Garrett Hughes has one season left to get to the playoffs for the first time in his football career.
“That’s what I want to do — go to the playoffs — just to have that experience,” said the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga redshirt junior tight end from Lawrence County High School.
The Mocs, who will wrap up spring practice today with the Blue & Gold game at Finley Stadium, are eligible for the FCS playoffs this coming season. And if the Mocs are to make a run at the program’s first trip to the postseason since 1984, UTC’s only playoff appearance, Hughes likely will play a big role in getting them there.
A former walk-on, Hughes moved from wide receiver to tight end last spring, although he couldn’t practice due to offseason wrist surgery. Then in the 2009 season, he had 17 receptions for 222 yards, averaging a team-high 14.4 yards per catch.
He made a big splash in his first game at the position, catching a B.J. Coleman pass near midfield and outrunning the defense to the end zone for a 73-yard score. Though undersized at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Hughes makes up for that with his speed.
“Garrett gives us the ability to stretch the field vertically because he’s so fast,” Coleman said.
Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said Hughes is as fast as many of the wideouts in the Southern Conference, with a 40-yard dash time of around 4.5 seconds. That makes him a tough matchup because he’s usually covered by linebackers or safeties.
Spring game box:Blue & Gold GameWhen: 3 p.m.Where: Finley StadiumAdmission: FreeWhat’s happening: The Mocs will conduct their 15th and final workout of the spring today in the Blue & Gold game. The first-team offense and second-team defense will be in blue, going up against the white-clad first-team defense and second-team offense. Before the game, the UTC coaches and players will hold a free football clinic for ages 14 and under. Registration begins at 1 on the field.
“It creates some big lanes for him to catch balls,” Satterfield said of Hughes’ speed.
Hughes said he’s worked especially hard on his blocking and footwork this spring. His quickness and strength — he bench-presses 370 pounds and squats 550 — allow him to hold his ground against defensive ends who usually are at least 30 pounds heavier. But holding ground isn’t enough.
“I can get position on them, no problem, but I have to be able to move them,” he said. “If I just jump over in front of them, that’s not going to help us out, because they’re going to blow me back in the backfield and that’s going to mess the whole play up.”
Hughes spent much of his practice time last season working with the receivers. This spring, in trying to improve his blocking, he has been with the linemen a lot more. All that work is paying off, tight ends coach Geep Wade said.
“He’s very physical, he’s got good feet, and the good thing about him is that he takes coaching,” Wade said. “He knows he can still get better. He’s got to become a better blocker; he uses his hands real well, but he’s got to get better.”
There’s no question about his hands as a receiver, Satterfield said.
“As fast as he is and as great a route runner as he is, he has tremendous hands also,” Satterfield said. “You throw one at him, it’s going to be caught unless someone deflects it out right when he catches it. He’s not just going to drop one if it hits him in the hands.”
Hughes heads into today’s spring game with a lot of confidence, not only in his ability to make plays as a receiver but also in his blocking. He said playing tight end comes much more naturally to him now than it did in the fall when it “was a foreign language to me.”
“Last year I’d get up to the line and I’d just be thinking so hard, ‘OK, if he’s here I have to step here.’ You have to be able to do it just like snapping your fingers,” he said. “At tight end, you’re a foot apart and you have to know pre-snap. There’s no time after the ball’s snapped to adjust what you’re doing. It’s on the fly, full speed.”