UTC head football coach Russ Huesman speaks to those gathered for a national signing day event at Finley Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Identifying the needs for the 2016 recruiting class for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, the coaching staff saw a glaring need for some depth on the defensive side of the ball.
It was a need the coaches felt was addressed well Wednesday.
Of the 15 players signed by the Mocs, nine already play defense or project to play on that unit for the Mocs. The staff wanted depth on the defensive line and got that with four signees at that position group with a possible fifth, Richmond transfer Ben Schrider, who could play there when he becomes eligible in 2016.
They also wanted to create more competition in the secondary, so they signed four guys who will play defensive back. Depth, size, length and speed? Got it.
"This was an outstanding defensive class," UTC head coach Russ Huesman said. "The last couple of years we lost kids at the end of recruiting battles and we've become thin there, and our numbers haven't been close to where they need to be. We probably oversigned a little bit on the defensive line - not by much but a little bit - but we didn't want to get in a situation where we lost one and were scrambling again."
Huesman was also particularly pleased with his two local signees, Ooltewah's Rashun Freeman and Boyd-Buchanan's Jack Keebler. Freeman was Ooltewah's most explosive player in 2015 and late in the season became its most important offensive weapon with 11 touchdowns in the Owls' final four games.
Keebler played part of the season with casts on both hands but still earned all-state honors after five touchdowns on 14 pass receptions. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder is an athlete and a playmaker at the position.
One of the most glaring needs on offense was at the quarterback position. Since the Mocs didn't get a quarterback in the 2015 signing class, they were going to enter this upcoming season with only two scholarship quarterbacks: expected starter Alejandro Bennifield and backup Tyler Roberson, both of whom are juniors.
The Mocs were able to secure a commitment early in the process from highly touted quarterback Zack Weatherly, whose dad Jim was a backup quarterback on the Ole Miss 1962 national championship team.
The elder Weatherly was an honorable mention All-American in 1964 before turning to his career field: songwriting. He wrote "Midnight Train to Georgia," which Gladys Knight and the Pips turned into one of the biggest hits of all-time, and was elected to the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 2014.
The younger Weatherly was UTC's only target at the position, and they had to sweat out his visit to FBS member San Diego State over the weekend before the 6-2, 185-pounder signed Wednesday.
"It was the most critical year for us to sign a quarterback," Huesman said. "He is a slam-dunk guy that can be a three-year starter. Zack understands that Alejandro is here and that Alejandro is a really good player. The ideal situation is that he would redshirt and let him compete, but it was extremely important that we signed one this year we felt extremely good about."
Weatherly's commitment paved the way for two more signees from Christ Presbyterian Academy: receiver brothers Joseph and Thomas Richard, the latter of whom spent two years at Missouri.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.