The 2025 Memphis football roster just received a significant boost.
First-team All-AAC defensive end William Whitlow Jr., who entered the transfer portal last month, announced Tuesday that he will return to the Tigers in 2025.
This makes him the sole member of Memphis defense who started the 2024 season opener against North Alabama who will be on the roster in 2025. Whitlow had 24 tackles and four sacks in 2024.
He had posted on social media that he received offers from Oklahoma and West Virginia, but ultimately decided to withdraw his name from the transfer portal. A former three-star recruit out of Millbrook, Alabama, Whitlow has one year of eligibility remaining.
Whitlow spent his entire college career with the Tigers. He redshirted in 2021, then started two games in 2022, four in 2023 and became a full-time starter in 2024.
He will be a staple for defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins through 2025. The Tigers lost almost their entire defense, but will rebuild under their second-year defensive coordinator.
Whitlow’s return means the only defensive players who were still eligible and will not return are linebacker Chandler Martin (NFL draft) and linebacker Elijah Herring (transfer to Florida State).
Memphis went 11-2 in 2024, including a win over West Virginia in the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl.
Contact sportswriter Jonah Dylan at [email protected] or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article was originally published on Memphis Commercial Appeal: William Whitlow Jr. withdraws from the portal and will return to Memphis
