UTC Mocs logoWith Saturday’s University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football scrimmage moving briskly along, quarterback Jacob Huesman rolled right, begging to be blown up by any number of dastardly defenders.
In a real game, the first of which the Mocs will host against UT-Martin on Aug. 29, this is where the squeamish cover their eyes and say a little prayer that the QB remains healthy enough to take the next snap.
But this was a controlled scrimmage at Finley Stadium, which meant Huesman’s No. 14 jersey was colored red. Nor was this because he’s a former Baylor School Red Raider and a lifelong Cincinnati Reds fan, although the sophomore gladly would plead guilty to both those charges.
No, the red jersey means “Stop!” not unlike traffic lights and signs. Tackles are confined to two-hand touches. Nothing more. Absolutely … nothing … more.
“Oh, we’d love to kill Jacob out there,” defensive lineman Davis Tull, the co-preseason defensive player of the year in the Southern Conference, said with a grin. “But we’ve got to keep him healthy.”