University of Tennessee at Chattanooga running back Ailym Ford added to a growing list of accomplishments Wednesday when he was named to the 2019 Phil Steele Freshman All-American first team.
Ford, the 2019 Southern Conference freshman of the year after rushing for 1,081 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 games, also finished fifth in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the country’s top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision, and was a first-team All-SoCon selection.
He was joined in the Steele honors by UTC offensive lineman Colin Truett and long snapper Cody Olszewski, with each making the fourth team.
Truett transferred from Cincinnati after redshirting the 2018 season and entered the Mocs’ lineup at right tackle against eventual national runner-up James Madison before starting the final eight games of the season. Olszewski handled the majority of the long snapping duties as a freshman, appearing in 11 of 12 games.
Academic record
UTC put a school-record 41 student-athletes on the SoCon’s all-academic team for the 2019 fall semester, the league office announced Wednesday. The Mocs also tied for the SoCon lead with four 4.0 GPAs among the 348 who were honored – Abby Bateman (women’s cross country), Johnathan Boyd (men’s cross country), Jacob Ethridge (men’s cross country) and Megan Kaufman (volleyball).
Football set a new program record with 12 honorees, as did soccer with 11 representatives; volleyball’s eight tied that program’s best showing.
To be eligible for the all-academic team, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA at the conclusion of the fall semester and have competed in at least half of their teams’ competitions during the most recently concluded campaign. In addition, the student-athletes must have successfully completed at least three semesters at their institutions, making true freshmen and first-year transfers ineligible for inclusion.
A full list of the team is at gomocs.com.
Ticket time
UTC football fans can purchase season passes for the 2020 season by visiting gomocs.com or calling the school’s ticket office at (423) 266-6627. Fans can also purchase tickets in person at Gate 1 at McKenzie Arena from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
A new option for season tickets is general admission seating on the home side at Finley Stadium. Those tickets start at $40, while regular reserved bleacher seating is $90 and chairback seating starts at $135 with a minimum donation requirement to the Mocs Club.
There is a price break for season tickets purchased or renewed by May 1, and season tickets also allow fans to purchase at the lowest available price per game. Another new benefit for season ticket holders is free parking at the Chattanoogan Hotel’s garage.
This season’s home games are against North Alabama (Sept. 19), Virginia Military Institute (Sept. 26), Wofford (Oct. 10), Mercer (Oct. 24, homecoming) and Samford (Nov. 21). The Mocs released their complete schedule Monday.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.