2001 Diary
participating in academic orientation. The unit will begin on field workouts on Friday with two-a-day sessions. The Tigers were able to add a new walk-on when Clif Taylor, Jr. reported to camp. Taylor is the son of former Tiger great Clif Taylor, who played fullback for Memphis and for the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers in the early 1970’s. Taylor, Jr., a graduate of East High School in Memphis, is expected to work as a defensive back or receiver for the Tigers. August 10, 2001 The baby Tigers hit the field for their first two-a-day workouts under head coach Tommy West. What was immediately apparent was the speed of the class. Two signees were missing the first day of practice. Dante Brown, a junior college transfer and Derron Johnson, a all-AmericandefensivebackfromMelroseHighinMemphis were missing. Brown was unable to enroll due to the fact that some of his paperwork from junior college had not arrived at the U of M. Johnson was called out of town due to a death in his family. He and his father traveled to Nebraska for the funeral of his aunt. Johnson is expected in camp on Friday. August 11, 2001 Memphisdefensivelinecoach Joe Cullen left camp and traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, due to the sudden death of his father. The freshman practice twice on Saturday but moved indoorfortheafternoonworkout due to rain. Head coach Tommy West singled out the play of Jacob Ford of Melrose High, Scott Vogel of MUS in Memphis and James Gaither of Leitchfield, Kentucky. Several Tiger seniors missed practice session due to the fact that they were participating in graduation. Quarterback Neil Suber, kicker Ryan White, offensive guard Josh Eargle and defensive tackle Boris Penchion received their degrees on Saturday and will enroll in graduate for the fall.
August 12, 2001 The Sunday version of freshman practice was forced indoorsduetoanafternoonthunderstorm.Theunitsworked out in the Memphis indoor turf room. “This class is even better that I had expected”, said head coach Tommy West. “I thought that they were good when we signed them but wow! There is a great deal of speed in this class and the enthusiasm is contagious”. While the freshmen were practicing, the Tiger varsity reported to campus. A joint team meeting was held at 4 PM during a huge
thunderstormthatdumpedtwoand a half inches of rain in a thirty minute period. Streets and parking lots were flooded and delayed severaluniversityofficialsfromattending the compliance meeting. August 15, 2001 Redshirt sophomore quarterback Bran Webb was moved to wide receiver in efforts to bolster the depth at the receiver positions. Webb has been hampered with injuries since his arrival in Memphis but appears ready for the 2001 season. August 16, 2001 MembersoftheHBORealSportsteamreturnedtoMemphis to interview several individuals about Albert Means. A television special on Means and his recruiting process with the University ofAlabama should air in September. Tiger quarterback Travis Anglin was forced to sit out of practice due to a mild case of pleurisy. Linebacker Draper Hall was sent hospitalized due to dehydration and back spasms. August 17, 2001 Highly touted junior college running back Dante Brown finally arrived in Memphis and attended his Memphis practice. The 6’2”, 210 pound tailback was delayed in his arrival while completing academic work at Middle Georgia College. He will have his physical examination and should be available to workout this afternoon. August 18, 2001 The Tigers scrimmaged for the first time this fall and even though there were mistakes made on both sides of the ball, Tommy West saw improvement in his team. The offense gained over 400 yards in total yards. Quarterback Travis Anglin passed for a team high 60 yards completing five-of-11 attempts. Anglin also led the squad in rushing gaining 69 yards on 10 carries. Safeties Glenn Sumter and Scott Vogel both hadpassinterceptionsforthedefense.HeadcoachTommy West was unable to attend the Saturday morning practice. West’s son Turner sustained a broken arm during an early morning football practice with his Germantown Middle School team and was Travis Anglin kept at Methodist Hospital for several hours. August 19, 2001 Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson told members of the media that the bids for 139
the new athletic complex had been sent out by the State Building Commission and that ground-breaking at Murphy Athletic Complex could come as soon as early October.The $5.5 million renovation will add much needed locker room and meeting room space. August 20, 2001 Tiger coachTommy West announced that he expected to hear something from the NCAA on the eligibility of Albert Means prior to the start of the season and that the answer might come on Tuesday, August 28. Means, who transferred from Alabama, has been practicing with the team since camp opened. August 21, 2001 The Tigers ended their afternoon workout with a 15 minute scrimmage. Several players missed the practice session including defensive tackle Albert Means and offensive tackle Travis Triplett. Both are suffering with sprained shoulders. Linebackers Draper Hall and Will Hyden and defensive back Chance Nesbitt. During the three series scrimmage, quarterback Travis Anglin led the team on an 80-yard scoring drive and ended the drive with a one yard touchdown run quarterback Danny Wimprine led the second drive which ended with a seven yard touchdown run by tailback Dante Brown. Senior quarterback Neil Suber engineered the third drive, completing passes to Antoine Harden and Darron White. Freshman defensive back Derron Johnson was switched to wide receiver in hopes of providing depth and speed at the position. August 22, 2001 The Tigers continued two-aday practice session with a morning workout at Murphy Athletic Complex and an afternoon scrimmage at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.HeadcoachTommy West spent a great deal of time dur-