2016 CHATTANOOGA MOCS SEASON RECAP 9-4, 6-2 SOCON • TIED FOR SECOND NCAA FINAL 16 FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW NO. 11 FINAL NATIONAL RANKING CHATTANOOGA MOCS (9-4, 6-2 SOCON) Date Opponent Time/Result Watch THIRD-STRAIGHT PLAYOFF APPEARANCE IN 2016 Sept. 1 ...SHORTER ..........................W, 66-0 ........GoMocs.com Sept. 10 ..PRESBYTERIAN ..............W, 34-0 ........GoMocs.com The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team advanced to the second round of the Sept. 17 ..at Furman* .........................W, 21-14 ....... ESPN3/CW Sept. 24 ..SAMFORD* .......................W, 41-21 ......GoMocs.com FCS Playoffs for the third year in a row in 2016. The 10-ranked Mocs finished another outstanding Oct. 1 ......at ETSU* ............................W, 37-7 .............SoConDN campaign with a 9-4 record and a second place showing in the SoCon race with a 6-2 league record. Oct. 8 ......MERCER* ..........................W, 52-3 ........GoMocs.com Oct. 15 ....at No. 8/9 The Citadel* .......L, 14-22 .................. FSSE Oct. 22 ....VMI* ...................................W, 30-13 ......GoMocs.com UTC posted its third consecutive 9-win season, the longest such streak in school history. Chattanooga Oct. 29 ....at Western Carolina* ..........W, 38-25 .....................CW Nov. 5 .....OPEN ........................................................................... has been ranked for 48 consecutive weeks, the sixth longest active run in the nation. Nov. 12 ...WOFFORD* .......................L, 28-36 .......GoMocs.com Nov. 19 ...at No. 1 Alabama................L, 3-31 ..................ESPN2 The Mocs’ season ended with a 41-36 loss at top-ranked Sam Houston State in the playoffs. It was Nov. 26 ...No. 23/25 WEBER STATE ...W, 45-14 ...............ESPN3 Dec. 3 .....at No. 1 Sam Houston St .....L, 36-41 ................ESPN3 the fourth appearance in the FCS Playoffs for Chattanooga, having also made the postseason in SEASON NOTES 1984. UTC advanced to the second round last season and the quarterfinals in 2014. • Third-straight year in the top 10 with a No. 10 final ranking. • School-record-tying five All-Americans Senior Keionta Davis was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year. He led the league in sacks • Current streak of 48 consecutive weeks in the top 25 ... sixth- longest streak in the nation. with 10.5 and was a consensus All-American. It is the fifth year in a row the Mocs have produced • Finished second in the SoCon and No. 16 in the FCS in scoring either the offensive, defensive player of the year in league, or both. offense (34.2 ppg) ... second-most points per game in school history. • UTC has finished in the top-20 in the FCS, and No. 1 or No. 2 Four other Mocs earned All-American honors, including senior offensive linemen Corey Levin and in the SoCon, in total defense in each of the last six seasons. • Mocs have been in the top 16 in passing yards allowed each of Jacob Revis, senior running back Derrick Craine and senior linebacker Nakevion Leslie. the last six seasons. • League-high 11 All-SoCon honorees on the Coaches Team. • Six Mocs on the Academic All-SoCon team. IT’S ALL IN THE NAME • Head Coach Russ Huesman left for Richmond and was On first reference, it is acceptable to refer to us as the “University of Tennessee at Chattanooga”. replaced by Tom Arth from John Carroll University. After that, we prefer to be called “Chattanooga” or “UTC.” Our nickname is “Mocs.” BROADCAST INFORMATION Radio: All Mocs football games are broadcast on 96.1 END OF AN ERA FM The Legend. The Mocs Radio Network consists of Jim Reynolds (play-by-play), Todd Agne (color analyst) and Will Following the conclusion of the 2016 season, head coach Russ Huesman announced his resignation Poindexter (sideline). on Dec. 14 to become head coach at the University of Richmond. He was the Spiders’ defensive Internet: Free live audio and live stats for all games on GoMocs.com. Links are available on the football schedule coordinator on their national championship team in 2008 prior to coming to Chattanooga. He posted page on GoMocs.com. winning records in three of his first four seasons. Over the last four years, the Mocs went 36-16 with Television: The Mocs made four appearances on ESPN2/ three Southern Conference titles. It is the winningest four-year stretch in the history of the program. ESPN3 in 2016. Coach Huesman left with an eight-year record of 59-37, the second-most wins in school history. CHATTANOOGA MEDIA RELATIONS Dr. Jay Blackman (Sr. Associate AD) ................... (423) 425-5292 Cell ........................................................... (423) 598-6953 ARTH NAMED 23RD MOCS HEAD COACH Email [email protected] UTC Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics David Blackburn announced the hiring of Tom Arth Jim Horten (Director) ........................................... (423) 425-2350 as the 23rd head coach of Mocs football on Dec. 19, 2016. Arth was the 2016 NCAA Division III Cell/Email ............