UTC's Henrique Ribeiro rewarded with SoCon specialist award

Mocs Glance• Mercer (5-3, 1-3 SoCon) at UTC (4-3, 3-0)• Saturday, Noon• Finley Stadium• 96.1 FM, American Sports Network TV

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The smile, which is almost always on Henrique Ribeiro's face, was a little wider Monday afternoon as he and his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football teammates walked off the practice field.

The Mocs' sophomore place-kicker was the target of some good-natured kidding after being named the Southern Conference special teams player of the week. Some of that came from punter Nick Pollard, himself a former winner of the award, heckling Ribeiro that it was "about time" the Baylor School graduate earned the distinction.

"I found out earlier through Twitter, and so far the guys have been great about it, which makes me feel good," Ribeiro said. "It's an honor. I felt like I had a good game, but I couldn't have done any of it without the whole team."

Ribeiro was recognized for going 2-for-2 on field goal tries, from 33 and 38 yards, and also making all four extra points in UTC's 34-14 win at The Citadel. That kept the Mocs atop the SoCon standings and led to them moving up one spot to No. 14 in this week's FCS coaches' poll.

"I've worked a lot over the past year especially to get better and be more consistent," Ribeiro said. "Consistency was one of my biggest problems when I first got here.

"I've heard kicking be compared to a golf swing, and that's pretty accurate. It's about finding the right feel and repeating that enough that you get confident and consistent with it. That's the big difference for me right now."

photo UTC place-kicker Henrique Ribeiro from Baylor School was this week's Southern Conference special teams player of the week for his performance Saturday at The Citadel.

After arriving from Baylor, where the Brazilian-born exchange student switched from soccer to football and became the state's Mr. Football Award winner as a senior, Ribeiro was one of only two true freshmen to play any for UTC in 2012. Playing in seven games, he made three of five field-goal attempts, including a 46-yarder at South Florida, and handled kickoff duty early that season.

He took a redshirt season last year and was consistent enough during summer workouts and preseason camp to finally win the place-kicking job all to himself. He is UTC's leading scorer this season, having connected on all eight field-goal tries, including a collegiate career-long 47-yarder, and is 26-of-28 in extra-point kicks.

He made a pressure-packed 29-yarder in overtime against Jacksonville State that gave the Mocs a short-lived lead.

"He's kicking with a lot of confidence now," UTC coach Russ Huesman said. "He's more mature now, he's figuring out what it takes to be a student-athlete, and he's put in the work to become really good.

"I'm real confident in him. If we need him, he's proven he can do it, and it's to the point now that I send him out and just expect three (points) every time. He's got a real strong leg, gets the ball up in the air quick and I don't worry about him doing his job anymore."

Coach Huesman also praised freshman long snapper Emory Norred and holder Jacob Huesman, each of whom also played at Baylor, and said that depending on the situation he wouldn't hesitate to let Ribeiro attempt to break the school record of 53 yards.

Ribeiro made one from 57 yards during his senior year in high school, when he drilled three from 50-plus yards, and said he would love the opportunity to set a UTC record for longest kick.

Defenders extra sore

A couple of UTC defenders admitted they were spending a little extra time in the training room to get treatment for soreness after Saturday's physical game with The Citadel. Linebackers Muhasibi Wakeel and Nekevion Leslie, as well as a couple of defensive linemen, said the tendency by the Bulldogs' offensive linemen to cut-block meant their knees ached more than usual after other games.

"You're definitely more banged up after you play a team like The Citadel, because on every play you're getting cut-blocked or hit by two or three different guys," Wakeel said. "It takes a toll. It's definitely more physical. You have to make sure you stay in treatment, get iced down and take care of your body so you can be prepared for this next game."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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