At 8:34 a.m. on Feb. 7, 2018, Ben Brewton became the second addition for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on national signing day, part of an 11-player haul that would join 13 recruits who had officially chosen the Mocs during the early signing period in December.
At the time, UTC was one season removed from the last of three consecutive appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, having fallen to Sam Houston State in the second round in 2016.
Since then, Brewton has been around for 35 victories, and the sixth-year senior will leave UTC having never experienced a losing season. But one thing Brewton and the Mocs haven't tasted in that time is the postseason. Sure, missing the playoffs has been the norm for the program historically, but with a dedicated athletic department that has invested in winning, that should no longer be the case.
UTC has a chance to end that skid when Furman visits Finley Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in the biggest home game for the Mocs since they hosted The Citadel with the Southern Conference championship on the line on Nov. 14, 2015. The Mocs won 31-23 that day to clinch their third consecutive conference title.
The Mocs (7-2, 5-1 SoCon), who are currently tied for 13th in the FCS coaches poll and ranked 14th by media, will need a similar effort Saturday against the Paladins (7-1, 5-0), who are second in both polls and were the preseason favorites to win the SoCon.
But head coach Rusty Wright, Brewton and the rest of the team feel as if all the battles, the close calls, the narrow misses over the past three seasons, have prepared them for this moment.
"It's been some tough years," said Brewton, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound defensive lineman who leads the SoCon in sacks with seven this season, giving him 21.5 for his UTC career. "We overcame a lot of battles and change and going through different changes. But this year, this game means a lot coming from where we were before. It means a lot to see the growth in the program and which way the program is headed. I'm excited.
"I'm excited for this weekend. Hadn't been here before, hadn't really played in a game like this before, so it's exciting to see what's going to happen."
The Mocs have the same overall record they sported a year ago going into game No. 10, but around the program, it feels different.
Wright, in his fifth season in charge at his alma mater, has lauded how he feels this team is bought in in a way prior teams may not have been. He spoke about how "tore up" sophomore receiver Sam Phillips was about having what the 2022 Freshman All-American felt was a bad performance, and it's that level of dedication Wright has been adamant about bringing into the program.
"It means something every time they step out there, it's not just going out there to play another game," Wright said. "We've got way too many guys that have invested way too much the last couple of years not to go out there and try and play well and give themselves a chance to win, and it bothers them. This group, they've been through some stuff. I know what it means to them. They're working their tails off and they're constantly doing what we ask them to do and trying to get better at things and try to do those things.
"That's all you can ask for, and if we're good enough, we're good enough. If we're not, we'll keep figuring it out."
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC running back Gino Appleberry follows his blocking as he tries to avoid East Tennessee State defenders during a SoCon game on Oct. 21 at Finley Stadium.The Mocs went 6-6 in Wright's first season. The FCS pushed its 2020 season into early 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the Mocs made waves by playing three games (all wins) during that spring schedule against SoCon competition and ascending to a No. 9 national ranking before the starters sat in the fourth game, a 35-28 home loss to Mercer. There were more SoCon games on UTC's schedule, but the Mocs opted out two days later.
That fall, the team wasn't good enough, losing to Mercer and The Citadel late in the season to finish 6-5 and miss out on the playoffs and the championship that had been UTC's focus it opted out of the spring season. A year later, the Mocs' 7-4 record was muddied by losses in three of their final four games and being one of the first teams left out of the 24-team playoffs.
With a win Saturday, the Mocs are assured of two things: at least a share of the SoCon title, and the league's automatic playoff berth. Furman and UTC are the only SoCon teams with fewer than two losses in conference play, and this is the league finale for the Mocs, who have an open date next weekend before visiting Football Bowl Subdivision power Alabama on Nov. 18.
With a loss Saturday, the playoffs would still be a possibility for the Mocs, but they wouldn't be guaranteed.
The 20 UTC players who will be honored on senior day want to go out in style in the last home game the Mocs are assured of this year.
"This is a tremendous game for us," running back Gino Appleberry said. "We're just stacking our chips and stacking our chips, because when you come to a program, you want to be the best. You want to be the best in the conference, the best player, you want to win every stat, just pretty much every accolade there is.
"My philosophy when I come to a program is I want to leave it better than I found it, and I'm working on it. I'm working on just being a football player, just doing my role, doing my job no matter what it is. I love football, I love being around my brothers, I love being around the guys. I love having that camaraderie, I love waking up at 6 a.m., it's tough sometimes, but I love coming to work."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.