Kenneth Gainwell

Kenneth Gainwell is an American football running back for the Memphis Tigers.

Kenneth Gainwell
Memphis Tigers – No. 19
PositionRunning back
Class
Redshirt
Sophomore
MajorSport and Leisure Management
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolYazoo County
(Yazoo County, Mississippi)
Personal information
Born: (1999-03-14) March 14, 1999
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight183 lb (83 kg)
Career highlights and awards
  • First team All-AAC (2019)
  • AAC Rookie of the Year (2019)

Early life and high school

Gainwell grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi and attended Yazoo County High School. He was a three-year starter at quarterback for the Panthers. As a junior, he passed for 1,184 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 1,292 yards and 20 touchdowns. During the summer going into his senior season Gainwell committed to play college football at Memphis over offers from Ole Miss and Tulane.[1] As a senior, he passed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns and ran for 1,834 yards and 32 touchdowns. Gainwell was named Class 3A Mr. Football as he led the Panthers to a 14–1 record and an appearance in the Class 3A state championship game.[2][3][4] Gainwell finished his high school career with 3,682 yards passing and 32 passing touchdowns and 4,730 rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns with one kickoff returned for a touchdown.[5]

College career

Gainwell moved to running back during summer training camp and played in four games as a true freshman before deciding to redshirt the rest of the season. He finished the season with four carries for 91 yards and a touchdown, a 73-yard run, and six receptions for 52 yards.[6]

As a redshirt freshman, Gainwell was named the Tigers' starting running back following the departure of Tony Pollard. He was named the co-American Athletic Conference (AAC) player of the week after rushing for 104 yards and a touchdown and gaining 204 yards and scoring two touchdowns on nine receptions on October 19, 2019 in a 47–17 win over Tulane.[7] He rushed for 1,459 yards with 13 touchdowns on 231 carries and caught 51 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns and was named the AAC Freshman of the Year and first team All-AAC.[8][9] He was named a second team All-American by the Sporting News and the American Football Coaches Association and the National Freshman of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America.[10][11][12]

Personal

Gainwell's younger brother, Kory, played defensive back and running back at Yazoo County and is committed to play at Memphis.[13]

His family includes Fletcher Cox who is a DT for the Philadelphia Eagles as well as Trebor Gainwell and Robert Gainwell, who also played collegiate football at Southern Arkansas University and Alcorn State University, respectively.

References
  1. Claxton, Ben (June 28, 2017). "Yazoo County QB Kenny Gainwell Commits To Memphis". DeltaDailyNews.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. Jordan, Jonah (October 17, 2019). "Older brother helps Kory Gainwell tackle recruiting process". The Daily Memphian. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  3. "Yazoo County's Gainwell steps up". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. November 18, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. "2017 Class 3A Mr. Football: Kenneth Gainwell". MissHSAA.com. Mississippi High School Activities Association. December 15, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. "Gainwell relishes lead running back role as Tigers face Navy". The Daily Memphian. September 26, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  6. Vannini, Chirs (June 13, 2019). "State of the Program: Memphis is the team to beat in the AAC West, and it has its sights set higher". The Athletic. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  7. Greer, Jarvis (October 22, 2019). "Tigers' Gainwell earns top weekly honor in AAC". WMCActionNews5.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. Fowler, Christian (January 14, 2020). "Gainwell has fifth best odds to win Heisman Trophy in 2020". 247Sports.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  9. "Memphis' Antonio Gibson, Kenneth Gainwell among Tigers honored in 2019 All-AAC awards". The Commercial Appeal. December 4, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. "Memphis Tigers running back Kenneth Gainwell named freshman player of the year". LocalMemphis.com. January 13, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  11. Greer, Jarvis (December 18, 2019). "Tigers running back, Kenny Gainwell, earns All-American status". WMCActionNews5.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  12. "Memphis freshman Kenneth Gainwell earns second-team All-American honors from Sporting News, AFCA". The Commercial Appeal. December 17, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  13. Cook, Joe (January 28, 2020). "Yazoo County's Kory Gainwell commits to Memphis". WAPT.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
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