Bridges returning to finish at UTC
Darrell Bridges has had his eye on a return to Chattanooga for a while.
He is going to get his wish. The former Red Bank and Ridgeland High School running back, who played his first three seasons of college football at Presbyterian, is graduating from the Clinton, S.C., school and will be playing his final season at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Bridges expressed his desire to play his final season at UTC in an interview with the Times Free Press in December, and once he officially graduates from Presbyterian on May 13, it can all but become official.
He cited a number of reasons for wanting to transfer Friday, none more important to him than the birth of his daughter and his desire to “support her and her mother.”
Proximity to home and UTC’s success also played a role.
“Chatt’s program is also one of the top-tier (FCS) programs in the nation,” he said. “I believe that in order to be the best possible player I could be for my final year, I would have to surround myself with great players, and this program has repeatedly proven they have the talent to win and win consistently.”
The Blue Hose won 10 games during his career, with six coming in his freshman season. The Mocs have won 28 in that span and have advanced to the last three Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Bridges had 513 carries for 2,182 yards and 12 touchdowns in his Blue Hose career and finished second, 450 yards from first, in career yardage. In 2015 he had 1,065 yards and eight touchdowns, earning first-team All-Big South honors. He added 721 yards and a pair of scores in 2016, accounting for 65 percent of the rushing yards and 30 percent of the total offense for a Presbyterian team that finished 2-9 and 1-4 in the Big South.
The Blue Hose scored 10 or fewer points in seven of their 11 games.
Bridges had 2,430 yards and 39 touchdowns in his senior season at Ridgeland, helping the Panthers to the Georgia Class AAAA state final. UTC had a strong interest in him but ultimately chose Derrick Craine, who finished his career with 2,997 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns (fifth and second, respectively, in school history) and was a 2016 All-American despite missing time with injury.
Bridges’ addition will bolster a backfield that lost 40 percent of its 2016 production in Craine. Senior Richardre Bagley and junior Alex Trotter probably will be used in a variety of ways, both in the backfield and lined up out wide. Junior Kyle Nalls and incoming freshman Chris Broadwater are probably best suited for the run-between-the-tackles style the Mocs want to use, but they will have to prove themselves.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.