Ti20 Off the Boards: An'Darius Coffey Interview

Tigers in 20: A Memphis Tigers Athletics podcast

In this episode of Ti20 Off the Boards, we are joined by Tiger redshirt sophomore, An'Darius Coffey. Most Tiger fans know An'Darius and the level of talent he brings to the field, but also know that injuries have played a major role in keeping him off the field during his two years at Memphis. In this episode, An'Darius goes into full detail about his injury and the fight mentally and emotionally he has had to endure to keep his mind positive.

An'Darius opens up the first segment and talks about Winona, the small Mississippi town he grew up in, and how he chose to go down a path of using his talents on the field to expand his opportunities outside of Winona. He shares how he wants to be an inspiration to other young kids from the farms and factories in small town Mississippi to know that if they work hard anything can be possible. An'Darius then shares about his recruiting visit to Memphis and how the players were what sold him to come to Memphis. He specially talks about a "player panel" that veteran Tiger players do with recruits and how instrumental that was to help him know that Memphis was the school for him. He shares specifically how Jacobi Francis and JJ Russell were lifelines for him as he transitioned from high school football to the collegiate level, and how watching them develop their skillset during the offseason showed him how different the college game is compared to the high school game. He shares how he wants to become a "Jacobi Francis" and "JJ Russell" for the "young, hard-headed" kids that are new to the Tiger program so that their development will keep the Tigers becoming the team he believes they should be.

In the second segment, An'Darius goes into great detail about his season-ending injury he experienced in the 2021 season, and the guilt he felt as he slowly recovered. When asked about how he stayed close to his team during his recovery, An'Darius shares an incredible story of how the team kept him engaged with them and encouraged him. An'Darius was adamant that he feels like the team helped pull him through his recovery more so than him pushing through. They would not allow him to dwell in the guilt he felt and An'Darius mentions how impactful that was for him. He explains how much he feels like he needs to prove on the field this year, and how exciting spring ball and the "Tiger Stripes" game was a huge relief to him as he was able to put on gear and compete with his brothers on the field for the first time in a long time.

An'Darius closes out the episode expressing excitement about the new position that offensive coordinator, Tim Cramsey, has designed for him this year. He shares how Tiger fans can relate it to the positions Tony Pollard and Kenneth Gainwell played during their time at Memphis. He believes this position will give him the best opportunity to be an impact on the field for the Tigers this year and get them back to the championship level everyone believes they should be.

About Off the Boards:

Off the Boards is a video/audio segment where GT247 sits down with local and national sports figures.

Typically, Off the Boards has been a video segment, but we are now turning it into an audio podcast as well to better meet the needs of all of our followers. This new format will allow all of GT247's content to be more accessible to listeners.

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