2022 Football Roster
Cullens, Xavier "Zay"
Jersey Number 8
Xavier "Zay" Cullens
- Position:
- Linebacker
- Height:
- 5-11
- Weight:
- 225
- Class:
- Fifth Year
- Hometown:
- Ecru, Miss.
- High School:
- North Pontotoc HS
- NIL:
Bio
Honors
• 2022 Second-Team All-AAC
• 2022 First-Team All-AAC Team (PFF)
• 2022 Second-Team All-AAC Team (Phil Steele)
• 2021 Third-Team All-AAC (Phil Steele)
• Tiger 3.0 Club (2021, 2019, 2018, 2017)
• 2017-18 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team
• Dean’s List for 2018 spring semester
2022 (Fifth Year)
• Member of the Tigers who won the 2022 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
• Appeared in all 13 games, earning 12 starts on the season
• Totaled 111 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, four fumble recoveries, three interceptions, one quarterback hurry and two pass breakups
• Ranked second in the NCAA and led the AAC in fumble recoveries
• Led the team tackles, ranking fifth in the AAC
• Had a season-high 13 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack against No. 25/25/25 UCF
• Totaled 10 stops, one tackle for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and an interception returned 54 yards for a touchdown in win over North Alabama
• Posted eight tackles one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery and an interceptions returned 37 yards for a score in victory over North Texas
• Recorded nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup in win against Temple
• AAC Weekly Honor Roll (Temple)
• AAC Weekly Honor Roll (North Texas)
• Second-Team Preseason All-AAC (Phil Steele)
2021 (Redshirt Senior)
• Appeared in all 12 games for the Tigers, earning four starts
• Totaled 69 tackles, 44 solo, with team-best 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one fumble recovery, on interception, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups
• Had a season-best 16 tackles, eight solo, with 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two quarterback hurries against UTSA
• Posted 11 tackles, seven solo, with 0.5 tackles for loss in win over Navy
• Recorded six stops with one fumble recovery, one interception and one quarterback hurry in victory against Tulane
2020 (Redshirt Junior)
• Member of the 8-3 Tigers who won the 2020 Montgomery Bowl
• Appeared in nine games on the season, earning one start
• Totaled 29 tackles, 20 solo, with four TFL, two sacks, one interception and one pass breakup
• Made a season-high seven tackles with one sack and one interception in win over Arkansas State
• Had 1.5 TFL and one sack at Tulane
• Tallied a pass breakup in win over UCF
2019 (Redshirt Sophomore)
• Played in 13 of 14 games while helping Memphis to its first outright American Athletic Conference Championship and a berth in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl
• Finished with 69 total tackles, including 46 solo stops
• Added one interception, two quarterback hurries and three pass breakups
• Had 13 multi-tackle games
• Had five or more tackles in six games, including the last three games of the season
• Had a career-high nine tackles in a road win at Houston
2018 (Redshirt Freshman)
• Moved to the defensive side of the ball (linebacker) after playing both offense and defense in high school
• Played in six games at linebacker
• Credited with four total tackles (3 solo)
• Made his collegiate debut in the season-opening win over Mercer
• Logged a career-best two total hits, both solo stops, vs the Bears
• The two solo tackles also were a career-high
• Played in his first American Athletic Conference game at Tulane
• Tied career-high with two total tackles (1 solo) in a home win over Tulsa
2017 (Freshman)
• Redshirted
• Member of 2017 squad that went 10-3, won The American West Division title (7-1 league record) and played in The American Championship Game
• Squad earned the program’s first Liberty Bowl bid and played in the hometown’s postseason classic
Prior to Memphis/Personal
• Two-way star for head coach Brian Sutton at North Pontotoc High School
• Three-year starter for the Vikings
• Piled up 6,336 all-purpose yards at his RB position
• Rushed for 5,612 yards on 673 carries (8.3 ypc) and caught 36 passes for 464 yards
• Had 28 career 100-yard rushing performances
• Ran for 72 TDs and caught five scores
• Had 111 kick return yards and 149 punt return yards
• Also starred his last two seasons at DB
• Collected 159 total tackles, five INT and five caused fumbles
• Ranked among the top-40 players in the state of Mississippi by 247Sports.com (No. 36) and ESPN.com (No. 38)
• As a senior, helped lead North Pontotoc to the Mississippi High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Class 3A state playoffs quarterfinal round
• The Vikings finished 2016 with a 10-4 overall record and a 5-0 Class 3A Region 4 mark
• In his final prep game, ran for 189 yards on 26 carries and four TDs
• Wrapped up senior campaign with 1,968 all-purpose yards, 1,754 rushing yards and 24 TDs on offense and 94 tackles, one INT and three caused fumbles on defense
• Earned MHSAA Class 3A All-State second team (offense; RB) honors from the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) • Also named to the Tupelo Daily Journal All-Area first team
• Following the season, selected to play in the Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Classic in mid-December
• Prior to 2016, selected as one of the Clarion-Ledger’s top-125 senior players in the state of Mississippi
• Also one of the Clarion-Ledger’s top-10 DB in the state of Mississippi for 2016
• As a junior, rushed for 2,201 yards on 244 carries (9.0 ypc) and 33 TDs
• Totaled 2,492 all-purpose yards
• Finished as the state of Mississippi’s sixth-leading rusher (all classes) and MHSAA Class 3A’s second-leading rusher in 2015
• On defense, had 62 total tackles, four INT and two caused fumbles
• Named to the MHSAA Class 3A All-State first team (offense; RB) by the MAC
• Also collected Tupelo Daily Journal All-Area first team accolades
• 2015 Vikings finished with a 9-4 record and earned a MHSAA Class 3A state playoffs berth
• In 2014 (sophomore), helped lead North Pontotoc to an 11-2 record
• The 11 wins were a school record for most victories in a season
• As a sophomore, ran for 1,578 yards and 14 TDs • Had 1,797 all-purpose yards
• Also played basketball and baseball at North Pontotoc High School
• Son of Thomas and Denise Cullens
• Has one brother, TJ Cullens, and a sister, Courtney Yager
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