CHATTANOOGA MOCS FOOTBALL 2019 PRESEASON PROSPECTUS 2018 RESULTS - 6-5 OVERALL • 4-4 SOCON (T5TH) 2019 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time/Result Watch FALL CAMP OPENS JULY 31 Aug. 29 ...EASTERN ILLINOIS ..........7:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 Sept. 7 ....at No. 6 Jacksonville St ......7:00 p.m ...............ESPN+ The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team begins Fall Camp on Wednesday, July Sept. 14 ..at Tennessee ......................12:00 p.m ... SEC Network 31. A full camp schedule is available below with updates posted on GoMocs.com. Sept. 21 ..No. 2 JAMES MADISON ....4:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 Sept. 28 ..WESTERN CAROLINA*HC ...4:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 Oct. 5 ......at Mercer*...........................4:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 SCRAPPY MOORE FIELD RENOVATIONS Oct. 12 ....OPEN ........................................................................... The Murphy-Haugerud Football Practice Complex at Scrappy Moore Field sustained heavy damage Oct. 17 ....ETSU* ................................7:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 due to flooding in February 2019. This forced the Mocs to go on the road to various high school in Oct. 26 ....at No. 9 Wofford* ................1:30 p.m ...............ESPN3 Nov. 2 .....No. 19 FURMAN* ...............2:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 the area for 2019 Spring Practice. A new 100-yard turf field is currently being installed at Scrappy Nov. 9 .....at Samford* ........................3:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 Moore Field and should be in place by Aug. 7. Nov. 16 ...THE CITADEL* ...................2:00 p.m ...............ESPN3 Nov. 23 ...at VMI* ...............................1:30 p.m ...............ESPN3 2018 RESULTS (6-5, 4-4 SOCON) FALL CAMP PRACTICE SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time/Result Watch Wednesday - July 31 - 2:45 p.m. - Finley Stadium Aug. 30 ...TENNESSEE TECH ...........W, 34-10 ...............ESPN3 Thursday - August 1 - 2:45 p.m. - Finley Stadium Sept. 8 ....at The Citadel* ...................W, 29-28 (OT) ......ESPN+ Friday - August 2 - 2:45 p.m. - Finley Stadium Sept. 15 ..at UT Martin .......................W, 34-24 ...............ESPN+ Saturday - August 3 - 8:45 a.m. - Finley Stadium Sept. 22 ..No. 17 SAMFORD* ............W, 27-20 ...............ESPN+ Sept. 29 ..at ETSU* ............................L, 14-17 ................ESPN+ Sunday - August 4 - 8:45 a.m. - Finley Stadium Oct. 6 ......No. 6/7 WOFFORD*...........L, 10-21 ................ESPN+ Oct. 13 ....at Western Carolina* ..........W, 26-6 .................ESPN+ Monday - August 5 - 2:45 p.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Oct. 20 ....OPEN ........................................................................... Tuesday - August 6 - Off Day Oct. 27 ....VMI*HC ................................W, 34-27 ...............ESPN+ Nov. 3 .....at Furman* .........................L, 10-16 ................ESPN3 Wednesday - August 7 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Nov. 10 ...MERCER* ..........................L, 9-13 ..................ESPN+ Thursday - August 8 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Nov. 17 ...at South Carolina ...............L, 9-49 ..................SECNA Friday - August 9 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field SUMMER NOTES Saturday - August 10 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field • Former Moc and former UTC assistant coach Rusty Sunday - August 11 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Wright was named head coach on Dec. 19. • There are 70 on the roster, including 50 returning letter- Monday - August 12 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field winners and 17 returning starters. • All 10 assistant coaches are new. Former Mocs Jacob Tuesday - August 13 - Off Day Huesman (‘16) and Jordan Tippit (‘12) are on staff. Lo- Wednesday - August 14 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field renzo Ward and David Bibee had previous stints at UTC. Thursday - August 15 - 7:00 p.m. - Finley Stadium - Scrimmage • UTC has two Thursday night games on the 2019 slate. Open to Season Ticket Holders & Mocs Club Members Only CHATTANOOGA MEDIA RELATIONS Friday - August 16 - 2:30 p.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Dr. JAy Blackman (Sr. Associate AD) .................. (423) 425-5292 Saturday - August 17 - 8:45 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Cell ........................................................... (423) 598-6953 Email [email protected] Sunday - August 18 - 8:30 a.m. - Scrappy Moore Field Jim Horten (Director) ........................................... (423) 425-2350 Cell/Email ............