Bradford gets extra attention

RICHMOND, Ky. -- As University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wide receiver Joel Bradford piles up the catches -- he had another six for 85 yards and a touchdown Saturday night in the No. 17 Mocs' 23-14 win -- you might wonder why teams don't double-team him all of the time.

Eastern Kentucky tried Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium and had some success. The 6-foot, 165-pound senior All-American lined up inside and outside and sometimes in a bunch. He didn't go off on the Colonels like he did last season, but he was effective.

"He did what we needed him to do," quarterback B.J. Coleman said.

Through three games this season, Bradford has 25 catches for 294 yards and two scores. He said he enjoys lining up at different spots.

"I love playing the slot, I love playing outside, I love the motion stuff, and usually me motioning and me playing the slot, they can't really base the coverages on me," Bradford said Thursday.

The pass plays offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield has UTC running aren't that much different from last season when Bradford had 81 catches for a school-record 1,284 yards. But the Mocs' formations at the line of scrimmage are different.

"I think it's essentially the same stuff, just different alignments," Bradford said. "It's still the same scheme, same type plays, but you've got to give it to the coaches: They're mixing things up so it's not that easy to read."

Bradford came to EKU looking to repeat his record-setting performance against the Colonels last season. He caught 11 passes for a school-record 254 yards against EKU in Week 3 of 2010, highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown catch off a ball tipped by EKU cornerback and Chattanooga native Jeremy Caldwell.

The Colonels didn't let Bradford get as open Saturday, but that double coverage helped some other receivers. Marlon Anthony and Jeff Veres had four catches each, and Sloan Allison and tight end Faysal Shafaat had three apiece.

Williams sets record

Mocs defensive end Josh Williams received a game ball in the locker room after UTC's win. Williams sacked EKU's T.J. Pryor two times and became the program's all-time sack leader with the second, which came on EKU's final possession.

With his first sack the junior tied Kenny Sanders (1995-98) for No. 1 all-time with 14 1/2. He did a little dance after the second sack, which put him atop the list with a lot of football left in his career.

"My teammates kept me posted all week telling me about the record, so I was definitely in tune with what was going on," Williams said.

Size counts

Eastern Kentucky might have one of the tallest teams in all of college football, at least according to the media guide's listed measurements.

Among the Colonels' skill-position starters Saturday were 6-5 wide receiver Tyrone Goard, 6-7 tight end Matt Lengel, a pair of 6-4 safeties, 6-4 linebacker Kevin Hamlin and 6-5 punter Jordan Berry.

Both Goard and Lengel had long touchdown catches in the first half. Lengel's was a 55-yarder in the closing seconds of the half, during which he just bounced of a hard hit by safety D.J. Key and ran the ball in to give EKU a 14-10 halftime lead.

Local Colonels

Caldwell and Orlandus Harris are just two of the players on EKU's roster from the Chattanooga area. The Colonels also have redshirt freshman running back LaGreg Burns from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and two true freshmen, defensive back Deno Montgomery from Brainerd and defensive lineman Tucker Bolton from Bradley Central.

Caldwell intercepted a pass to Bradford on a deep ball early in the third quarter and returned three kicks for a total of 59 yards.

Extra points

Mocs safety Jordan Tippit picked off his ninth career pass in the first quarter, tying him with UTC coach Huesman for sixth on the all-time list. ... Defensive tackle Toyvian Brand got his first career action on EKU's second series. ... True freshman Brandon Morgan replaced redshirt freshman Taylor Dodds at left tackle in the first half.

Upcoming Events