UTC football team ready to lean on youth
Now, it seems, the fun begins for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on the football field.
Mocs coach Rusty Wright went with experience in his team’s first two games of the spring semester schedule, Southern Conference wins over Wofford (24-13 on Feb. 27 at Finley Stadium) and The Citadel (25-24 on Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina). That was especially true for the latter game with UTC forced to limit the number of players who made the trip.
But Wright has been adamant since the announcement of the eight-game spring schedule that he considers this time better used for development rather than attempting to earn accolades.
So while the Mocs’
No. 18 national ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision — which could improve this week — is nice, it’s not his primary goal for this season.
The Mocs, who are 2-1 overall in 202021, have an open date this week before returning to competition March 20 at Furman. It’s quite possible the traveling roster looks different at that time.
“We’re getting ready to throw some more young guys in there the next couple of weeks and see what happens,” Wright said Saturday on the postgame radio broadcast. “We’re going to see what happens to them and give some of these older guys a break. We’re going to grow this football team.”
It’s interesting because the biggest growth this season has not come from a young guy.
Fifth-year senior Drayton Arnold’s development as a quarterback from the fall game at Western Kentucky (his first college start) to the first two games this spring has been eye-opening. Arnold,
“We’re getting ready to throw some more young guys in there the next couple of weeks and see what happens.”
– UTC FOOTBALL COACH RUSTY WRIGHT
who played sparingly in three years at Old Dominion and during his redshirt junior season at UTC in 2019, is one of the few new pieces in the Mocs’ plan, with most positions locked up by players with multiple years in the program already.
Hold out running back Ailym Ford, who dressed Saturday but didn’t play as he nurses a hamstring injury? The Mocs have 2018 All-Southern Conference selection Tyrell Price and Western Kentucky transfer Gino Appleberry to carry the load.
Preseason All-American tight end Chris James not quite ready? Arnold connected with Juwan Tyus for a 75-yard touchdown against the Bulldogs, and Jay Gibson made the catch for the 2-point conversion that won the game.
What surprises will Wright have in store when the Mocs return to play?
Here are three next-day observations from Saturday’s win:
1. Opportunity not wasted: After redshirting in 2016, Eli Shepherd was on the scout team in 2017 and 2018 and played in just one game during the 2019 season. The fifth-year senior didn’t appear in the Mocs’ first two games this school year, yet there the 6-foot-1, 275-pounder was starting at defensive tackle against the Bulldogs. He played well, helping clog the holes of a pesky, option-based offense. The Citadel averaged 3.1 yards per rush and 3.2 per play against the Mocs, by far its worst offensive performance of the season against an FCS opponent and its second worst through six games (with half of those against Football Bowl Subdivision teams) this season; only Clemson’s defense did better. Shepherd was a big part of the success, with his five tackles including three solos.
2. Green success:
Defensive end Devonnsha Maxwell spoke about defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward’s “Green” call on defense, which appears to equate to pinning ears back and going after the quarterback. And Maxwell, along with defensive end John Prince and outside linebacker Jay Person, have taken full advantage. Maxwell had a pair of sacks against the Bulldogs, giving him four this season — a stat that’s even more impressive considering all of his and five of the Mocs’ seven sacks this season have come against Wofford and The Citadel, teams that have dropped back to pass a combined 21 times. Sure, there were a couple of scrambles in there due to that pressure, but to get that many sacks against teams that don’t rely on the pass is impressive.
3. Took advantage of a gift: UTC’s offense sputtered in the second half. The Mocs turned the ball over on downs on their first two possessions after the break, at the Bulldogs’ 32 and 19, and not getting points on those first two drives (with the second one in particular a potential field-goal attempt) nearly cost them the game. After coming up short on fourth-and-1 and fourthand-3 on those series, the Mocs turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, which led to 10 straight points by The Citadel and forced OT. The Bulldogs got the ball first and went ahead 24-17, and then UTC threw three incomplete passes, with a fourth straight incompletion wiped out by defensive back Destin Mack being called for pass interference in the end zone. It was the correct call —UTC receiver Reginald Henderson was tugged when reaching for the ball, which was enough for a Bulldogs fan standing right in front of the play to turn around in disgust, knowing a flag was coming before it was thrown — but it was close. Between now and the Furman game, the Mocs will have to develop some trust in freshman Skyler Wilson’s ability to make kicks, because that lack of trust nearly cost UTC.
4. Crazy stat observation: In my preview of three things to watch for in the game, I said the Mocs would likely be aggressive early, and man did they make this former basketball player look smart. On UTC’s first play from scrimmage, Arnold found a wide-open Tyus down the middle of the field, with the 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end — another former basketball player and a fellow lefty at that — chugging the final 40 or so yards for the 75-yard score. It’s the seventh consecutive year that UTC’s first touchdown against the Bulldogs came on a play of at least 60 yards or more. I noted the streak entering the game, but the Mocs’ extension of it is truly impressive.