The Tigers have something special in Silverfield
Bryan Moss | Publisher
GoTigersGo.com
The last time Memphis picked up a commitment from the Nashville area was back in 2007. That was running back 2* Curtis Steele for Franklin.
For the past 10 years, Memphis hasn't done a great job recruiting the Music City. It really hasn't been a priority in years past. So when Memphis offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield was tasked with recruiting Nashville one could understand if it took a few years to cultivate the area and start building some relationships to hopefully land a decent recruit here and there.
Silverfield didn't need a few years. He only needed 1.
With just 1 year at Memphis under his belt, he single handedly changed the perception of Memphis with the Nashville area high school coaches.
There was a time when a Memphis coach would walk into a high school and have their head coach literally shut Memphis out before seeing any of their kids.
Not anymore.
Wilson Central Special Teams Coordinator/WR/Secondary Coach Josh Crouch said Memphis is recruiting middle Tennessee like never before. The reason? Coach Silverfield.
"Silverfield is a guy that understands how to connect with the high school coach and the recruit. He does an awesome job of building the relationships with the decision makers and the recruit. Since his hire, he's really been able to create a pipeline to middle TN that was not there in previous years. Great recruiter for Memphis."
Silverfield has gotten more Nashville area commits this year (2) than Memphis has had in the past 10 years (1).
Coach Silverfield recruited two 4* recruits to Memphis from Nashville his year. That's something that has never happened before at Memphis.
Just the simple fact that he got two 4*'s is simply impressive. He recruited more 4*'s than the entire staffs at schools like Houston, Boston College, Boise State, Kansas State, West Virginia, Missouri, Duke, and Iowa.
In fact, Silverfield recruited more 4*'s this year than every school in the MAC, C-USA, and Mountain West combined.
Changing the perception of Memphis in the minds of Nashville area high school coaches and players to what it is today in just 1 year is remarkable.
How'd he do it?
"Just being honest and actually being there in front of the coaches. I made sure that they were going to know who I was and what the University of Memphis had to offer," Coach Silverfield told TigerSportsReport on Signing Day.
Showing genuine interest in the player is something that is evident in his recruiting.
Case in point, Obinna Eze. The 4* Tackle is originally from Nigeria and his native tongue is Igbo. Silverfield took the time, without Eze's knowledge, and tried to learn the language.
One day, out of the blue, Silverfield spoke to Eze in his native tongue and tried to say "Family is close."
Did that impress Eze?
"That surprised me. I laughed at him because his pronunciation was so wrong but I could tell what he was trying to say."
Now that Silverfield has had a few months to practice Igbo, has he gotten any better?
Eze says, "He is not even close yet." But that doesn't bother him. The simple fact that Coach Silverfield is trying to learn his native tongue is proof enough that Silverfield truly cares about Eze and thinks more of him than just a football player.
The Tigers truly have something special in Silverfield.
Bryan Moss | Publisher
GoTigersGo.com
The last time Memphis picked up a commitment from the Nashville area was back in 2007. That was running back 2* Curtis Steele for Franklin.
For the past 10 years, Memphis hasn't done a great job recruiting the Music City. It really hasn't been a priority in years past. So when Memphis offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield was tasked with recruiting Nashville one could understand if it took a few years to cultivate the area and start building some relationships to hopefully land a decent recruit here and there.
Silverfield didn't need a few years. He only needed 1.
With just 1 year at Memphis under his belt, he single handedly changed the perception of Memphis with the Nashville area high school coaches.
There was a time when a Memphis coach would walk into a high school and have their head coach literally shut Memphis out before seeing any of their kids.
Not anymore.
Wilson Central Special Teams Coordinator/WR/Secondary Coach Josh Crouch said Memphis is recruiting middle Tennessee like never before. The reason? Coach Silverfield.
"Silverfield is a guy that understands how to connect with the high school coach and the recruit. He does an awesome job of building the relationships with the decision makers and the recruit. Since his hire, he's really been able to create a pipeline to middle TN that was not there in previous years. Great recruiter for Memphis."
Silverfield has gotten more Nashville area commits this year (2) than Memphis has had in the past 10 years (1).
Coach Silverfield recruited two 4* recruits to Memphis from Nashville his year. That's something that has never happened before at Memphis.
Just the simple fact that he got two 4*'s is simply impressive. He recruited more 4*'s than the entire staffs at schools like Houston, Boston College, Boise State, Kansas State, West Virginia, Missouri, Duke, and Iowa.
In fact, Silverfield recruited more 4*'s this year than every school in the MAC, C-USA, and Mountain West combined.
Changing the perception of Memphis in the minds of Nashville area high school coaches and players to what it is today in just 1 year is remarkable.
How'd he do it?
"Just being honest and actually being there in front of the coaches. I made sure that they were going to know who I was and what the University of Memphis had to offer," Coach Silverfield told TigerSportsReport on Signing Day.
Showing genuine interest in the player is something that is evident in his recruiting.
Case in point, Obinna Eze. The 4* Tackle is originally from Nigeria and his native tongue is Igbo. Silverfield took the time, without Eze's knowledge, and tried to learn the language.
One day, out of the blue, Silverfield spoke to Eze in his native tongue and tried to say "Family is close."
Did that impress Eze?
"That surprised me. I laughed at him because his pronunciation was so wrong but I could tell what he was trying to say."
Now that Silverfield has had a few months to practice Igbo, has he gotten any better?
Eze says, "He is not even close yet." But that doesn't bother him. The simple fact that Coach Silverfield is trying to learn his native tongue is proof enough that Silverfield truly cares about Eze and thinks more of him than just a football player.
The Tigers truly have something special in Silverfield.
