Stuck in a tied game with Charlotte in the third quarter, Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield put in his fifth-string running back.

That doesn't sound like anyone's ideal plan, and it certainly wasn't Silverfield's. But the Tigers were suddenly down their four top running backs, and the fifth-stringer was ready to go in. That happened to be Makari Bodiford, a true freshman who had four career carries.

Lead back Mario Anderson limped to the locker room with cramps, and Bodiford came in with Memphis backed up to its own 11-yard line.

"It was a surreal experience," Bodiford said.

Then he rushed for 73 yards on seven carries, giving the Tigers the lead in a game they ultimately won 33-28 to keep their AAC title hopes alive. Anderson returned the next drive and rushed for 141 yards on 32 carries, but Bodiford's seven carries still ended up as a major storyline from the game.

"When that moment shows up, you better be ready," offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said. "Is that going to be your finest hour, or is it going to be something you wished you would've prepared harder for? Makari works his tail off out there every single day. He's not right all the time. But when his shot came, and the moment came, he was ready to take advantage of it."

How Makari Bodiford went from fifth-string RB to scoring a touchdown

The Tigers (7-1, 3-1 AAC) went into 2024 with plenty of experience in their running back room. There was Anderson, who arrived after leading South Carolina in rushing last season. There was Sutton Smith, ready for a breakout season after two years with Memphis. There was Brandon Thomas, a program stalwart who was excellent as a goal-line back in 2023. And there was UMass transfer Greg Desrosiers, a change-of-pace back whose versatility made him a candidate to see the field at multiple positions.

Bodiford arrived as an early enrollee from George Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. That high school might sound familiar — it's also Smith's alma mater. He wasn't supposed to make an impact in 2024, but he still turned heads during spring practices.

"Even in the spring, I could kind of tell," quarterback Seth Henigan said. "I told my dad about him. Even as a true freshman, I was like, 'This kid might play for us a little bit.' And then we tried to redshirt him, but with the things that happened in the running back room, all of a sudden he's looking at playing time. I've always had a lot of confidence in him. He's from Sutton's high school, so I guess they're good at running back at that high school or something."

Bodiford scored a touchdown in the spring game, then quickly hit the road — he had to get back to Marietta for his senior prom that night.

Silverfield often jokes that Bodiford is only 17. It's not actually true — Bodiford turned 19 in September, but he thinks it picked up because another early enrollee, quarterback Arrington Maiden, actually was 17 during spring ball. And Silverfield decided that all of the early enrollees were 17.

"After I turned 19, he said, 'I'm going to call you 17 until you graduate,' " Bodiford said.

Still, a true freshman getting legitimate playing time for Memphis is almost as rare as a 17-year-old being on the team. Henigan and safety Greg Rubin did it in 2021, and defensive tackle Jarra Anderson did it last season. The last running back to play as a true freshman? Smith, in 2022.

The Tigers weren't planning for Bodiford to join that list. But Smith went down with a knee injury in the first quarter of the season opener against North Alabama and was lost for the season. Desrosiers left the Florida State game on Sept. 14 with a clavicle injury and hasn't played since, but he could return as soon as this week. Thomas missed last week's game after he was injured against North Texas the week earlier.

Enter Bodiford, who got plenty of advice from Smith, his high school and college teammate.

"He just said, just calm everything down," Bodiford said. "Slow everything down. Go through your reads, and just treat it like practice. You do it all the time."

That worked for him against Charlotte. It will need to work for him when the Tigers face UTSA (3-5, 1-3) on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ESPN2) at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Regardless of how much he plays, Bodiford has a little extra pep in his step this week at practice.

"I've always been confident," he said. "It's just, when I got in, it just made me feel even better. Like, I can do this at this level."

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

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Inside true freshman Makari Bodiford's journey at Memphis football