Mocs End Camp With Saturday Morning Scrimmage

(GOMOCS.COM) – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team capped off its 2016 training camp with a two-hour scrimmage at Finley Stadium on Saturday morning. The backups were in for most of the snaps, as many positions on the depth chart are still up for grabs.

“We don’t have to get 44 players playing,” stated head coach Russ Huesman. “We do have to get where we can roll guys in, three tackles, three ends, six to seven linemen, those types of things.”

“I think we are getting closer. Some guys are coming along, so we will watch this film and see what happens.”

Sophomore receiver DeJuan McQuarters was impressive, hauling in three receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. He had a nice 44-yard grab on the far side to the three that junior quarterback Tyler Roberson carried in for the score on the next play.

On the next possession, McQuarters and freshman quarterback Zack Weatherly connected for a 50-yard TD strike.

Weatherly controlled the offense for most of the second half of the scrimmage. He finished 7-14 passing for 110 yards, one score and two interceptions. Roberson also took a big chunk of the snaps, going 7-15 for 74 yards, a score and a pick.

Roberson’s touchdown throw was early in the scrimmage when he found senior running back Derrick Craine for 27 yards down the near sideline. Roberson also added 24 yards on eight carries.

Defensively, the Mocs picked off four passes, including a pair by junior safety Tae Davis. His first came against junior QB Alejandro Bennifield early in the scrimmage. Davis ended the day by taking one away from Weatherly in the end zone.

“I thought Tae Davis did a lot of good things out here today,” added Huesman. “He is going to have to play for us and be a good player.”

Junior defensive end D.J. Prather corralled a screen pass and would have had a 40-yard pick-6, but the play was blown dead. Freshman K.J. Roper dove across the middle for the other interception.

Senior kicker and member of the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List Henrique Ribeiro had a mixed day. He missed from 41 and 43 yards, but drilled a 49-yarder. Freshman Victor Ulmo missed from 42 by had a nice one from 33 yards out.

The student-athletes and coaches are scheduled to take the team photo at Finley Stadium on Sunday at 12:30 p.m., then head to Meet the Mocs at the Market from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the First Tennessee Pavilion.

Single-game tickets are on sale now, including $5 tickets for the Sept. 1 home-opener against Shorter with the promo code dylanscott. Scott is playing a FREE pregame concert in the Mocs Block tailgate party beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Season tickets are also available on GoMocs .com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 425-5292.

Stats From Training Camp Scrimmage 2
Passing (C-A, Yards, TDs)
Zack Weatherly – 7-14, 110 yards, TD, 2INT
Tyler Roberson – 7-15, 74 yards, TD, INT
Alejandro Bennifield – 5-7, 67 yards, TD, INT
Hunter Moore – 1-5, 1 yard

Rushing (Att.-Yards)
Kyle Nalls – 7-25
Chris Miller – 6-25
Tyler Roberson – 8-24, TD
Dy’Kari Hickey – 8-22
Alejandro Bennifield – 4-16
Zack Weatherly – 6-11
DeJuan McQuarters – 1-0
Shannon Spralls – 1-(-2)
Hunter Moore – 1-(-5)

Receiving (Rec-Yards)
DeJuan McQuarters – 3-102, TD
James Stovall – 4-38, TD
Chris Miller – 4-32
Zach Pfeifer – 2-29
Derrick Craine – 1-27, TD
Xavier Johnson – 1-11
Bingo Morton – 1-8
Wil Young – 1-4
Shannon Spralls – 1-1
Kyle Nalls – 2-0

INT – D.J. Prather, K.J. Roper, Tae Davis (2)
PBU – Cortez Davis, Jordan Jones, Sean McMahan, Elijah Pankey, Taylor Reynolds, Trevor Wright (2)
Sacks – Isaiah Mack, Joshua Phillips, Hawk Schrider
Safety – Keionta Davis & Justin King (Split)
TFLs – Telvin Jones, Jordan Jones, Nakevion Leslie, Joshua Phillips, Trevor Wright