Huesman’s UTC accomplishments
› Three-time SoCon offensive player of the year› Played in 50 games (school record)› 264 career points (school record)› 32-15 record as a starting quarterback› 12,248 yards of total offense (school record)› 107 total touchdowns (school record)› 4,051 rushing yards (school record)8,197 passing yards (school record)› 43 rushing touchdowns (school record)› 64 passing touchdowns (school record)› 743 passing completions (school record)› .673 completion percentage (school record)› SoCon offensive player of the week 13 times (tied for second all-time)› Fourth player in FCS history with at least 40 passing TDs and 40 rushing TDs› One of two players in SoCon history with at least 4,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing› 1,244 yards rushing in 2015 (second-best season all-time)
With darkness setting in at Burgess-Snow Field at Jacksonville State on Saturday, Jacob Huesman slowly walked toward the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga locker room. He was still in uniform about 90 minutes after the seventh-ranked Mocs' 2015 season came to a close in a 41-35 overtime loss to the No. 1 Gamecocks.
Two memories were still prominent in his mind: his 28th career interception on the 1,104th and final pass of his illustrious college career and then seeing his counterpart, JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins, jog into the end zone for the game-winning overtime score.
For a career as successful as Huesman's had been, his final pass wasn't the way to go out. He stood near the 20-yard line, hands on his helmet, unable to believe that JSU's Brandon Bender had intercepted the pass.
"I thought if I put the ball far enough on (Derrick) Craine's outside shoulder, he'd have a chance at it," Huesman said Saturday as he fought back tears like he fought off defenders so many times. "I didn't do it, though; I left it inside, and that's mistake number one. I can't do that; it's a tough ending to it, a tough ending."
It was not the ending anybody had in mind, especially after Huesman - who gained 40 pounds of muscle during his UTC career to be able to withstand the punishment of running between the tackles - had willed the Mocs back into the game. He made a 45-yard touchdown run right before halftime that trimmed JSU's lead to 21-14, and he threw second-half scoring passes to James Stovall and Alphonso Stewart, the latter tying the game.
Then came his first career touchdown reception, on a double pass from Huesman to backup quarterback Alejandro Bennifield back to Huesman, who had a caravan of blockers and was able to weave his way into the end zone for the score.
"We were just telling each other to keep doing our thing - to take things one play at a time, one drive at a time, to keep putting points on the board and to see what happens," Huesman said. "We fought back from a bunch of tough situations, and I am proud of the team. I'm proud to be a part of it."
He will end his career with a number of school and Southern Conference records. He was the first-ever three-time offensive player of the year in the league and earned 13 weekly honors in his career, tying him for second all-time with Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards (2006-09), one behind Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson.
Huesman holds nine school records and is one of only four players to have at least 40 rushing touchdowns and 40 passing touchdowns in a Football Championship Subdivision career.
"He's been great for us," UTC head coach Russ Huesman said of his son. "Thank goodness we got him to come to school here; he made the decision to come here, and he won a lot of football games while he's been here. I'm going to miss him, obviously; I wish he could play here forever, but that's not the way it works in college athletics.
"I told him I love him and thanks so much for deciding to come here and help me out with this job."
While saying goodbyes to his family and friends who had waited for him to finish all of his postgame obligations, Jacob wrapped up his career in a sentence: "I just gave it my all."
"I really felt like I gave everything I had to UTC," he said. "I hate that it's over now, but I'll have a lot of good memories to look back on."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.