Tigers LB Huff works hard to get to QB
Every day, Memphis linebacker Bryce Huff is thinking about his first step. Any chance he gets, he reviews the timing and precision he needs to attack as soon as the ball is snapped.
“Every rep that I take whether its inside drill or team, I just focus on my get-off,” Huff said.
Huff 's quickness off the ball has not only made Tigers’ defense establish a pass rush this season, it's made him one of the team's best at getting to the quarterback.
The junior leads the team in both sacks and quarterback hurries with three each. He broke out in the Tigers win against Georgia State with two sacks and two hurries, one of which led to an interception by Tito Windham.
Huff ’s performance prompted Tigers coach Mike Norvell to offer high praise for somebody he’s been raving about since spring practice. He said Huff has been part of a 1-2 pass rushing punch
“He’s got the potential to be a dominant player moving forward and I’m very excited,” Norvell said.
Huff usually enters games on third down when defensive coordinator Chris Ball brings in his passrushing unit. It’s a role he’s thrived in since the spring when he had a multi-sack performance in the Tigers’ second scrimmage.
Looking back, he said that was the spark that showed how much better he could be this year.
“We were just sitting on the bus talking about how Genard Avery’s gone, Jonathan Cook’s gone, a lot of our leaders are gone.” Huff said. “It really set in with me on the bus on the way to the scrimmage that we have to pick it up.”
Even on a team with eight return-
ing starters, there were questions on who would fill the pass-rushing shoes of Avery, now a rookie with the Cleveland Browns.
Huff showed glimpses in his first two seasons, including three starts last year.
But he knew more was required. So he spent even more time in the spring and summer refining that first step as well as rounding his technique to be a better pass rusher.
“When I had that good scrimmage, I felt more confident in myself that I was capable of doing better than I was before,” Huff said.
As Norvell made his bold statement about Huff’s potential, Huff sat a few feet away feeling proud of his night. But he also knew it could have gone differently.
Huff missed a wide-open sack in the first quarter and it nagged at him when he returned to the sidelines.
“I had it in the back of my head that I got to make up for it,” Huff said, “I have to go harder and I can’t miss the next one.”
It’s that same attitude that drove him to refine his technique so he can be one of the first tacklers in an opposing backfield.
For quarterbacks, it can be a nightmare seeing him but it’s a dream for Huff seeing how much he’s improved.
“Now that I keep working on it and making myself better, the things I’ve been working on have started clicking on the field and showing up more," Huff said.