Fansided

30 college football players with the biggest shoes to fill in 2018

By Nicholas Ian Allen

DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 14: Baker Mayfield
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 14: Baker Mayfield /
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MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 17: A helmet of the Memphis Tigers is raised above before a game against the Mississippi Rebels on October 17, 2015 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Mississippi 37-24. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 17: A helmet of the Memphis Tigers is raised above before a game against the Mississippi Rebels on October 17, 2015 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Mississippi 37-24. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

Shoes to Fill: Riley Ferguson

Things are a little more cut-and-dry across the AAC at Memphis, where rising sophomore David Moore is the heavy favorite in the race to replace Riley Ferguson as the starting quarterback for the Tigers.

Of course, the transition won’t be easy. Ferguson completed 299 of 474 pass attempts (63.1 percent) for 4,257 yards, 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a senior in 2017, plus six rushing touchdowns while guiding the Tigers to a 10-3 overall record and AAC West title. The former Tennessee quarterback finished his college career with 7,955 passing yards and 70 touchdowns, and will likely have an opportunity to play in the NFL as well.

Interestingly enough, Moore signed with the Tigers in the same 2016 recruiting class that brought Ferguson. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Georgia native was a three-star recruit, ranked among the Top 25 dual-threat QB prospects in the 247Sports Composite.

Moore played sparingly as a redshirt freshman in 2017, and was 7-for-10 passing in five games last season, throwing for 63 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 47 yards on eight carries, which included a 21-yard scamper against UConn.

Though he has work to do to catch up in terms of accuracy, Moore is more athletic than Ferguson, which will likely give head coach Mike Norvell more options offensively. And, with four starters returning on the offensive line, as well as playmakers Tony Pollard, Patrick Taylor, Jr. and Darrell Henderson, the Tigers should be just as dangerous in 2018.

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