Nov. 12, 2009

MEMPHIS, TENN. -

The Tigers will close out their home schedule this weekend in the Battle for the Bones game versus the UAB Blazers. A 100-pound bronzed rack of ribs is up for grabs to the team that wins the game on Saturday.  The Tigers have housed the trophy the last two years after defeating UAB, 25-9, in Memphis in 2007 and 33-30 in Birmingham last season.  Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. CT, and will be carried live by CSS.  Matt Stewart and Chuck Oliver will be in the booth and Allison Williams will handle the sideline duties.  CSS is available in Memphis on Comcast Cable, channel 6.

Saturday’s game will also be the final contest at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium for 25 Tiger seniors.  The class will be honored prior to kickoff as they are escorted out on the field by their family members.  This year’s senior class is made up of: Jada Brown, Duke Calhoun, Paul Edwards, DajLeon Farr, Arkelon Hall, Brian Hall, Kellen Heard, Chris Hobbs, Kevin Hubbard, Will Hudgens, Greg Jackson, Steven Joachim, Deante’ Lamar, T.J. Pitts, Malcom Rawls, Matt Reagan, Jeremy Rockette, Carlos Singleton, Alton Starr, Curtis Steele, Greg Terrell, Roger Terry, Brett Toney, Steven Turner and Josh Weaver.  

Last year, Memphis pulled out a thrilling 33-30 victory over the Blazers at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The Tigers won on a last-second field goal by freshman walk-on kicker Vinny Zaccario.  UAB holds a 3-2 series edge in games played at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. The Tigers, though, won the last meeting between the two teams in the Bluff City, a 25-9 victory in the 2007 campaign.  The Blazers’ last win in the series was a 35-29 victory in Birmingham in the 2006 season. UAB last won in Memphis in 2005, a 37-20 victory at the Liberty Bowl.

The U of M Athletic Department is participating in the C-USA Changing Lives Competition-Food Drive, Nov. 8-14, collecting can food items as well as non-perishable and non-breakable food items. 

There will be collection bins at athletic events during the week, including the football game on Saturday.  Several student-athletes will be collecting the items at Gates 1, 3 and 4. All donations benefit the Mid-South Food Bank.

In addition, the Memphis softball team will be collecting winter coats at the game to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis. Fans are encouraged to donate any of their extra quality winter coats for kids, adults and babies. Donations can also be brought to the Tiger Softball office in room 201 of the Athletic Office Building.

Steele Is Top Tiger Scoring Threat

Curtis Steele has scored rushing touchdowns in nine of his last 13 games played and totals 13 TDs on the ground during the stretch.  He leads the team in scoring (non-kicking) heading into the UAB game with 48 points.  The Franklin, Tenn., native also totals 90 career points for the Tigers.

Steele Moves Up Through Tiger Top 10

For the last three straight weeks, Curtis Steele has moved up on the Tiger Top 10 all-time rushing yardage list.   He entered the Tiger Top 10 in career rushing following the Southern Miss game, and with his 76 yards a week later against East Carolina, Steele moved up to the No. 9 position.  Steele then jumped to the No. 8 spot with his 144 yards against Tennessee.  Steele enters the UAB game with 1,963 career yards, and will need just eight yards to continue the trend and take over the No. 7 spot that is currently held by Terdell Middleton, who totaled 1,970 yards from 1973-76.  He is the only player in the top 10 to play only two years at Memphis.

Calhoun & Singleton Are Top Receivers in Memphis History

Following the East Carolina game, Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton officially became the top two receivers all-time at the U of M.   The only category that had the two separated heading into the ECU game was receptions as Singleton was third behind Damien Dodson.  With his nine catches versus the Pirates, Singleton jumped Dodson for the No. 2 spot.  Calhoun holds the top spot in receptions (199), yardage (2,860) and 100-yard games (10), while Singleton holds the record in TD receptions (22).

Reagan Named Academic All-District

Punter/kicker Matt Reagan was named to the ESPN The Magazine All-District second team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Reagan, a first-team selection by the organization in 2008, holds a 3.85 grade point average while working on a double major in mathematics and Earth science. Reagan has been named to the Tiger 3.0 Club and to the U of M Dean’s List for six semesters. He also earned a perfect 4.0 GPA last spring.

Reagan A Finalist For Sportsmanship Award

Matt Reagan was named one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Awards and Recognition Association (ARA) Sportsmanship Award. The award is given to one outstanding NCAA Division I collegiate football player who best personifies the spirit of sportsmanship.  Former Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams was the first recipient of the award in 2005.  The 2009 Sportsmanship Award recipient will be announced this December.

A Family Affair

When the Tigers and Blazers face off Saturday, it is more than just a game between two long-time rivals for the Helton family. For this contest, the Heltons are a family with divided allegiances.  Clay Helton is the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator for Memphis, and when he looks across the field, he will see his father, Kim, and his brother, Tyson. Kim is the Blazers’ offensive coordinator, and Tyson is the quarterbacks coach/recruiting coordinator. Tyson served as the Tigers’ special teams and tight ends coach from 2004-06.

Alabama Tigers

Ten players on the Memphis roster call Alabama home. They are D.A. Griffin, Lionel Henderson, Brooks Johnson, Malcolm Jones, Deven Onarheim, Dominik Riley, Derek Smith, Greg Terrell, Terrence Thomas and Frank Trotter.  In addition, Terrell hails from Birmingham, and played his high school ball with UAB quarterback Joe Webb.  The two prepped at Wenonah High.

Tiger Streak Third Nationally

Duke Calhoun recorded 39 yards on four receptions against Tennessee and advanced his receiving streak to 46 games.  He remains ranked third nationally in active receiving streaks.  Calhoun has caught a pass in each of his 46 games in a Tiger uniform. He leads the receiving corps this season with 54 catches for 803 yards, while also holding the school record with 10 career 100-yard games.    

     Below is a listing of the top 10 active streaks:

49 - Bryan Anderson (C. Michigan)

47 - Naaman Roosevelt (Buffalo)

46 - Duke Calhoun (Memphis)

39 - Dennis Pitta (BYU)

37 - Brandon LaFell (LSU)

36 - Antonio Brown (Central Michigan)

35 - Toren Dixon (Rice)

34 - Eric Decker (Minnesota)

34 - Scotty McNight (Colorado)

33 - Jeff Moturi (UTEP)

Tiger Receiving Duo Third  Nationally In Scoring Threat

How tough of a threat are Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton together?  Well, heading into the UAB game, they rank third as the most prolific scoring threat in the nation by way of the air attack, boasting a combined 41 receiving TDs. They are behind Kansas’ Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier, and the Central Michigan duo of Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown. In addition, of the top five threats, three are from C-USA schools.  Below is a listing of the receiving duos nationally that have scored 35 or more touchdowns combined: 

44 - Kansas (D. Briscoe 28, K. Meier 16)

43 - C. Michigan (B. Anderson 23, A. Brown 20)

41 - Memphis (Singleton 22, Calhoun 19)

40 - Tulsa (Charles Clay 18, Trae Johnson 22)

39 - UTEP (Jeff Moturi 24, Kris Adams 15)

For complete Memphis Football Notes, please go to:

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/mem/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/weekly-release.pdf