2023 Memphis Showboats season

2023 Memphis Showboats season
Owner	National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports)
General manager	Dave Razzano
Head coach	Todd Haley
Home field	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium
Results
Record	5–5
League place	4th in South Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Memphis Showboats 2024  →

The 2023 season was the Memphis Showboats' inaugural season in the United States Football League, their first at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, and their first under the head coach/general manager tandem of Todd Haley and Dave Razzano. ^[1]

Offseason

Stadium Plans

Shortly before the completion of the 2022 season, the USFL announced plans to move into two or four hubs for teams to play in. ^[2] In November, the USFL was reportedly exploring options of having a hub in Metro Detroit, with possible locations being the Eastern Michigan Eagles' Rynearson Stadium and the Detroit Lions' Ford Field. ^[3]

When it was announced that the Showboats would be added to the USFL to take the place of the former Tampa Bay Bandits, it was announced that Memphis would be one of the hub cities for the 2023 season. They will share their hub with the Houston Gamblers. ^[4]

Draft

The Showboats clinched the 4th pick in the 2023 USFL draft and hold the fourth pick in each round.

2023 Memphis Showboats Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Mason Brooks	Offensive tackle	Mississippi State
2	11	Isaiah Bolden	Cornerback	Jackson State
3	19	Brevin Allen	Defensive end	Campbell
4	27	Benny Sapp III	Defensive back	Northern Iowa
5	35	Michael Ezeike	Tight end	UCLA
6	43	Jerome Carvin	Offensive lineman	Tennessee
7	51	Nehemiah Shelton	Cornerback	San Jose State
8	59	Trea Shropshire	Wide receiver	UAB
9	67	Silas Dzansi	Offensive lineman	Virginia Tech
10	75	Antonio Fletcher	Safety	Southern Illinois

Personnel

Roster

The Showboats, like all other teams, have a 38-man active roster with a 7-man practice squad. ^[5]

2023 Memphis Showboats roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Cole Kelley 10 Ryan Willis  3 Brady White Running backs (RB) 11 Ezra Gray  8 Juwan Washington  9 Kerrith Whyte Wide receivers (WR)  6 Rashard Davis  4 Derrick Dillon 18 Ryan McDaniel 85 John Mitchell 12 Osirus Mitchell 19 D. J. Myers 13 Vinny Papale Tight ends (TE) 80 Daniel Helm 88 Jay Jay Wilson

Offensive linemen (OL) 69 Matthew Burrell C/G 67 Tyran Hunt G 77 Jarron Jones T 65 Corbin Kaufusi T 51 Jordan McCray C 75 Lukayus McNeil T 55 Terronne Prescod G 64 Kwan Stallworth G Defensive linemen (DL) 99 John Atkins DT 59 Big Kat Bryant DE 90 Dillon Faamatau DT 45 Jordan Ferguson DE 57 Frank Herron DE 93 Sulaiman Kamara DT 33 Jeff McCulloch DE 91 Cory Thomas DT 95 Jordan Williams DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Anthony Butler ILB 35 Nate Hall ILB 20 Aaron Hansford LB 39 Abdulmalik Lawal OLB  5 T. J. Neal OLB 41 Greg Reaves OLB Defensive backs (DB) 21 Delrick Abrams CB 14 T. J. Green S 40 Stephen Griffin S 24 Jermaine Kelly CB 23 Lamont McPhatter II S  7 Quenton Meeks CB 42 Antonio Reed S 32 Nehemiah Shelton CB 22 Troy Warner CB 27 Kyree Woods S Special teams 44 Ryan DiSalvo LS 17 Alex Kessman K 16 Brandon Wright P

Reserve 70 Clayton Bradley T (IR)  2 Alex Collins RB (IR)  6 Kahzin Daniels DE (IR)  1 John Franklin III WR (IR) -- Sadarius Hutcherson T(DNR) 61 Darta Lee T (IR) 94 Daylon Mack DT (IR) -- Cheyenne O'Grady TE(Susp.) 98 Jeremiah Valoaga DE (IR) Rookies in italics 50 active, 9 reserve

Staff

2023 Memphis Showboats staff

Front office General manager – Dave Razzano Head coaches Head coach – Todd Haley Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/running backs – Bob Saunders Offensive quality control/wide receivers – Yale van Dyne Special teams/tight ends – Frank Gansz Jr. Offensive line – James Saxon

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Carnell Lake Defensive line – Trey Jackson Linebackers – Steven Thompson Defensive quality control/defensive backs – Brock Marion

Schedule

Regular Season

Week	Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Result	Record	TV	Venue	Recap
1	April 15	4:30 p.m.	vs. Philadelphia Stars	L 23–27	0–1	Fox	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap
2	April 22	7:00 p.m.	at Birmingham Stallions	L 2–42	0–2	Fox	Protective Stadium	Recap
3	April 29	7:00 p.m.	at Houston Gamblers	L 26–30	0–3	Fox	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap
4	May 6	7:30 p.m.	at Michigan Panthers	W 29–10	1–3	NBC	Ford Field	Recap
5	May 14	3:00 p.m.	at New Orleans Breakers	W 17–10	2–3	Fox	Protective Stadium	Recap
6	May 20	12:30 p.m.	vs. Pittsburgh Maulers	W 22–0	3–3	USA	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap
7	May 28	3:00 p.m.	vs. Houston Gamblers	W 23–20	4–3	USA	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap
8	June 4	1:00 p.m.	at New Jersey Generals	W 25–16	5–3	Fox	Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium	Recap
9	June 10	3:00 p.m.	vs. New Orleans Breakers	L 3–31	5–4	NBC, CNBC [a]	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap
10	June 17	4:00 p.m.	vs. Birmingham Stallions	L 20–27	5–5	Fox	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Recap

Bold indicates divisional opponent.

Standings

South Division
#	view talk edit	W	L	PCT	GB	DIV	PF	PA	STK
1	(y) Birmingham Stallions	8	2	.800	-	4–2	287	196	W5
2	(x) New Orleans Breakers	7	3	.700	1	4–2	237	184	W3
3	(e) Houston Gamblers	5	5	.500	3	2–4	223	236	L2
4	(e) Memphis Showboats	5	5	.500	3	2–4	190	213	L2
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Notes

1. Rain delay caused the 2nd through 4th quarters to be shown on CNBC, due to local and primetime programming on NBC. ^[6]

References

1. "USFL hires new general managers for two teams". FOX Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
2. "USFL will return for second season, will play in multiple hub cities with no expansion in 2023". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
3. "USFL explores Metro Detroit hub for 2023; Eastern Michigan has been contacted". The Detroit News. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
4. "USFL comes home to Memphis for the 2023 season | USFL". FOX Sports. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
5. "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. January 4, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
6. "USFL on Twitter: When the game between the @USFLBreakers and @USFLShowboats resumes, you can tune in on CNBC and Peacock to catch the conclusion of the game".