



Memphis linebacker Genard Avery hopes to transfer to Ole Miss after the spring semester, with or without a release, he told RebelGrove.com Monday.

Avery, who recorded 53 tackles and three quarterback sacks last season before suffering a wrist injury in November that required surgery, said he needs to get closer to his home in Grenada, Miss., to be closer to his mother, Tiffany Avery.

“My junior year (at Grenada High School), she got sick,” Avery said. “It’s been hard playing without her coming to my games and all that. When I got to Memphis, it got worse.”

Avery said he talked to Memphis coach Mike Norvell on the coach’s first day on the job about a release.

“I was telling him I wanted to transfer, that I was having problems at home,” Avery said. “His response was, ‘I’m not going to release you to Ole Miss or Mississippi State.’ I didn’t even say anything about Mississippi State. I just said closer to home. He said, ‘I won’t release you to them. It’s my job to do whatever I can to keep you and show you that you and I can make this program better.’

“The reason I came to Memphis was because of my coaches. They cared about my family. They always checked on my mom and this and that. It was like a family-deal to them.”

Those coaches, former Memphis head coach Justin Fuente and assistants Galen Scott and James Shibest, all departed for Virginia Tech following the 2015 season.

“Stuff happens at the house all the time and usually, I come home every weekend and sometimes during the week,” Avery said. “My freshman year, I had a car and I went home just about every day. It just depended if we had practice or not.”

Avery said he considered leaving Memphis during the Christmas holidays. His family urged him to get to know the new coaches.

“The only reason I stayed was because I was giving them a chance but my mind is set that I’m leaving,” Avery said. “I’m going to do whatever I can to be close to my mom. That’s where my head is right now.

“I really do want to leave. I really just want to be close to home. That’s just being honest. I’ll try to walk-on at Ole Miss. I’ll do whatever I can to be closer to my mom and my family.”