Two years ago, inherited by head coach Justin Fuente, attitudes throughout Memphis shifted from those of tired—frankly bored—fans, worn down by nearly seven years of winless seasons, sub-par performances and no hope for the future of the Tigers’ football program, to attitudes of a somewhat-forced enthusiasm that fans Memphis-wide could barely muster.
Despite earning an unimpressive 7-17 record throughout his first two seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Fuente has thrown an intangible attribute into the mix of his infant football program: confidence. When Jake Elliot, star freshman kicker who connected 16-of-18 field goals in 2013, was asked about Fuente’s recently added confidence in his team, he responded as Memphis nation could only dream.
“(Coach Fuente’s) confidence leads to my confidence,” Elliot told 247Sports. “[I feel] like in the offseason and during camp, my confidence has grown even further. So, that’s an absolute bonus. But I’d absolutely love to see the offense get in the end zone more than me kicking field goals.”
That being said, there are two keys to the success of the Memphis Tigers going into this coming season.
First is confidence. Fuente is privileged to see 17 experienced starters returning to his program in 2014, not the least of which being quarterback Paxton Lynch, sixth year tailback Brandon Hayes, and seven other offensive starters. As witnessed during the spring game, the more impressive feat was one of the offensive line and what “they were able to do in the ground game, allowing Brandon Hayes and others to look stellar on the ground during the scrimmage,” according to memphisport.com.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8NWKGZA0tU]That’s all well and good, as Hayes has conferenced with the endzone 11 times under the leadership of his new head coach. However, if Fuente wants his team to find the endzone more often, he needs begin to not only instill confidence in his team as a whole, but entirely trust in his sophomore quarterback who more than proved himself last year, recording only the 10th 2000-yard season in Memphis football history, complemented by putting up nine scores through the air.
With this being Lynch’s second year playing under Fuente, he has become more comfortable performing in the now-uptempo play-calling style, a crucial piece to the success of the 2014 Tigers.
That second key is to not cower behind conservative play-calling and field goal kicking. Overall, the Tigers have been seen taking the ball on the ground 59 percent of the time, and to a much greater degree upon entering the red zone. This conservative play-calling that caused riskless points to be put up on the board may have been necessary to Fuente’s extended tenure at Memphis, but it’s time for a change. The more Lynch is trusted with putting the ball in the hands of his receivers, the more quickly the Tigers can score in the red zone, aligning with their newfound, faster-paced style of competition.
It’s time for the soaring confidence of this young, growing team to make an impact.
It’s time for Lynch to lead the aggressive offensive conquest of the Tigers.
It’s time for Fuente to prove once and for all that these young Memphis players have what it takes to compete in the AAC.
Anxiously awaiting the season opener against the Austin Peay Governors, Memphis’ ability to win will not be in question this Saturday. Can it assemble the much-desired, dominant team?
Fuente has all the pieces he needs. Can he deliver?
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