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Three questions for the defense as fall camp opens
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- Three questions for the defense as fall camp opens
(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Memphis opens fall camp on Thursday ahead of the 2026 season, and there are a lot of questions for the team ahead of its first game against UNLV .
The Tigers get an early start to practice with their Week Zero game, and fans will get a good idea of what the team will be with the Rebels being selected by some to represent the Group of Six in the College Football Playoff. Charles Huff's team will play two of the top predicted teams in the Group of Six during non-conference play, so they will be well tested before conference play starts.
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With two massive non-conference games early in the season, the Tigers have questions to answer on both sides of the ball, and after looking at some non-QB questions for the offense , it's time to take a look at three questions for the defense.
Who starts in the secondary?
The Tigers have a lot of really good options in the secondary, and a handful of them have earned preseason honors from various outlets. Memphis will run a 4-2-5 defense, so it will have five players starting in the secondary.
Ian Foster will start at free safety, and Ahmere Foster could also start at safety after starting all 13 games at Southern Miss last year. Oklahoma State transfer Dylan Smith will be another player to watch at safety.
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The cornerbacks will be the big question entering the season. The Tigers added four corners from the transfer portal, and all four were starters at their previous stop.
Anthony Richard Jr. is the only transfer from an FBS program after following the staff from Southern Miss. Ellis Ellis Jr. and Darius Malcolm Jr. both transferred from the FCS ranks, while Dilan Williamson moves up from Division II.
All three of the players who are transferring up were very productive at their previous stops, and they will challenge for early playing time.
The Tigers also return Chauncey Logan Jr., who missed time last year with an injury.
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Huff and his staff have a lot of really good options in the secondary, and they'll use the next month to decide who will start in the opener against UNLV.
How good will J'Mond Tapp be?
J'Mond Tapp might be the most anticipated player on the team. After recording 51 tackles, 7.5 sacks and two pass deflections for Southern Miss in 2025, he followed the coaching staff to Memphis and will look to lead the Tigers' defense.
The defensive lineman appears on every preseason All-Conference team, and ESPN named him as one of the top non-QB playmakers in 2026. How good will the defensive lineman be?
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He has played at two Power Four programs, and he's an older player at the college level. He received a 90 defensive grade and 91.1 pass rush by Pro Football Focus, and he should have similar success in the American.
Outside of Tapp, who emerges on the defensive line?
Huff and his staff brought in a ton of new defensive linemen this offseason, so there will be questions about who will be the starters on the D-Line. Tapp will be a starter, and it appears fellow Southern Miss transfer Jaden McKinney will also be in the starting group, but who starts beside those two?
There are several other defensive linemen who came from Southern Miss who could be starters, and a pair of brothers who played in the American Conference last season. KJ Miles started at Georgia Tech before he transferred to Temple , while his brother Xavier Miles started at Syracuse before heading to Charlotte.
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Huff said during his introductory press conference that he wanted to get bigger on the defensive line, and nearly every defensive lineman is over 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds. It will be interesting to see who separates themselves over the next month ahead of the season opener.
