Henrique Ribeiro.If all goes as planned, there won’t be a lot of excitement on kickoffs for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this football season.
Coach Russ Huesman, who begins his fourth season Saturday night at South Florida, wants to put every kickoff deep into the end zone and wants touchbacks on UTC’s returns when possible.
In February, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved several changes relating to kickoffs, all with an eye on player safety. The kickoff has been moved up 5 yards to the 35, coverage teams can get only a 5-yard running start instead of 10 and possessions now start at the 25 following kickoff touchbacks.
Mocs returner Chaz Moore was No. 19 in the Football Championship Subdivision last season with an average return of 26 yards. Huesman said it doesn’t make much sense to run the ball out when it would take a 26-yard return from the goal line to surpass what you get for sure with a touchback.
“I know you’ve got a shot to break one, but … I think [the touchback] is probably the smarter way to go,” he said.