UTC vying with Mercer on field, in recruiting

Russ Huesman

The competition between the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Mercer won't end on the football field Saturday afternoon. The Mocs and Bears have gone head-to-head in recruiting several players in the last year, and neither wants to lose a step in the battle for the wealth of prep talent in Georgia.

"Being in the middle of the state is really good for us, and Chattanooga is right there on the outskirts, so we go after some of the same kids," Bears coach Bobby Lamb said. "Georgia players are recruited by every school in the nation because of the quality we have in this state, but yeah, it's a big game as far as recruiting goes."

The two cities are separated by about three hours, and while 63 of Mercer's players are homegrown from the Peach State, UTC has 27 Georgians on its roster as well. The Bears also have six from Tennessee, while the Mocs have 47 Tennesseans.

Mercer, which restarted its program last year after a 72-year hiatus, has newer facilities and immediate playing time to offer, but UTC counters with the sales pitch of competing for Southern Conference championships and having become one of the nation's top FCS programs.

"We've gone against them some already," UTC coach Russ Huesman said. "We don't go into a home and say you have to come to Chattanooga because we beat whoever. We tell them to look at the whole body of work of what we've done. We show them the ring and tell them where our program is going.

"A kid won't choose a school based on who wins a game. If that were the case I'd be concerned about games like Jacksonville State, too, because we play them a lot. But we have to outwork (Mercer) to win those battles now. They've got a lot to sell down there. You can see how quickly they've come along. For them to be where they are right now, two years in, that's impressive."

Liking noon kicks

Maybe it's an Old West gunslinger mentality. Or maybe they just prefer to take care of business early. Whatever the reason, the UTC coaches and players admitted they like having a second straight game kickoff at high noon.

The Mocs certainly were ready for the early start last week with a resounding 20-point win at The Citadel.

"One of the things I really like about it is it kind of takes you back to those Saturday mornings when you were little and going to play early on Saturdays," said UTC defensive lineman Josh Freeman. "Especially this time of year it's not really that hot, so when you go out there it feels just right for playing. I think everybody on the team likes it. You get up and get going instead of sitting around having to wait all day and letting the nerves get to you."

Players will be up at at breakfast by 8 a.m. before breaking off into position meetings and then begin to get ready to go to Finley Stadium.

With the assumption that the Alabama vs. Tennessee game would either be a late afternoon or night game, UTC administrators set the early game time for this week as a way to help boost attendance as well.

The Mocs' only remaining regular-season home game, against Wofford on Nov. 8, is set for 1 p.m. and their three road games also will be played in the early afternoon, with none kicking off later than 3:30.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.