When the final FCS coaches’ poll was released Monday, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga remained where it stood at the end of the regular season, ranked No. 8 nationally.
“It’s nice. I figured that’s about where we would be ranked,” Mocs coach Russ Huesman said. “I voted us sixth, but that’s about where I thought we’d wind up.
“We did some really good things last season, but it’s not good enough. We need to carry a chip on our shoulder through this offseason and come back and be better next year. Our goal is still to win a national championship.”
North Dakota State (15-1) won its fourth straight FCS title by rallying for a two-point win over Illinois State. Behind those two teams, New Hampshire, which was listed No. 1 when it eliminated UTC in the quarterfinals, finished ranked third.
No other Southern Conference team even received votes for the final poll. Jacksonville State wound up ranked No. 9.
Penny Smith, center, waits with other UTC football players to sign autographs Sunday during the “Meet the Mocs” day at the First Tennessee Pavilion.Smith to transfer
UTC redshirt freshman Penny Smith announced Monday via Twitter that he plans to transfer out of the program. According to school officials he likely will enroll at Northeast Oklahoma Junior College.
Mocs coaches had planned to move the athletic Smith, who practiced all season with the receivers, back to quarterback for the upcoming spring practice. Smith had been an all-state quarterback at Knoxville Fulton.
“I don’t think he gave it a chance,” Huesman said. “He wants to play quarterback and we were going to move him back there, but kids make decisions they feel are best for them, and he thinks his best opportunity is to go play quarterback for a year and then find another school to play for after that. He’s a great kid and we wish him well.”
Huesman added that the Mocs likely will sign as many as 16, including transfers, for this year’s recruiting class in February. They currently have five high school commitments and three transfers from other programs who already are enrolled in school and working out.
“We weren’t going to sign a quarterback in this class, but with Penny’s decision to leave, we probably will look to sign one now,” Huesman said. “There’s a lot of interest in the program right now, and that’s a really good place to be in.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.