American commissioner on alleged Memphis playbook leak: ‘Much ado about nothing’
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On Thursday, On3’s Memphis-based outlet, Tiger Sports Report, reported that former Memphis safety Tahj Ra-El shared signals, coverages, and injury information regarding the Memphis defense with UTSA quarterback Owen McCown prior to a game between the 2 teams.
On Friday, American commissioner Tim Pernetti downplayed the significance of the report, saying that much of the published information had been sensationalized.
“I’m aware of the situation. I’ve had very open dialogue with (UTSA coach Jeff) Traylor and (Memphis coach Ryan) Silverfield about it,” Pernetti said, per On3’s Brett McMurphy. “They’re going to address it. There’s not really much to this story. I think a lot of it has been sensationalized and is much ado about nothing.”
Memphis lost to UTSA 44-36 on Nov. 2. The Tigers were 7-1 entering the game and finished the regular season 10-2.
They missed out on the AAC Championship Game, which featured Army and Tulane, despite beating Tulane head-to-head. Had the Tigers finished with only 1 conference loss, they would have made the conference title game and faced Army. UTSA finished the season 7-6.
According to Tiger Sports Report, Ra-El was dismissed from the football program prior to the November meeting with UTSA. He has since transferred to Purdue.
Memphis and UTSA do not play each other during the upcoming regular season. Any meeting would have to take place in the American conference title game.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
