Memphis sweeps TSWA's college football player, coach of the year awards

NASHVILLE – The Memphis Tigers turned in one of their best seasons in program history, and that combination has coach Ryan Silverfield and his quarterback, Seth Henigan, collecting honors as the Tennessee Sports Writers Association’s 2023 college football coach and player of the year.

The awards announced Monday come after Memphis went 10-3 and capped only the fifth 10-win season in program history with a 36-26 win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Silverfield now has 31 victories, second-most in program history for a Memphis coach in his first four seasons. That mark also ties for fourth nationally among head coaches hired in 2020. He had nine Tigers earn All-American Athletic Conference honors, led by running back Blake Watson and linebacker Chandler Martin, most for Memphis since 2019.

Henigan set Memphis records, completing 318 of his 476 passes and tied the Tigers’ mark for completion percentage at .668. He threw for 3,883 yards and 32 touchdowns while also running for five scores. He was named MVP of the Liberty Bowl after throwing four TD passes and running for another. The bowl win marked Memphis’ fourth straight bowl victory.

He also became the program’s career leader with 838 completions and 10,773 yards passing.

Past winners of the TSWA football coach and player of the year awards may be found at https://www.tswaonline.com/alltime-playerscoaches-of-year.