In this file photo, Russ Huesman watches as the Chattanooga Mocs' football team does drills at Scrappy Moore Field.University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman took a lot of hits Tuesday night - the verbal kind.
The Mocs coach was on the hot seat at the Chattanooga Convention Center during the Classic 150 Club Roast/Toast, a fundraising event billed as a way to "say 'thanks' to Coach Huesman and his family" for their contributions to the community since Huesman was hired in December 2008.
That "thanks" came in the form of a lot of embarrassing stories, a few of them true, about Huesman. The roasters were Mocs play-by-play announcer Jim Reynolds, former players Don Lepard and John Murphy, former UTC assistant Johnny Henderson and UTC chancellor Roger Brown.
While the others spoke into the microphone attached to the podium, Reynolds grabbed it and laid into Huesman for about 20 merciless minutes that had the few hundred in attendance roaring.
Reynolds opened by asking why a coach with a 12-10 career record was being roasted. He also laid into Huesman for the Appalachian State, Jacksonville State and Wofford losses last season, and he even joked about Huesman's performance in a Comcast commercial.
Often red in the face, Huesman took it all. After all the roasters got in their shots, Huesman got his chance at a rebuttal and opened it by calling for Reynolds' firing.
The event raised money for the Classic 150 Club, which helps bring sporting events to Chattanooga, including the Nationwide Tour's Chattanooga Classic.