UTC's Vantrel McMillan tries to shed the block of Presbyterian's Tobias Hagins during their Sept. 10 game at Finley Stadium. McMillan and fellow defensive lineman Keionta Davis will be key players in the effort to pressure Sam Houston State quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe in the second round of the FCS playoffs Saturday.With Sam Houston State's offense set for quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe to get the ball out of his hands quickly, it will be hard for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive front to add a lot to its season sacks count this weekend.
But it won't be impossible.
The trick for UTC's defensive staff in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs is to devise a game plan to counter an offense that has had its quarterback sacked just eight times this season. Briscoe - who transferred from the University of Alabama at Birmingham after its Football Bowl Subdivision program was briefly disbanded after the 2014 season - has 4,096 passing yards and 52 touchdowns this season for the Bearkats (11-0).
And he's not the only player the Mocs (9-3) have to worry about.
"They have a lot of really skilled players, from quarterback to receivers to backs," defensive coordinator Adam Braithwaite said. "They have a lot of team speed and run a scheme that spreads you out and makes you make plays in space. They have an O-line that does a good job of protecting up front. They try to run the ball and pass the ball - they throw more, but they don't completely abandon the run game, so we've got to defend all levels."
Of course, using pressure to disrupt Briscoe could help, especially because UTC's pass rush has typically been most dominant during coach Russ Huesman's tenure. The Mocs have 31 sacks this season, best among Southern Conference teams and 20th in the nation.
Those who could be key to creating pressure include SoCon defensive player of the year Keionta Davis, who had a league-high 8.5 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss, and first-team all-conference member Vantrel McMillan, who had 6.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
"They've got a good offensive front, a good scheme going," McMillan said. "This week we're focused on getting after the ball, running and getting in some good conditioning so we're ready for this game."
McMillan mentioned the importance of defensive tackles creating pressure inside. Briscoe typically gets the ball out in about three seconds, so devising a plan to collapse the pocket in that time frame falls on Braithwaite, defensive line coach Carey Bailey and defensive line assistant Tony Brown.
"You watch film, and he sits back there comfortably," said Bailey, who spent four seasons as coach at Lamar, which like Sam Houston State is a Southland Conference member. "They do a good job offensively. Schematically, it's one of the more complex things we've probably seen in a while.
"It's just a matter of being technique-sound on what we're supposed to be cued on, getting off the ball and finding ways to make him move."
Davis top-10 in Buchanan voting
Davis was ninth in voting for the 2016 Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the top FCS defensive player. His finish was the best ever by a UTC player, three slots higher than former Moc Davis Tull's 12th-place finish in 2014.
UTC quarterback Chris Sanders was ninth in the Walter Payton Award voting for FCS offensive player of the year after passing for 3,671 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2000.
Davis has 42 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks, 9 1/2 tackles for loss, seven hurries and six pass breakups this season. He was 17th in last season's Buchanan voting.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.