MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Few in college football can match the start to their coaching careers Ryan Silverfield has experienced . . . and endured.
Silverfield took over for former University of Memphis coach Mike Norvell in December and his first game as UofM coach saw the program basking in its brightest spotlight: the Goodyear Cotton Bowl against Penn State.
A few months later as he readied his team for its first spring practice under him, the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down. An important 15 sessions were canceled.
And now as he prepares for Saturday's season-opening game against Arkansas State at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Silverfield will encounter another challenge: an understated atmosphere created by a sparse crowd, one limited by health department regulations.