Tauskie Dove missed playing with Seth Henigan in high school, now joins him at Memphis football

Memphis Commercial Appeal The 2017 Billy Ryan Raiders of Denton dominated most of their season under coach Dave Henigan, going 14-0 before losing in the Texas high school football state semifinals. Like most high school teams, they lost a few players to graduation. Their quarterback, Spencer Sanders, went to Oklahoma State was a star for the Cowboys before transferring to Ole Miss this offseason.

Their second leading receiver, Tauskie Dove, committed to Missouri. Dove redshirted and then played four seasons in Columbia, totaling 1,164 yards and three touchdowns throughout his career. His best season came as a junior in 2021, when he caught 38 passes for 576 yards.

But Dove was looking for something else during his final season of college eligibility. "I was looking for a better opportunity on the field," he said. "Looking for more plays to get the ball in my hands, looking for a more productive offense, you know, aggressive right out of the gate from the beginning of the game, want to put points on the board.

I was looking to take my talent, skills, leadership elsewhere. " After Sanders and Dove graduated high school, Henigan turned to his son, Ian Henigan, to lead the Raiders. But Ian suffered an injury mid-season, so it was time for Dave's younger son, Seth, to take the reins of the offense.

Seth Henigan has been a starting quarterback ever since, first at Denton and then from day one at Memphis. That made for a reunion of sorts when Dove attended Memphis' bowl game against Utah State in Dallas. He was home for winter break anyways, and he was considering Memphis alongside UNLV.

He ran into his high school coach who was there to watch his son. That helped seal the deal, and Dove committed to Memphis this offseason. Though he never played with Henigan in high school, Dove will be among the receivers looking to earn playing time in a crowded receiving room this season at Memphis.

"At the end of his career at Missouri he was a starter and he was a team captain," Dave Henigan said. "I mean, they don't just hand those things out. You have to earn it.

And so he's bringing that same mindset and those same leadership qualities to the Memphis team and the Memphis program and the reality is, I don't care how many guys you already have on your team that are high character leader guys, you can never have too many. And so I think he's gonna be a great addition in that respect. " Dove was injured during spring practice but said he's good to go for fall practices, which started last week.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pound wideout is working on getting his conditioning up to speed. Wide receiver coach Larry Smith said Dove's frame and ball skills have stood out in camp so far, but also specifically mentioned his leadership qualities. "He's a natural true leader," he said.

"He really is. I think guys naturally gravitate towards him. He's a joy to be around.

And he's a joy to coach as well. " .