CONSISTENT LEG
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Henrique Ribeiro was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection in 2015, providing the type of consistency needed at his position. The Baylor School graduate made all 47 of his extra-point attempts while also connecting on 17 of his 21 field-goal tries, including four makes at Virginia Military Institute on Oct. 17. He’s made 75 percent of his field-goal tries in his UTC career and kicked the game-winner as time expired in the Mocs’ 20-17 win over Wofford on Oct. 24. He also became consistent in his first season as the Mocs’ punter, averaging 43.3 yards, which ranked third in the league. He may maintain that position this season, with another option being another Baylor graduate, Colin Brewer. The redshirt freshman showed some promise in his first season at UTC and continued to improve during spring practice.
LOT OF BODIES
The Mocs have a lot of players capable of returning kicks. C.J. Board is the primary punt returner, earning second-team All-SoCon honors in 2015 after a 13.8-yard average. Another option there is Xavier Borishade. A number of players returned kickoffs, and there will be some turnover after Dee Virgin was dismissed from the team in May. Trevor Wright, Richardre Bagley and Borishade all return with experience at the position, while sophomores C.J. Fritz and Dejuan McQuarters are speedy threats as well.
STRENGTHS
Ribeiro gives the Mocs a player with three years of experience who has come through when asked to make big kicks in big moments, and he had a number of field-changing punts in 2015, including a long of 61 yards. Board and Borishade are solid punt returners with game-breaking abilities, evidenced by Board’s 48-yard punt return against Jacksonville State in the season opener and his 30-yard return against VMI and Borishade’s 25-yard return against Furman.
WEAKNESS
It may be a little thing, but departed quarterback Jacob Huesman was a multiyear starter at holder. A number of players worked out at the position during the spring, with Brewer being listed as the starter heading into preseason camp. If it were to happen, that would give the Mocs an all-Baylor connection for the third straight year (Emory Norred as long snapper, Brewer as holder and Ribeiro as kicker). But in the early going, trying to develop chemistry among the three could be an issue.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.