Earlier this month, when fall practice had just begun, Wynton McManis was asked about his personal goals for 2015, which will be his last with the University of Memphis football team. He listed only one.
"I'm really focusing on my leadership," McManis said.
The Tigers lost eight starters and three key backups from a season ago, but they also lost an immeasurable amount of experience and, perhaps more importantly, leadership. McManis aims to help fill that void. He is one of a handful of new starters on defense, and he was one of the team's two player representatives at American Athletic Conference media day, alongside redshirt senior tight end Alan Cross.