QB Bennifield the point man for UTC’s needed offensive variety,
Bennifield point man for UTC’s needed variety
Alejandro “Action” Bennifield? Not quite the same ring as University of Louisville quarterback Lamar “Action” Jackson, but according to University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive coordinator Jeff Durden, it’s a fair comparison. While the 6-foot-2, 220-pound UTC quarterback prefers to pick defenses apart from the pocket, he has shown the ability to be fleet afoot, evidenced by his 229 rushing yards and five scores this season. His greatest trait is looking downfield while scrambling out of the pocket, leading to a number of big passing plays and touchdowns. With the potential of possessions being limited Saturday in Finley Stadium against an option-heavy Wofford team, the Mocs will be looking for success every time they touch the ball. “He needs to be dynamic,” Durden said of his quarterback. “He doesn’t just need to sit back in the pocket. If it’s not there and they drop eight, he needs to take off. Sometimes we coach caution in those guys, and that’s my job as a coach — I want you to be careful with the football — but at the same time you’re at your best when you’re in the free-wheeling zone. I want to give him the confidence to be where he’s supposed to be and stay in the protected area, but what a great weapon. “The quarterback at Louisville has shown that he can beat people with his arm and his legs, and I feel like I’ve got the same guy.” The 8-1 Mocs had only eight possessions in their Oct. 15 loss at The Citadel, down from an average of 13.5 in their wins. They scored two touchdowns after an opening-drive missed field
goal, but the final five possessions resulted in two punts, a safety, a turnover on downs and the end of the game.
Wofford runs a similar style offense as the Bulldogs and is even better at playing keepaway, with the Terriers’ average time of possession (34:44) ranking No. 1 in the Southern Conference and second in the country.
With the Terriers’ defense allowing only 272.9 yards per game, including 67.2 on the ground, it will take a little something different for the Mocs to be effective. Head coach Russ Huesman said they must “be creative.”
They’ve got the quarterback to do it. Bennifield was named earlier this week to the College Football Performance Awards’ FCS midseason list, ranking second in the SoCon with 19 passing touchdowns to go along with 1,890 passing yards. His 166.7 pass efficiency rating is fifth in the country, and he ranks 12th in the nation in completion percentage at .656.
“We have to execute to perfection this week,” Bennifield said. “We may be getting only five or six possessions the whole game, so we have to score each and every time or it’s going to come down to that one touchdown or that one field goal we didn’t get because we didn’t score.
“Execution is paramount.”
Durden seconded that, emphasizing its importance for the entire offense.
“Our quarterback’s got to be a point guard Saturday and distribute the ball and get a lot of people involved,” Durden said, “because (the Terriers) have a way of keeping everything in front and making you be good at what you’re doing, so you have to be very efficient.
“We always talk about execution, but this week in meeting rooms I’m talking about precise execution. We can’t just do it, we have to do it perfect, but I believe when Saturday rolls around after a week off and our guys rested, they’ll be ready to go.”