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UTC White shades Blue 6-0 on Ribeiro kicks
The man pulled the silvery ring from his pocket. Slipping a boom box on your finger might have been less cumbersome. Even Beyonce might pronounce this giant chunk of metal a tad bit garish.
Then again, how long must one suffer, enduring disappointing college football season on top of disappointing college football season, 30 years without a single playoff bid, before finally receiving a bit of bling for victory?
If the length of that wait ultimately determines the size of the reward, perhaps the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga even erred on the side of caution in ordering rings to commemorate last season's run to the NCAA's FCS playoffs.
So as the longtime member of the UTC football squad's official traveling party surveyed his own Southern Conference championship ring during Saturday's spring game, he smiled, then chuckled.
"This thing is huge," he said. "It's supposedly the same size as Ohio State's (FBS) title ring. If they win the national championship this year, they'll have to make them bracelets."
Though the White's eventual 6-0 victory over the Blues did little to predict such possible greatness this coming autumn, such glory does seem more than vaguely possible after the Mocs' memorable run to the quarterfinals last December in the program's first playoff appearance since 1984.
"We think we can win a national championship," said redshirt freshman wide receiver Kota Nix, who caught two passes for the Blue team. "We're better than last year."
If anyone understands the hard work needed even to consider a run at a national championship, it should be Nix. His grandfather Buddy was the last UTC coach prior to current coach Russ Huesman to guide the Mocs to the playoffs. Grandpa Nix recently semi-retired from his gig as Buffalo Bills general manager in order to be closer to Kota and the rest of the grandkids.
"Chattanooga's my home now," Buddy said. "I'm going to travel now (for the Bills) when I want to rather than when they want me to. I hope to see a bunch of UTC games this fall."
Then there's Kota's father Steve, who also played wideout at UTC after transferring from LSU to play for Buddy. His career was cut short by a knee injury against Eastern Kentucky his senior season in 1987.
"We took the (torn) ACL out, hoping I could play without it," Steve said. "But I couldn't."
How much the redshirt freshman Kota will play this season is uncertain. He spent last season on the scout team, where he had much more fun running wide-open offenses such as Austin Peay and Tennessee than he did triple-option attacks such as The Citadel.
But what the former Baylor School standout really wants is to carve out his own legacy, not one tied to his grandfather or father.
"I'd like to make a name for myself," he said, "not just be known because of my grandfather."
Jacob Huesman, the UTC coach's kid and reigning Southern Conference offensive player of the year, believes young Nix might have a chance to do just that.
"Kota runs really good routes," said the senior quarterback, himself a former Baylor star. "He's really good at setting up a defender with his eyes or his feet. Of course, I also think being a former Baylor player helps. You know I had to get that in there."
This is also the time your humble scribe feels the need to get something in there about how Kota came to be named Kota.
"That was me," Steve Nix said. "I'd heard the name somewhere and I liked it. My wife later said it was short for Dakota. But it really began as Kota."
If Saturday was any indication, merchandisers are going to really like these Mocs. A kiosk in the Finley Stadium concourse selling UTC merchandise basically sold out by halftime.
"We sold more than 100 football jerseys," said Jamila Tucker, supervisor for the UTC Bookstore that ran the kiosk.
"We sold out almost everything," added co-worker Dana Swift. "A great day."
Papa Huesman certainly liked the day, even if neither team scored a touchdown.
"Any time you don't get someone carried off the field (with an injury) in one of these games, it's a great day," said the coach.
His son was also quite fond of the new AstroTurf field.
"I love it," Jacob said. "Nice and flat and even. A lot more of those rubber beads to make it soft. I cut my legs up too many times on the old field."
The worst part now is finding a way to take a cut out of the next 139 days before the 2015 season opener against Jacksonville State at Finley. Determined to soften that delay, someone asked Jim Reynolds, the Voice of the Mocs, to assess UTC's chances for the upcoming season.
Replied Reynolds as he looked ahead to his 36th season covering the Blue and Gold: "I think (punter) Nick Pollard is going to be tougher to replace than people think."
No disrespect to the strong-footed Pollard, but when your biggest problem is replacing your punter, jewelers might want to start designing national championship rings sooner rather than later.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.