Ty Boeck has become a tackling machine for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this season.
But to be fair, he got it naturally.
The 6-foot-1, 217-pound junior inside linebacker leads the Southern Conference in tackles with 59 in six games, which also ranks 14th in the Football Championship Subdivision. His season total puts him just two shy of 200 for his career, a number that currently ranks well outside of the top 10 in school history (former Mocs D.J. Key and Ryan Faugue are tied for 10th with 293), but does put him closer to his father Troy, the 1990 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year who finished with 276 stops over a standout career. Troy was inducted into the UTC Hall of Fame in 2009.
"He had a great career here and he always says that he wasn't athletic, he wasn't that good," Ty said Tuesday. "I tell him, 'Well, you're in the Hall of Fame.'"
The younger Boeck's totals could probably be better, but he mainly just played special teams as a freshman in 2018. One of the players who played ahead of him was Jerrell Lawson, the Moc safety who was moved up to linebacker after injuries and preseason defections depleted the position.
"It was just crazy to look at it now. I'm like, 'Why was I even in front of a guy like that?'" Lawson said. "That's just how it plays out sometimes, but Ty's a guy who just comes into work every day. He doesn't take a day off and he always has a chip on his shoulder, I feel like you can see it in the way he plays. He's fast, he's strong, he's physical."
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Western Carolina quarterback Carlos Davis (5) is hit by UTC Linebacker Ty Boeck (46) and defensive lineman Christian Smith (98) during the football game between UTC and Western Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021 in Chattanooga, Tenn.Boeck has had double-digit tackles in three of the Mocs' last four games, led by performances against Virginia Military Institute (16 stops) and Kentucky (13).
"The more football he sees, the better he is at it," UTC head coach Rusty Wright said. "I think that's the one thing that's helped him. If he continues to take some coaching and get better at a couple of little things - footwork, fundamental wise - he'll be better, but that's the thing: He plays his tail off and does everything we've asked him to do, which is what we've expected."
Boeck didn't become a full-time starter until the second game of the 2019 season and he hasn't lost hold of it - a good sign for a linebacker - since. Tackling is going to be a theme this weekend as the Mocs (3-3, 2-1 SoCon), the top-ranked SoCon team in yards allowed per game, travel to face Samford (3-3, 2-2), the league's top offensive team in yards.
The Mocs are also tied for fifth in the country in turnovers forced per game (2.5, 15 in six games) and ninth in the country in sacks per game (3.33, 20 in six games). Samford is fourth in the country in passing offense (347.7 yards per game).
"We're always looking forward to the next challenge," Boeck said. "Samford, they're going to go quick with their air raid - old school kind of air raid team. We've had some problems with tempo before and we definitely have to get it addressed for this week, so we'll see what we can do."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
Staff photo by Troy Stolt / Chattanooga Mocs wide receiver Reginald Henderson (12), Chattanooga Mocs linebacker Ty Boeck (46), and Chattanooga Mocs wide receiver Shamar Sandgren (29) prepare to run onto the field before the football game between UTC and the Wofford Terriers at Finley Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021 in Chattanooga, Tenn.