Aug. 21, 2010

MEMPHIS, TENN. - Two weeks before his first game as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers, Larry Porter took his squad down to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Saturday for their second full-scale scrimmage.

The scrimmage was more situational as Porter worked series with the offense coming out of their own endzone, redzone offense, third down and short and goal line work. The scrimmage, which was about 82 plays, lasted for nearly two hours. There was also special teams action mixed in during the workout. When meeting with the media back at the Murphy Complex following the scrimmage, Porter appeared to be pleased with the work he got out of the Tigers.

"We looked more like a team today," said Porter. "I was pleased. I thought our running game was productive. Our defense sputtered, but they were solid throughout the day. I think our special teams are coming together and truly will give us an advantage in games."

Porter also singled out sophomore transfer Delmon Robinson, saying that he is emerging as a guy that can be counted on. Robinson, a receiver, was part of Porter's first signing class in February and joined the squad in fall camp. He transferred from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and had also played in 11 games for the Mississippi State Bulldogs in 2008. Robinson had four catches today for 23 yards and scored a three-yard touchdown from Ryan Williams on the 80th play, which was a first-and-goal from the 3 situation.

Lance Smith helped bolster the running game in his first contact scrimmage work since breaking his leg last spring. He had three carries that were for double-digit gains and logged eight total carries today. Gregory Ray opened the scrimmage with a 99-yard TD run with Cannon Smith under center. Ray also posted two other double-digit runs and logged a four-yard TD run in goal line work. Freshman Jerrell Rhodes had nine carries, with a long run of six yards, while Randy Powell also totaled nine carries and a long gain of eight yards. Marcus Hightower did not dress for the scrimmage.

"Greg was productive and Lance had his first contact since his injury and that was a mental hurdle that he had to clear and he was just so excited about the opportunity to get hit," said Porter. "He had some runs that looked like Lance. Jerrell came in and you could see his talent, and even Randy had a good run. There is a lot of good that came out of the run game today."

Cannon Smith and Williams handled all of the duties at quarterback and rotated throughout the day based on the situations.

When asked about how the quarterbacks fared today, Porter explained that each was better in different situations.

"From an execution standpoint, I thought they were better," Porter said. "By no means are we there, but that is why I wanted to go with situations because we have to understand what part of the game we are in and where we are and then be able to sustain drives based on our decision making. I thought that was better and we just have to continue."

Both Cannon Smith and Williams were about even as far as attempts were concerned today. Smith had a pair of 15-yard passes, one to transfer Tannar Rehrer and the other to Jermaine McKenzie. He also threw a four-yard TD pass to Deven Onarheim late in the scrimmage. Williams had four double-digit completions, with a long pass of 36 yards to Rehrer early in the workout. He completed an eight-yard pass to Onarheim and was productive in goal line work with another TD to Onarheim and one to Robinson.

A couple of key defensive plays included multiple sacks by Justin Thompson and multiple pass breakups by Torenzo Quinn. Dontari Poe and D'Angelo McCray teamed up for a sack while Charlie Bryant batted down a pass at the line and also logged a sack. Darius Davis had pass breakups while Mohammed Seisay and D.A. Griffin picked off passes, including one in the end zone.

The scrimmage concluded with five consecutive field goals made by Paulo Henriques. He hit from 27, 31, 39 (2) and 48 yards out.

The Tigers will not have practice Sunday, but will enjoy meeting the fans at FanFest which will run from 3-5 p.m. on the U of M campus. The outside events such as the kids' bounce stations and face painting will take place out on Memorial Field, while the team will arrive at around 3:30 p.m. to sign autographs inside the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, located on Zach Curlin. Parking will be free in the parking garage attached to the Fieldhouse and there are also free lots across the street and next to the field. The Memphis Spirit Squads, Mighty Sound of the South band and TOM III, the official Bengal Tiger mascot will also be in attendance.

See below for post-scrimmage interviews with Coach Larry Porter and quarterback Cannon Smith.