Ricky Spradling first saw Erik Bussmann at a camp at Clemson University a few years ago, back when Bussmann was a high school sophomore at Southlake Carroll in Texas.
It wasn’t the last time Bussmann would get his attention.
“He ends up breaking his back and not being able to play his junior year, and then reteaches himself how to play football with his back and all that stuff,” said Spradling, who is in his fifth year as the wide receivers coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga but has been on staff since Rusty Wright’s first season as head coach in 2019. “So I think he’s been like this his whole life.”
Bussmann made his first start for UTC in Thursday night’s win at the University of West Georgia, the opening game of his third season with the Mocs. He has yet to catch a pass in his UTC career.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder started because the Mocs had almost nobody else available in a position group hit hard by injuries. Josh Williams, the team’s leading receiver in 2025, was out. So was Taylor Crumedy, who started the 2025 opener and caught a touchdown pass that season. Jaden George was sidelined. Davon Kiser dressed but was limited to fair-catching punts.