TAMPA, Fla. – An injury sustained by Memphis quarterback Brendon Lewis early in the second half of last week’s 31-24 loss at UAB has resulted in plenty of questions as to who the USF Bulls will face Saturday afternoon at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
Coach Ryan Silverfield noted during his press conference Monday that Lewis is “day to day” and a week of practice will determine who will lead the offense. Lewis is a sixth-year player with 44 career starts. He spent three seasons at Colorado and two at Nevada before transferring to Memphis, where he has completed 69.5 percent of his passes with 15 total touchdowns this season.
Freshman A.J. Hill made his collegiate debut when he took over for Lewis against the Blazers. He completed 13-of-25 passes for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was the first quarterback other than Lewis to attempt a pass this season. Another backup, redshirt freshman Arrington Maiden, has appeared in four career games (three this season) for the Tigers without attempting a pass.
Hill is a player USF coach Alex Golesh is familiar with. Golesh began recruiting the Georgia native when he was the offensive coordinator at Tennessee.
“I feel like I know him as well as anybody in terms of the player,” he said of Hill, listed at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. “He is an uber-talented freshman, big, athletic, has a cannon (of an arm).”
There is, of course, a tremendous gap with respect to experience at quarterback on the Tigers’ depth chart.
“No matter how much you practice and prepare, the experience of (game) situations and the ability to read you progressions, all of that stuff comes with time,” said Golesh. “(Memphis) does such a good job coaching that I am sure he will be as ready as anybody can be, but there is nothing that can replicate in-game experience. Our job will be to affect him as much we possibly can early in the game and try to dictate the flow of the game.”
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