Chattanooga Football 2012 SUMMER PRoSPECtUS - UTC Athletics

12 POINTS, FIvE LOSSES
Chattanooga is just four plays away from being 9-2 overall and tied for the
SoCon regular season title. However, the reality is the Mocs finished the season
5-6 and 3-5 in the conference thanks to four losses by a total of five points and
five losses by 12 points. UTC was up 6-0 late in the third quarter and about
to kick a field goal at No. 3 Appalachian State when a bad snap resulted in a
Mountaineer touchdown and an eventual 14-12 loss. The Mocs then coughed
up a 27-0 lead against The Citadel. A blocked punt resulted in an eventual
28-27 loss to the Bulldogs. Chattanooga followed that with a 28-27 loss at No.
1 Georgia Southern after failing to complete a two-point conversion with less
than two minutes remaining. The Mocs also led Furman 7-6 with four minutes
left in the game before falling 14-7. Chattanooga led 27-14 in the fourth quarter
against No. 12 Wofford before dropping that game 28-27.
11 SENIORS END THEIR CAREERS
A total of 11 Chattanooga seniors ended their careers this season, including
Sloan Allison, Joel Bradford, B.J. Coleman, Ryan Consiglio, Nick Davison,
Thomas Green, Mike Hammons, De’Markus Lee, Chris Lewis-Harris, Brock
Oliver and Jordan Tippit. A pair of fourth-year juniors who are on track to
graduate this academic year also called it a career, including Will Hewitt and
Robert Harrison. This class had 18 career wins, the most by one group since
the 2001 seniors also had 18 wins in their four years.
MOCS DEFENSE HAS BEEN IMPRESSIvE
Despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, including a
trip to Nebraska, the Mocs defense had some impressive numbers. These
included games against three top-10 teams in No. 10 Jacksonville State, No. 3
Appalachian State and No. 1 Georgia Southern and a visit from No. 12 Wofford.
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 2 in the nation in opponent 1st downs - 15.1/game
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 2 in the nation in pass defense - 140.8 yards/game
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 5 in the nation in pass efficiency defense - 100.15
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 13 in the nation in total defense - 305.3 yards/game
No. 1 in the SoCon and tied for No. 18 in the nation in fumbles recovered - 14
No. 1 in the SoCon and tied for No. 20 in the nation in turnover margin - +9
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 22 in the nation in 3rd down defense - 59-177 (33.3%)
No. 1 in the SoCon and No. 17 in the nation in scoring defense - 19.7 ppg
Chattanooga’s defense did not allow an offensive touchdown at No. 3
Appalachian State. It held Georgia Southern’s No. 1 ranked attack to a seasonlow
in points, total offense and rushing offense. The Mocs also kept Elon’s
All-American receiver Aaron Mellette from scoring a TD for the first time this
season. Chattanooga has held opponents to 14 points or less five times in
2011. It is the first time UTC has accomplished that feat since 1998.
SEVEN MOCS NAMED ALL-SOCON BY LEAGUE COACHES
Chattanooga had seven members earn All-Southern Conference honors
according to the league coaches. The Mocs put three on the first team and
four on the second squad. Joel Bradford was the only other offensive player
chosen from Chattanooga, making the second team. He makes his second
appearance after earning first-team honors last season. He finished the year
with a team-high 660 yards on 53 catches and five touchdowns. Linebackers
Wes Dothard and Ryan Consiglio were joined on the first team defense by
defensive end Josh Williams. Three defensive backs made the second team,
including Chris Lewis-Harris, D.J. Key and Kadeem Wise.
SEvEN MOCS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-SOCON
Chattanooga had seven members earn Academic All-Southern Conference
honors in 2011. To be eligible, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.3
cumulative grade point average entering the fall season and were required
to compete in at least one-half of their team’s competitions during the
2011 PoStSEaSon notES
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recently-concluded fall campaign. In addition, the student-athletes must
have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours in the previous two
semesters. Adam Miller (3.74 - Construction Management), Brock Oliver
(3.54 - Accounting), Nick Pollard (3.50 - Undecided), C.J. Murrell (3.48 - Civil
Engineering), Joel Bradford (3.46 - Finance), Mike Hammons (3.44 - History)
and Taylor Dodds (3.38 - Undecided) all made the team.
FIRST QUARTER STINGY
Chattanooga’s defense did not allow a point in the first quarter in seven of the
last eight games of the season. UTC did not allowed a touchdown in the first
half in seven games in 2011.
CHATTANOOGA WAS ONE OF THE LEAST PENALIZED TEAMS IN THE NATION
UTC finished second in the SoCon and No. 2 in the nation in fewest yards
penalized per game at 33.4. The Citadel led the country in that category at 24.2
yards per game. Chattanooga went seven quarters - fourth at Elon, all of the
Furman game and the first half at Samford - without being flagged for a penalty.
MOCS LEAD SOCON IN PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Chattanooga set a school-record with 11 Southern Conference Players of the
Week in 2011. With Georgia Southern grabbing nine individual awards, the
Mocs led the league in weekly honors. Sophomore LB Wes Dothard and
freshman QB Terrell Robinson both had three honors each. Dothard earned
three defensive while Robinson grabbed three freshman honors. Senior WR/P
Joel Bradford snagged offensive and special teams honors while senior LB Ryan
Consiglio, junior DL Joshua Williams (defensive) and freshman RB Marquis
Green (freshman) have also been honored in 2011.
MOCS WIN WHEN THEY CAN RUN THE BALL
Even though UTC is known for its passing attack, the Mocs are tough to beat
when they run the ball effectively. In the three years under head coach Russ
Huesman, UTC is 12-2 when outrushing its opponent, including a 4-1 mark in
2010 and 5-1 this season.
ALL THREE STARTING LINEBACKERS SCORED
With sophomore Gunner Miller’s 24-yard pick-6 at Elon, all three of UTC’s
starting linebackers scored a defensive TD this season. Senior Ryan Consiglio
scooped up a fumble and ran it back 45 yards for a score against Western
Carolina. Sophomore Wes Dothard scored twice, including a 30-yard pick-6
against No. 10 Jacksonville State and a 43-yard fumble return at Samford.
Add in sophomore DB D.J. Key’s school-record 85-yard INT return for a TD
against Western Carolina and the Mocs have posted a total of five defensive
scores this season.
WILLIAMS LEADS THE SOCON AND TOPS UTC CAREER SACK MARK
Junior DL Joshua Williams earned First Team All-Southern Conference
accolades after totaling a league-high 9.5 sacks this season. He became
Chattanooga’s all-time sack leader in 2011 and has 21.5 in his career.
DOTHARD NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
Sophomore LB Wes Dothard was named to the 2011 The Sports Network/
Fathead.com FCS All-American First Team. A native of Carrollton, Ga., he is the
44th All-American in school history and the fourth in the last three seasons under
head coach Russ Huesman. He was one of just four freshmen or sophomores
to make the first team. He is also the first Chattanooga sophomore to garner
All-American accolades since Pumpy Tudors (P) in 1989 and the first Moc
since Matt Vick in 2000 to be named First Team All-American.
UTC led the Southern Conference in total defense (305.3), pass efficiency
defense (100.15), scoring defense (19.7), turnover margin (+9) and pass
defense (140.8) this season. The SoCon coaches gave Dothard first team