Jacob Huesman, No. 14, passes to a receiver during practice Thursday. The Mocs conducts their second practice of the spring at Scrappy Moore Field.Even if he can't wrest the starting quarterback job away from Terrell Robinson, Jacob Huesman will be involved in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's offense.
Coach Russ Huesman made the point before spring practice began Monday and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield reiterated it Thursday, that both Robinson and the coach's son will play next season.
The two quarterbacks, along with Graham Nichols, have just worked through the basics of the Mocs' new spread-style offense during the first two spring practices. The QBs will get more of a chance to show what they can do today (weather permitting) when UTC practices in full pads for the first time.
"We're going to see who wins the quarterback job, and after that we will adjust off of that," Satterfield said. "They're both handling it well, and Graham's handling it well."
Robinson was very effective while filling in for B.J. Coleman last season, rushing for 417 yards, throwing for 336 and being selected co-Southern Conference freshman of the year despite playing less than half a season at quarterback.
Jacob Huesman, who redshirted last season, displayed a similar dual-threat skill set at Baylor. As a senior he produced 2,282 yards of total offense, including 1,750 rushing, and he said the Mocs' new offense has a lot in common with what he ran at Baylor.
"It's my goal to win the job," Huesman said. "It's nice to know that whichever one of us doesn't win it will still get on the field, because last year was not a whole lot of fun."
Both Robinson and Huesman have been busy in the weight room this winter. The 6-foot-3 Robinson is up to 198 pounds,and hopes to play at 205, while the 6-1 Huesman weighs 215.
"The luxury I have as a coach right now is that if one's not good, there's somebody else I can put in," Satterfield said. "We'll evaluate off of productivity -- who's moving the offense and how productive we are. It's going to be a long process."
UTC recertified
The NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification announced its latest certifications Thursday, and UTC was one of the 12 schools to complete the once-a-decade recertification process. According to the NCAA's release, a "certified designation denotes that an institution operates its athletics program in compliance with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership."
A moratorium on decertifications was installed last April by the Division I board of directors to analyze the process, but schools that already had put in hundreds of man hours, like UTC, could complete the process.
Williams playing DE
The newest Moc, early enrollee D'Eddric Williams, has worked at defensive end in the first two practices. That appears to be where the Alabama Class 6A all-state linebacker will stay, Russ Huesman said.
"He's got a better chance to play and contribute fast at defensive end," the coach said.