Ready to go
UTC’s Brewton makes the most of his opportunity
Although transferring away from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was never a consideration, it wasn’t hard for Ben Brewton to admit he was frustrated by the early part of his college football career, one spent mainly on the sideline.
A member of the 2018 signing class, he understood it was about waiting his turn with the Mocs and making the most of that time. As a young defensive lineman, he had chances to learn from guys such as 2018 Southern Conference defensive player of the year Isaiah Mack, Derek Mahaffey, Khayyan Edwards and, most recently, Devonnsha Maxwell.
That doesn’t mean Brewton didn’t want to play. The 6-foot3, 228-pounder from Beach High School in Savannah, Georgia, just knew he had to be patient for his opportunity, and that was hard.
But he learned. He learned how to eat the right things. He learned to do whatever it took to keep his body in the best shape possible, and that includes spending as much time as possible with athletic trainer Nathan Barger to make sure he’s at his best during practices and games.
And now Brewton has become the next man up, and he has been able to take the opportunity and run with it.
With four sacks this season, Brewton is tied for second among the Mocs — and more opportunities to take down quarterbacks and make stops will be available as some opponents focus on Maxwell, who is third all-time in school history with 28 sacks and has 11 this year, second in the country.
Brewton is one of the UTC defenders who has cleaned up when such opportunities arose, but it wasn’t always that way. He had to change his mindset, because as he said this week, “mentally, I was a backup.” He had to grow in that regard, which has given him the chances that he always desired to get on the field.
Now his mindset has changed further: He’s listed as a starter and has been producing as such.
“I had a great support system back home that kept telling me my time was coming,” he said, referring to parents Regina and Ben Sr. “They always told me about staying patient, because patience is a virtue.
“That really helped me out a lot because I got down on myself at times because I wasn’t playing. I had some great guys in front of me, but it was like, ‘What am I doing?’ Where am I going to go, what is my next step?’ It was my folks back home that became my support system that kept kept me into it by telling me to stay patient, that my time was coming.”
That same mindset appears to have swept through the Mocs recently as they have won three straight games for the second time this calendar year — they defeated Wofford, The Citadel and Furman in consecutive games during the spring season — with victories against East Tennessee State, Samford and Furman. The current streak has the Mocs (5-3, 4-1) in a four-way tie for first place in the SoCon with three regular-season games remaining, starting with a trip to face Wofford (1-7 0-6) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Like Brewton’s time at UTC, the Mocs’ start to this season was slow and there was some stuff that needed to be figured out. Now it appears they have turned a corner — much like Brewton.
“Ben has completely changed from when I first got here. He’s starting to grow and mature,” said Rusty Wright, who took over as head coach in December 2018. “He’s taken his craft seriously, and he’s taken his role seriously. He’s got better in the weight room, got better in the classroom and has just got better day to day, and it’s transformed out there.
“He’s one of the hardest practice players we have now, and I think as long as he does that, he’ll continue to grow and he’ll continue to be a good football player.”