The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coaches expect their offense to look different in 2016 with the graduation of record-setting quarterback Jacob Huesman.
But the goals are still the same.
Alejandro Bennifield, Huesman’s backup the past two seasons, is more of a thrower from the pocket. He has abilities to move out of the pocket but is looking to throw when he does so. That differs from Huesman, who worked hard in his standout career to become a good passer but was more of a natural runner who finished with 4,051 yards rushing in his four-year career.
The offensive staff has stockpiled talent at the wide receiver positions to help Bennifield in his first season as a starter, and coordinator Jeff Durden said that while the offense will look for more explosive plays, the Mocs have to “stay within the framework” of what has made the team good in recent years.
That means running the ball behind a stout offensive line – chiefly with Derrick Craine, who set the single-season school rushing record last season – and counting on a defense that has led the Southern Conference in fewest yards allowed in four of the last five seasons.
“I think we’ve got a little more flexibility throwing the football than we had,” Durden said. “We have more depth, and more time to work on the passing game, but this fits what our players were recruited to do. You go the way the quarterback goes, and Alejandro is more of a thrower than a runner. All throwing the football does is widen the margin of victory, in my opinion.”
Bennifield played sparingly at quarterback last season but was used all around the field – throwing for 138 yards, rushing for 140 and catching four passes for 41 yards. He did account for the longest pass play of the season, hitting Xavier Borishade for a 75-yard pass on the opening play of The Citadel game on Nov. 14.
But everybody knows about his arm talent. It’s why Durden expects the offense to gain 400 yards per game and score around 35 points, although he doesn’t “set parameters on how many rushing or passing yards we get.”
Durden wants to increase the pace this year. That’s perfectly OK with Bennifield.
“We want to score a lot of points and not rely on the defense all the time,” the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder said. “That excites me a lot because I love to throw. If I’ve got to run, I will run whenever the time comes, but if I have a chance to put it in the air, I’m really excited for that.
“It’s what I do best.”
The Mocs will hold their second scrimmage of the spring today at 3:30 p.m. at Finley Stadium. As opposed to the first scrimmage, which was more “putting the ball on the ground and playing,” according to head coach Russ Huesman, today’s scrimmage will be more controlled, with a play clock and more situational set-ups. There will be more two-minute and four-minute drills, and Coach Huesman promised it will be “more advanced.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/ genehenleytfp.