(423) 645-8733/[email protected] National Coach of the Year from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. A former NFL quarterback, Anne Wehunt (Assistant Director) ....................... (423) 425-4618 Cell/Email ............(423) 933-5764/[email protected] Arth (35) owned a 40-8 overall record in four seasons at his alma mater. His building of the John Corey Belonzi (Assistant) .....................................(423) 425-2116 Carroll program was highlighted by 2016 road victories over two No. 1-ranked opponents in Mount Cell/Email ........... (724) 674-4871/[email protected] Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater. The 2016 Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year guided Media Relations Fax ............................................ (423) 425-1710 the Blue Streaks to the NCAA Division III Playoffs for the third time in his four-year tenure. In the Finley Stadium Press Box ................................... (423) 757-9332 four seasons under Arth’s leadership, John Carroll was among the nation’s elite, finishing inside the CONTENTS top 25 every season, including top 5 finishes in 2016 (No. 3) and 2014 (No. 5). John Carroll won Notes ............................. 1-8 UTC/Athletics Staff ............9 Postseason Awards ...........2 Roster .........................10-11 the league’s automatic bid for the first time in school history in 2016, breaking Mount Union’s run of Rankings ............................4 Depth Chart ............... 12-13 24 consecutive OAC titles. The Blue Streaks finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation, tying UTC Stats Rankings ..........5 Huesman/Coaches ..........14 SoCon Info .........................6 Career-Highs ...................15 a school record with a 12-2 overall tally and a 9-0 mark in league action. It was their first outright Records .............................7 Key Players ............... 16-25 conference championship since 1989. DYK/Finley Attend. ............8 Last Time ................... 26-27 Preseason Awards .............9 Stats .......................... 28-38 1 FOOTBALL INFORMATION POSTSEASON RECOGNITION 2015 Record ................................................................. 9-4 BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD FINALIST MEDIA ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAM 2015 Southern Conference Record/Finish ........... 6-1/T1st Keionta Davis - Senior - DE - Chattanooga, Tenn. First Team Offense 2015 Home/Road Record ....................................... 4-1/5-3 9th - 78 points (3 First Place Votes) OL - Corey Levin, Sr. Base Offensive Alignment ..................................... multiple Base Defensive Alignment ..................................... multiple ALL-AMERICAN First Team Defense Lettermen Returning/Lost ..........................................46/22 Derrick Craine HeroSports.com - 3rd Team DL - Keionta Davis, Sr. Starters Returning/Lost ................................................16/8 DL - Vantrel McMillan, Sr. Offensive Returning/Lost (Starters) .................... 24/9 (8/3) Keionta Davis AFCA LB - Nakevion Leslie, Sr. Offensive Linemen Returning/Lost (Starters) ....... 8/5 (4/1) STATS - 1st Team Defensive Returning/Lost (Starters) ................. 20/13 (6/5) HeroSports.com - 1st Team Second Team Offense Defensive Linemen Returning/Lost (Starters) ...... 8/3 (2/2) Associated Press - 2nd Team QB - Alejandro Bennifield, Jr. Specialists Returning/Lost (Starters) .................... 3/0 (2/0) College Sports Madness - 2nd Team RB - Derrick Craine, Sr. OL - Jacob Revis, Jr. FOOTBALL HISTORY Corey Levin AFCA Seasons .....................................................................109th STATS - 2nd Team Second Team Defense All-Time Record .....................................530-519-35 (.505) Associated Press - 2nd Team LB - Dale Warren, Jr. Record at Finley Stadium ...............................57-52 (.523) College Sports Madness - 1st Team DB - Montrell Pardue - So. SoCon Titles ...7 (1977t, 1978, 1979t, 1984, 2013t, 2014, 2015t) NCAA Playoff Appearances .... 4 (1984, 2014, 2015, 2016) Nakevion Leslie HeroSports.com - 2nd Team COSIDA CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT STATS - 3rd Team Derrick Craine FOOTBALL STAFF Head Coach .............................................Russ Huesman Jacob Revis College Sports Madness - 3rd Team COSIDA CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN Alma Mater ......................................... Chattanooga ‘83 Derrick Craine - First Team Record @ UTC ....................................59-37 (8th Year) COACHES ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TEAM Career Record ......................................................same