. the Jayhawks … In his college debut vs. Southeast Missouri, had one catch for 11 yards.
2015 (Freshman)
Redshirted … Member of the Tigers squad that posted a 9-4 overall record and a 5-3 league mark … Team earned a Birmingham Bowl bid.
High School
Played at St. Benedict for head coach Mike David ... Captain of the team his junior and senior seasons ... Named team MVP as a junior and first team all-region and to the Commercial Appeal Best of Preps team as a junior ... All-state, all-region and team MVP as a junior ... Played in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl High School All-Star and Toyota East-West All-Star games ... Lettered in football three years playing linebacker, wide receiver, fullback, defensive end and long snapper ... Also a four-year letterwinner in basketball ... Team’s offensive MVP for basketball as a junior.
Personal
Son of Keith and Ellen Magnifico … Has an older brother, Greg, who played football at Northeast Mississippi Junior College and Belhaven College (Jackson, Mississippi); and a sister, Ashley … Born in Memphis … Birthday is May 5 ... Sport and leisure management major.
