An extensive presence
Defensive back played big role in Mocs’ victory
Lucas Webb was in a lot of places Saturday for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team.
When true freshman quarterback Cole Copeland was late-hit by a Samford defender for the third time while running out of bounds — this time on the UTC sideline — the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Webb was the first to run over to Copeland to see if he was all right.
When a key play was needed, Webb often was the one to make it, including an interception he returned 20 yards for a touchdown.
That play had a Southern Conference record attached to it.
Webb’s fourth career pick-six broke a tie he had with five former league players. The touchdown gave the Mocs a 14-7 lead just before halftime in a game they would win 23-21 over the then-eighth-ranked Bulldogs.
“I am proud of Lucas,” UTC coach Tom Arth said. “He is such a good person. He is such a hardworking person and a great leader. He is such a great example for all of us — not just as a football player, but most importantly as a person. You know that people like that, they keep fighting and keep working, great things happen to them. That was certainly one of those moments today ,and I am very, very proud of him.”
Webb doesn’t worry about stats, but the ones he has are impressive. He has five career defensive touchdowns, which ties Furman’s Ryan Steed for the most in SoCon history. The interception against Samford was his 13th, tying him with Phillip Aldridge (1982-85) and Bucky Wolford (1965-67) for most in UTC history.
His 295 career return yards are a school record, and he ranks fourth all-time in SoCon history in that category, behind East Tennessee State’s Rick Harris (453, 1986-89), The Citadel’s Jeff Varnadoe (303, 1970-71) and ETSU’s Donnie Abraham (298, 1992-95).
“It’s always a blessing,” Webb said. “I’m so thankful. Just to be able to accomplish it, a lot of credit goes to my teammates for the pressure that gets to the quarterback and the coaches for putting us in the call. I’m not about stats, but anything that helps the team I’m glad it contributed to a really close game and affected the overall outcome.”
That’s usually been the case, as the Mocs are 4-1 in his UTC career when Webb scored a touchdown, the only setback a 26-23 loss to Jacksonville State in 2014. His final chapter won’t be on a playoff team, as the Mocs are 2-7 and 2-4 in the SoCon, with a road test this Saturday at eighth-ranked Wofford and a bye week before the season finale at ETSU.
But Webb spoke to the Mocs’ resilience to put themselves in a position for a win like Saturday’s.
“The fact we haven’t given up, I can’t give enough credit to the team,” he said. “How much they work, the effort they put into everything, it shows the love they have not only for their teammates, but this program, the coaches. I’m so thankful, but really it’s about life.
“It was a good game and went back and forth, and obviously there were some things that didn’t go the way we wanted them to, but there’s always things where if you mess up, there’s teammates that can overcome those mistakes and help you, just like in life like God can overcome those things.
“It’s just a good feeling. I’m thankful. It’s a really good feeling and long overdue, but it’s a great feeling and one I can celebrate with my teammates.”
Two Mocs honored
UTC linebacker Tae Davis and kicker Victor Ulmo were chosen conference players of the week for their performances against Samford, becoming the first Mocs to receive league honors this season.
Davis was the defensive honoree with a career-high 14 tackles, his last one forcing a fumble that led to the Mocs’ winning drive. He had 1.5 tackles for loss.
Ulmo, the special-teams selection, atoned for an extra-point miss with the winning 39-yard field goal with 19 seconds to play. That was the second-longest make of college his career.