University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach Russ Huesman looks toward players at Finley Stadium.Ask Johnny Henderson about Russ Huesman, and a 33-year-old memory instantly springs to life.
“The first play of my first game as an assistant coach at UTC in 1980, we were playing at Jacksonville State,” recalled Henderson, who was a defensive star for Georgia in the late 1970s.
“I’d come there because Bill Oliver had just been named the head coach and he was the guru of secondary coaches at that time. Well, the first play from scrimmage, Jax State throws a long pass down the sideline and the guy’s wide open. What an awful way to start my career there, I’m thinking. Then, out of nowhere, comes Russ from his safety spot and tips the ball away. He couldn’t run out of sight, but he could always make plays to win games.”
At halftime, Henderson approached Huesman to talk about the play.
“Coach,” the player reportedly replied, “that was a piece of cake.”