The future of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, at least a potentially big part of it, was on display at Baylor’s Heywood Stadium on Saturday night.
Representing the Tennessee squad in the seventh annual Tennessee-Georgia All-Star Football Classic were five Mocs signees, led by game MVP Terrell Robinson, the former South Pittsburg star who was the Mr. Football Division I-A Back of the Year.
“It felt good to have so many of us out there,” said Robinson, who rushed for a game-high 55 yards and threw for 83 — a passing total that would have been much higher if several on-target passes weren’t dropped.
On Tennessee’s first offensive play, Robinson was at quarterback, Red Bank’s Keon Williams was at tailback and Boyd-Buchanan’s Devin Caldwell was lined up at left tackle. That’s three of 11 starters who will report to Mocs preseason practice in early August.
“It was good to showcase what we’re going to be doing for the next couple of years for UTC,” said Williams, who sat out most of the second half of Tennessee’s 17-0 win with back spasms.
In an otherwise offensively-challenged game, Robinson led the Tennessee squad to a win-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter. His 17-yard scramble deep inside Georgia territory kept the 10-play, 62-yard drive going.
Robinson lined up in the shotgun nearly the entire game and showed often that he can be an effective weapon, running and throwing, in a spread-style offense. The lean 6-foot-3 quarterback will have plenty of time to develop his game and develop physically over the next two years.
Williams didn’t find much running room against a good Georgia defense, and Robinson’s best plays, or at least the most exciting, were his scrambles. He was able to elude the pass rush up the middle and break free on the outside to turn a blown play into positive yardage.
It wasn’t lost on Robinson late Saturday that the All-Star game will likely be the last game he starts for quite a while. Mocs starter B.J. Coleman has two years of eligibility remaining, so Robinson will likely redshirt this fall and see limited playing time in 2011.
“I plan on learning as much as I can from (Coleman),” he said.
On defense, both of UTC’s signees, linebacker Zak Rayl of McMinn Central and Red Bank safety Keith Mayes, made a few tackles. Mayes, an all-state selection like Williams, was one of the hardest hitters on the field.
Rayl said the game, and the week of practice leading up to it, was a good bonding experience for the future Mocs. It was also a good reminder that preseason practice, which begins Aug. 4, isn’t too far away.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun over the next few years,” Rayl said.
The five signees were the only future Mocs on the field, but they weren’t the only ones in the stadium. Offensive lineman Taylor Dodds, from Pacelli High School in Columbus, Ga., and Columbia Central wideout Bryant Belew made the trip to Baylor to watch their future teammates play.