Charles Huff and J’Mond Tapp receive weekly awards after win over UNLV

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Charles Huff and J’Mond Tapp were both named recipients of weekly awards after the Tigers’ 27-21 win over UNLV. Huff was named the Paul “Bear" Bryant Coach of the Week, while Tapp was named the Shriners Children's Bowl Defensive Player of the Week.

Huff was named the coach of the week after leading Memphis to a come-from-behind win over the Rebels. He became the first Tigers’ head coach to win in a road debut in program history.

Huff’s team trailed 14-7 at halftime, but they outscored the Rebels’ 20-7 in the second half to secure the win. 

UNLV could’ve had a bigger lead going into the half. 

The Tigers got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter after a Jackson Arnold rushing touchdown, but on the first play of the drive, receiver Tychaun Chapman fumbled the ball. The Rebels got the ball back, but Memphis’ defense held firm and forced a field goal attempt in the final seconds. 

UNLV’s kicker Ramon Villela missed the 32-yard attempt, and the Tigers went to the locker room trailing by only seven points.

After the game, Huff said he wasn’t worried at halftime because he knew his team was trained for four quarters.

“I told them it was going to be a 60-minute game,” Huff said after the game. “So, we went into the locker room, and they were yelling ‘suffer well.’ They were yelling ‘tough all day,’ and I told them nothing changed. We have to execute. We have to take care of the ball. We have to play disciplined, and hats off to the players because they followed the plan and the process.”

Huff is the first coach of the season to win the award but only two Group of Six coaches won the award last year.

Tapp was named the Shrine Bowl Defensive Player of the Week after his performance against the Rebels. Tapp was part of the Tigers’ defense that caused havoc in the second half, and he finished the game with five tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.

Tapp was clearly the defender that UNLV circled in game prep, and he spent a large portion of the game being double-teamed by the Rebels’ offensive line. After the game, Tapp said he was fine taking a lot of attention from the opposing offensive line because the defensive line is one unit not one player.

“I’m going to take that triple team, so yall can eat,” Tapp said during an on-field interview after the game with Vegas Sports Today. “If one eats, we all eat.”

Tapp was named to the Shriners Children’s East-West Bowl 1000 Watchlist during the offseason.

Memphis returns to action on Saturday for its home opener against Arkansas State.

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