When Jordon Hankins met Will Kriesky more than 15 years ago, he probably didn't think about the impact it would have on a college football recruiting battle in 2024.

Hankins was an assistant at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro when he met Kriesky, whom he helped get an assistant job of his own with the Warriors. They coached together for only one season, after which Hankins left for UT Martin.

But they each worked their way up as coaches over the next decade and a half — Kriesky eventually ended up as Riverdale's head coach, while Hankins was named Memphis defensive coordinator earlier this year. And that's why Kriesky reached out to Hankins this spring after one of his former players — linebacker Elijah Herring, Tennessee's leading tackler — entered the transfer portal.

"I tried to find a place that wasn't so much similar to Tennessee, but a place that had the right resources that Tennessee had," Herring told the Commercial Appeal. "And just being able to help their players get to be where they need to be. And being able to do that by any means necessary."

Hankins sold Herring on Memphis and a defensive scheme that will have linebackers front and center. He chose the Tigers over Colorado, Kansas State and Virginia Tech.

He's part of a spring transfer class that includes Oklahoma defensive end Reggie Grimes, Indiana cornerback Kobee Minor and others from power conference schools. The commitments started to roll in after Memphis wrapped spring practices and after FedEx pledged $25 million over five years for Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals for a slew of Tigers programs.

And even with all the positive news around the Memphis football program this offseason — the FedEx deal, a contract extension for coach Ryan Silverfield, breaking ground on renovations to Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium — Herring's commitment still stands out. Not only is he a transfer from Tennessee (which would be enough to intrigue Tigers fans), but he's a transfer who led the Vols in tackles in 2023.

He was thrust into a starting role as a sophomore because of injuries last season and made 79 tackles. But the depth chart is ever-changing in college football, and he entered the transfer portal in the spring with two years of eligibility remaining.

Herring spent some time back in Murfreesboro and worked out at Riverdale, reconnecting with Kriesky as he mulled his next move.

"You don't find a better human being," Kriesky said. "You can ask every teacher in our school building about him and they'll say nothing but positive things. I don't think anybody's had a negative encounter when they've met Elijah."

Herring has already started summer workouts. He's joining a linebacker room that includes All-AAC first-teamer Chandler Martin and a seemingly never-ending list of transfers, including Harvard's Matt Hudson, NC Central's Jayden Flaker and Arkansas State's Javonte Mackey.

There will be plenty to figure out when the Tigers reconvene in August. But Herring figures to be a major part of a Memphis season that will start with expectations higher than they've probably ever been. The Tigers have been projected among the top Group of Five teams during the offseason, and the expansion of the College Football Playoff means a G5 team will be guaranteed a spot for the first time ever.

"The FedEx deal, it was good to see," Herring said. "But my choice wasn't really based around money. It was just being able to help me produce, find a good school, a good winning program and just being able to come in and help them as much as I could."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: How Memphis football landed Elijah Herring, Tennessee's leading tackler