TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Hours before Memphis football's 20-12 win over Florida State, the Tigers had retreated to their locker room after early warmups.

The Tigers, that is, expect for one: Receiver Koby Drake, who'd been thinking about this game for more than a year.

Drake, in a hoodie, practiced running routes. Receivers coach Larry Smith came over to talk to him. The other side of the field was filled with Seminoles players. This side was only filled with Drake and a few staffers.

Mike Norvell was on the other side. Florida State's coach had been Memphis' coach once upon a time. That was five years ago, and everyone else from the 2019 team is gone from Memphis. Except Drake.

A walk-on receiver who was on the scout team that year, Drake said before the season that he doesn't think Norvell even knew his name. That provided more than enough motivation.

"You have no idea," Drake said in August. "That's all I can think about. I've thought about it so much. When we win, I already know what I'm going to say."

Koby Drake's journey to Memphis starter

Drake was never supposed to be a Memphis starter, or even a scholarship player. He arrived at Memphis as an unheralded receiver from White Hall, Arkansas, with no guarantees that he'd even get a roster spot. He was only added to the team three weeks into the 2019 season.

"I came in, and people probably didn't even expect me to make it to the next spring," he said. "I just came in as a filler guy. People were getting hurt. They needed receivers, they needed bodies."

Drake was so far in the periphery that he wasn't even on the sideline for Memphis' sellout game against SMU. Instead he was in the student section. He caught a shirt that someone threw into the stands during the T-shirt toss. It's "bittersweet" for him to look back on that game and that moment. He remembers Antonio Gibson's kick return, sure. But he also remembers where he was sitting.

And he's never asked Norvell why.

Regardless, Norvell left for Florida State a few weeks later. Drake appeared in only one game in 2020, then started to work his way up the wide receiver pecking order — eight catches in 2021, 13 in 2022 after he'd earned a scholarship. He joined what's become a tradition of walk-on receivers at Memphis, following directly after Calvin Austin III, who took Drake under his wing during those first few seasons.

"He's always been a baller, you know what I mean?" Austin told The Commercial Appeal last year. "Like some guys is just a baller. They may not be the fastest, quickest, strongest, whatever, but some guys is just a baller. And that's what he was."

Drake's role expanded again in 2023 — 33 catches for 352 yards, plus punt-return duties — and he entered 2024 as a starter.

Koby Drake's game against Florida State

Drake had plenty of friends and family on hand in Tallahassee on Saturday, including his girlfriend, Natalie Sharp. They wore buttons with Drake's face on them and were on hand to see Drake catch three passes for 25 yards, including a key third-down completion to set up the Tigers' opening score of the game.

He also reeled off a 22-yard punt return in the first quarter.

Norvell was on his mind during the game. He spent most of the day repeating "say my name" as he stood on the sideline or stepped onto the field.

"The best part about Koby is his due diligence," said Larry Crum III, who was with the rest of Drake's family and friends on Saturday. "He always puts his head down and works. He grinds no matter what. He'll be in the backyard, working on release drills. He's a grinder. He don't stop."

After Memphis (3-0) beat Florida State (0-3), it was Norvell and Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield who met at midfield.

"Love you," Silverfield said, to the man who for so long was his boss. "And good luck."

Norvell, Silverfield said postgame, echoed the same sentiment.

And this story doesn't end exactly how you'd expect. In the chaos and in the celebration, Drake never talked to Norvell. But you can guess what he would've said.

"There's no animosity," he said before the season. "But it is motivational, for sure. It's cool, because I'm the only one here that was with Norvell. I respect Norvell. But I'm just going to make sure he remembers my name."

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

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Why Memphis football's win over Florida State mattered to Koby Drake