When University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman looks at cornerback Kadeem Wise, he sees a potential starter. He also sees a freshman.
Wise has been working with the first unit throughout the spring in the spot vacated by Chris Lewis-Harris, who moved to safety. Wise has had a good spring, Huesman said, but like any coach Huesman has concerns about starting a freshman.
“When you leave spring you want to be 100 percent sure he can do it,” Huesman said. “Some days you are and other days you say, ‘I don’t know, he’s a freshman.’ I guess until the lights come on (for the first game) you probably never know.”
Huesman said he had no doubts about the ability of the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Wise, who was a two-star recruit, it’s just the lack of experience that concerns him.
“He’s a talent,” Huesman said. “He’s going to be really good in this league.”
The Mocs held their final practice of the spring Wednesday night. They will play the Blue & Gold game Saturday (3 p.m.) at Finley Stadium.
Fans that turn out for the game might not recognize a lot of the Mocs. That’s because many of them, like Wise, have yet to play their first game. Numerous others, such as linebacker Shane Heatherly and wideout Chris Marshall, have limited game experience except on special teams.
All that youth, Huesman said, has forced him and his staff to try to look beyond age and experience. That sometimes means taking a leap of faith.
“There’s just so many young kids that are in the mix that you just got to say, they’re playing, they’re good enough, we recruited them, we thought they were good enough,” he said. “In an ideal world, four years from now you’re hoping that when (someone like Wise) is a redshirt freshman, he’s running down on kickoff team and he’s your third or fourth corner and you’re getting him 10 snaps (a game) in certain situations. But we don’t have that luxury right now.
“Where we are right now, and I don’t think people realize this, we’re going to have a young football team. Young and inexperienced football team. I think we’ll be talented, I think we’ll be more talented than we were (last season).”
Blue vs. White
The Blue & Gold game will actually feature the Blue (first-team offense, second-team defense) versus the White (first defense, second offense). Huesman said the format will be just like a game, except a running clock will be used in the second half.
Among the roster items of note, Nick Davison will line up alongside Nick Craig as a starting defensive tackle, with La’Nard Carr playing with the second unit. The starting defense will use three ends, Josh Williams, Chris Doland and Jaron Norfleet.
The first-team wideouts are Marlon Anthony, Chris Marshall and Joel Bradford, while the running backs are J.J. Jackson, Erroll Wynn and Chris Awuah.
Extra points
During Saturday’s Blue & Gold game, Alpha Delta Pi sorority sisters will be collecting items for Ronald McDonald House Charities. Among the items you can bring are adult toothbrushes and toothpaste, individually-wrapped snacks and canned soups. … The Mocs spent about a third of Wednesday’s practice scrimmaging, with both sides making some good plays.