A year after Luke Walerius left Memphis as their recruiting director to become Northwestern's general manager, defensive back An'Darius Coffey followed in his footsteps, committing to the Wildcats out of the transfer portal after four seasons with the Tigers.

"I almost get emotional talking about it because you never how the portal will go... [This] all started with my relationship with Luke," Coffey said on his decision. "He knew me from Memphis and he put a good rep out for me to the staff so they could put eyes on me out of the portal."

The Wildcats moved quickly on Coffey after Walerius' endorsement and evaluating his tape. He entered the portal on Dec. 16, visited Northwestern on Dec. 19 and committed on Dec. 21.

Over the past two seasons, he played in 22 games for Memphis, starting eight, and recorded 50 tackles.

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