While his team prepared in New Orleans for Friday's R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, University of Memphis coach Tommy West added two junior college transfers to the next year's roster.
Arkelon Hall, a former Washington State quarterback, signed a National Letter of Intent, as did receiver Steven Joachim. Both will enroll in January and be eligible for spring practice. Wednesday marked the beginning of the mid-year signing period.
Hall (6-3, 220) was rated the nation's No. 8 quarterback prospect by ESPN.com coming out of Edison High in Fresno, Calif., in 2005. He was redshirted by Washington State in 2005 and broke his leg in a preseason scrimmage in 2006. He transferred to the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., and passed for 2,398 yards and 13 touchdowns this season.
"Arkelon is a special kind of player," West said after Wednesday's practice at Tulane. "His stats kind of (speak) for themselves. I think he really fits well with what we do."
West said he wasn't in search of a junior college quarterback, but couldn't resist pursuing Hall.
"When I saw him, he is so much what we do," West said. "And three years ago, coming out of high school, we could have called him and he probably wouldn't have taken our call. We were in the right situation at the right time.
"I don't know that we've ever had a quarterback with those kinds of credentials before. He's an elite-11 guy who was ranked in the top 10 in the country at quarterback. He gives us a player who can come in and compete for the job."
Memphis will lose senior Martin Hankins after Friday's game . The Tigers return top backups Will Hudgens, a junior, and Matt Malouf, a freshman.
"We'll have some excellent competition this spring at quarterback," West said. "It'll make us all better."
In Joachim, the Tigers add yet another receiver with size. Joachim is listed at 6-4 and will join a receiving corps that includes 6-9 Carlos Singleton and 6-4 Duke Calhoun.
"He is right in the mold with the big guys that I like," West said. "He is legitimately 6-4 and he's really strong at the point of attack with his hands. He reminds me of a little bit more polished (Tavares) Gideon (a former UofM receiver with similar size).
"He is a really good slant, takeoff, fade and goal-line (receiver). That's what he does best. He's not an inside guy. He's not a slot guy. But we're going to lose a lot of receivers after next season."
Joachim played two seasons at Mendocino (Calif.) College , where he was named first-team All-Bay Valley Conference in 2006 and '07. In 17 games, he had 79 catches for 1,076 yards and 13 touchdowns.
A native of Miami, Fla., Joachim has a brother, Sergiori, who is a senior wide receiver for Central Florida.
The daily skinny
Former Tiger quarterback Danny Wimprine , a native of New Orleans, stopped by Wednesday's workout at Tulane.
Wimprine led the UofM to its first New Orleans Bowl appearance in 2003, which represented the school's first postseason trip in 32 years.
A member of the Arena Football League's New Orleans VooDoo, Wimprine said it was difficult watching the UofM practice and not taking part. He said it also rekindled memories of his New Orleans Bowl appearance against North Texas, a game in which Wimprine earned the game's MVP.
"I just remember what an unbelievable feeling it was to come home to play in a bowl," he said. "And to win the MVP was icing on the cake for me."
Wimprine, listed as the VooDoo's No. 2 quarterback entering next month's training camp, said he attended the UofM's game against Tulane at the Superdome in late October.
"I know they struggled a bit early in the season, but the win over Tulane kind of catapulted them," Wimprine said.
It was a beautiful day for a Tigers' New Orleans Bowl practice at Tulane University.
Temperatures were in the high 70s. The sky was blue. There was an ounce of humidity in the air.
All was wonderful during the two-hour workout for the Tigers, except the players were a little too sloppy. So UofM coach Tommy West read his team the riot act.
Twice.
"That was a poor practice," West said. "I miscalculated a bit. I thought this team would be mature enough to have some fun and then come to practice and focus. But we didn't.
"It concerned me, because we could get killed in national television. So we'll have to do a little bit more work (today) . We have time to get it corrected."
That means that today's scheduled walk-through in the Louisiana Superdome isn't just a walk-through. West wants to see some leadership from his seniors, to get some of the younger players focused.
"It doesn't matter if somebody is watching," West said of prying eyes that could be at the UofM's workout today. "We're going to do what we've done all year. There are no secrets at this point."
And, as West forcefully drove home to his team at the end of Wednesday afternoon's practice that lasted until sunset, it's great to have fun at a bowl, but the real fun is winning the game.
"The most overused word is 'fun,'" West said. "There ain't nothin' fun about football. As far as goin' out there and knockin' the stew out of people and practicin' in the cold, that ain't a lot of fun.
"Fun is winnin'. It ain't good enough to get (to a bowl). You want to win your last game. We want to finish winning six of seven. You like the bowl trophy to say champions. We've got three bowl trophies now, and two of 'em say champions."
Bowling with the Tigers
Bowling Green 52, Memphis 32, 2004 GMAC Bowl , Mobile, Ala., Dec, 22, 2004: On a rainy, stormy night in Mobile, Ala., the Tigers tried to keep pace with Bowling Green. Quarterback Omar Jacobs threw for 365 yards and five touchdowns, and Memphis QB Wimprine countered with 324 yards and four TDs in the final game of his career. The Tigers trailed 35-28 at the half, but their offense took a huge blow when it lost All-American running back DeAngelo Williams in the third quarter with a broken fibula. Williams left the game after rushing for 120 yards in 18 carries, including a 31-yard touchdown run.
If you must know ...
There's a Memphis connection to the former star quarterbacks of both Memphis and Florida Atlantic. Former UofM starter Wimprine and former FAU standout Jared Allen are both represented in their professional careers by Memphis sports agent Brian Parker . ... Memphis has had four all-Americans who were Florida natives - kicker and 1992 Lou Groza Award winner Joe Allison , current New Orleans Saints defensive back Mike McKenzie (Miami), former Arena Football League 2 coach Danto Barto (Niceville) and the late Dean Lotz (Titusville), who later became the Tigers' strength coach. ... Florida Atlantic's Jason Harmon ranks among Division 1-A's top 10 tight ends in catches. He has 56 receptions for 724 yards and four TDs. ... No cornerback tandem in D-1A has more interceptions that FAU starters Tavious Polo and Corey Small . They've combined for 12 (Polo 7, Small 5).
The final word
"His coach said, 'Coach, do you like red wine?' and I said 'I love it.' And he said 'If your (assistant) had of told me I would have had you a bottle.' I said 'I can replace that coach."'
- Memphis coach Tommy West, discussing a recruiting trip to Sonoma Valley, Calif., to recruit junior college receiver Steven Joachim.
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