GoTigers247's Behind Enemy Lines Episode 3: AStateNation247's Jeff Reed

Tigers in 20: A Memphis Tigers Athletics podcast

Welcome to GoTigers247's Behind Enemy Lines Episode 3. In this episode we are joined by Jeff Reed of AStateNation247, the 247Sports affiliate for the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

In segment one, Jeff and Kenny go in depth on the history between Arkansas State and Memphis. Especially last year's barn burner of a game where Memphis held on 55-50 in Jonesboro where fans saw both teams' offenses move the ball effortlessly up and down the field. Both guys believe the close proximity of the schools make the matchups between Memphis and Arkansas State fun for both teams. Memphis has the third most amount of Arkansas State alumni living in the city, so the game should be a fun environment for both fan bases. Jeff shares how Arkansas State started off the year with a resounding win over Grambling in week one and then traveled to Ohio State in a matchup against one of the more dominant teams in college football history. Jeff explains that the final score did not show how competitive Arkansas State was against Ohio State.

Jeff shares about how Arkansas State football is turning around. There is only about 18-19 guys from the Blake Anderson era left on the team, and he explains how there was quite a bit of dysfunction on the Red Wolves team last year. He believes that Coach Butch Jones has recruited over and replaced a lot of those guys and how the team seems to be in a much better place this year.

In segment two, Jeff talks about the emergence of James Blackmon as the starting quarterback for Arkansas State. Last year, Layne Hatcher and James Blackmon both saw action as the starter, but coming into this year, James Blackmon was the clear starter. Jeff believes James has shown himself to be a much more mature decision maker and leader for the Red Wolves team. James' consistency on the field has helped bridge the gap for the large amount of new talent that Coach Butch Jones brought into the fold through the transfer portal last year. Coach Jones also recruited the highest rated incoming freshman class in the Sun Belt this past year, and some of those true freshman are already showing an ability to contribute this year.

Jeff believes that this game is important to both teams because it will provide a clear sign of momentum for the rest of the year. He believes Memphis will be the first true test of how Arkansas State, as a program, is developing. He believes this will be a high scoring game with both potent offenses seeing a lot of success on the field.

About Behind Enemy Lines

Behind Enemy Lines is a GoTigers247 audio podcast where we interview beat writers that cover Tiger opponents. The podcast is recorded the week prior to the game so listeners will get the most up to date information for the specific matchup.

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