For all the praise the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team deserves for handling its business on game days, it should also be noted that the Mocs also are whipping every other team in the Southern Conference in February.
The gap in talent level on both sides of the ball was highlighted as the Mocs won their ninth consecutive SoCon game with a dominating 31-3 performance over a good Furman team Saturday at Finley Stadium.
UTC has recruited well enough consistently that injuries and even graduation don’t mean a drop-off in talent or a rebuilding year.
Not many FCS teams can lose a player the caliber of three-time SoCon defensive player of the year and All-America defensive end Davis Tull and have another like Keionta Davis step in and record his seventh sack in the first five games.
The defensive front, which also lost interior lineman Derrick Lott, helped limit Furman to 59 rushing yards and had four sacks and five quarterback hurries, while the secondary intercepted one pass in the end zone and returned another for a touchdown, helping boost a unit that came into the game best in the SoCon in scoring defense and total defense.
The same could be said on the other side of the ball, where graduated all-conference runner Keon Williams has been replaced by Derrick Craine and the offense hasn’t missed a beat. Craine averaged 5.5 yards per carry in rushing for a season-best 138 yards and three touchdowns against the Paladins.
Not only have the Mocs recruited talented players, but by sticking to the plan to redshirt as many freshmen as possible each season, once those players do step on the field they’re seasoned and ready to contribute. This year, UTC likely will redshirt 11 of the 13 true freshmen.
“The recruiting part of building the program has been huge,” said Mocs coach Russ Huesman, whose team has won its first two league games of 2015 by an average of 19 points. “We’ve brought in quality young men and players who want to compete at a high level and are willing to put in the work to get there. Nobody is selfish or worried about stats or yards. It’s about winning games.
“We’re at the point now when we lose really good players, we believe we have really good players waiting behind them to take their turn.”
How much does the staff believe in this team? Trailing the Paladins in the first quarter and facing a fourth-and-short near midfield, UTC opted to go for it and Craine rewarded that decision with a tough run to pick up the first down. That drive later resulted in a short TD run by Craine. Once ahead, the Mocs were off and running.
“Our staff has done a phenomenal job recruiting,” said Mocs senior quarterback Jacob Huesman, one of the many previously redshirted players, after becoming only the third SoCon player and 49th in college football history to go over 10,000 career yards. “They’ve brought in talented guys for several years now, and probably the biggest key has been redshirting so many. That means those guys get to build themselves up in the weight room so they look like a college player, and they get to adjust to the speed of the game and learn in practice so they’re ready by that second year.
“Now we can rotate and stay fresh and not worry about having a letdown. We trust everybody that gets into the game, that they can make plays.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.