(423) 645-8733/[email protected] SEASON NO. 112 Anne Wehunt (Assistant Director) ....................... (423) 425-4618 The Mocs are preparing for their 112th season of college football. The University of Chattanooga was Cell/Email ............(423) 933-5764/[email protected] Corey Belonzi (Assistant) .....................................(423) 425-2116 founded in 1886 and football began play in 1904. No teams were fielded in 1917 and 1918 due to Cell/Email ........... (724) 674-4871/[email protected] World War I. There was also a two-year hiatus from football action during World War II in 1943 and Media Relations Fax ............................................ (423) 425-1710 1944. The Mocs have an all-time record of 539-532-35 (.503) and have won 13 conference titles. Finley Stadium Press Box ................................... (423) 757-9332 CONTENTS IT’S ALL IN THE NAME Notes ............................. 1-9 Opponent Watch ..............10 On first reference, it is acceptable to refer to us as the “University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.” History/Coaches Contact ...2 Roster ........................ 12-13 UTC Stats Rankings ..........3 Depth Chart ............... 14-15 After that, we prefer to be called “Chattanooga” or “UTC.” Our nickname is “Mocs”. SoCon Info .........................4 Breakdown/Returners ... 16-17 Records ...................5, 7, 11 Wright/Coaches ...............18 Rankings ............................6 Career-Highs ...................19 DYK/Finley Attend. ............8 Players ....................... 20-25 UTC/Athletics Staff ............9 Stats .......................... 26-37 1 FOOTBALL INFORMATION LETTERMEN/STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 2018 Record ................................................................. 6-5 UTC returns a total of 46 lettermen from the 2018 campaign. There are 24 on the offensive side of 2018 Southern Conference Record/Finish ........... 4-4/T5th the ball, 17 on defense and five specialists. There are 17 starters back, including nine on offense, 2018 Home/Road Record ....................................... 3-2/3-3 six on defense, the punter and kicker. Base Offensive Alignment ..................................... multiple Base Defensive Alignment ..................................... multiple NEW HEAD COACH RUSTY WRIGHT Lettermen Returning/Lost ..........................................46/24 UTC Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton announced that Rusty Wright as the Starters Returning/Lost ................................................17/8 Mocs new head football coach on Dec. 21, 2018. A 22-year veteran of the collegiate coaching ranks, Offensive Returning/Lost (Starters) .................. 24/11 (9/2) Wright is a 1996 graduate of UTC with a degree in Sports Administration. He was a four-year letter Offensive Linemen Returning/Lost (Starters) ....... 8/3 (5/0) winner for the Mocs football team and had two stints as an assistant coach at UTC. Defensive Returning/Lost (Starters) ................. 17/12 (6/5) Defensive Linemen Returning/Lost (Starters) ...... 3/4 (1/2) Wright spent the last two seasons on Shawn Elliot’s staff at Georgia State where he coached the Specialists Returning/Lost (Starters) .................... 5/1 (2/1) inside linebackers, special teams and served as the Panthers’ recruiting coordinator. They guided FOOTBALL HISTORY the Georgia State to the 2017 AutoNation Cure Bowl Championship. Seasons .....................................................................112th All-Time Record .....................................539-532-35 (.503) In his first year with the Panthers, the 2017 GSU defense set season records for fewest points per Record at Finley Stadium ...............................61-58 (.513) game (24.8), fewest rushing yards per game (136.4), fewest yards per rushing attempt (4.1) and SoCon Titles ...7 (1977t, 1978t, 1979, 1984, 2013t, 2014, 2015t) most sacks (24). NCAA Playoff Appearances .... 4 (1984, 2014, 2015, 2016) FOOTBALL STAFF Prior to that, Wright was a member of Russ Huesman’s staff at UTC during one of the most successful Head Coach ................................................ Rusty Wright runs in school history. He was the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for four seasons Alma Mater .............................................. Chattanooga ‘96 (2013-16). UTC won three straight Southern Conference titles and made three consecutive FCS Record @ UTC .............................................. First Year Playoff appearances during his time in the Scenic City. Career Record ............................................... First Year Office Phone .........................................(423) 425-4494 Included in those playoff berths was a trip to the quarterfinals in 2014. There were also four consecutive Off. Coord ................Joe Pizzo (1st Year) - Mars Hill ‘87 seasons of eight or more wins. Email [email protected] Def. Coord ........Lorenzo Ward (1st Year) - Alabama ‘91 In 2016, Wright coached All-America linebacker Nakevion Leslie. During his tenure