Chattanooga Mocs Football Game Notes
Chattanooga (0-0, 0-0 SoCon) at USF (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Sept. 1 - 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)
Raymond James Stadium - Tampa, Fla.
TV/Online:  ESPN3 (Play-by-play - Dave Weekley; Color Analyst - Warrick Dunn)
Radio:  Mocs Sports Network - ESPN Radio 105.1 FM (flagship)
Online:  Live audio and live stats on GoMocs.com

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga kicks off the 2012 football season at the University of South Florida this weekend.  The Mocs travel to Tampa, Fla., and Raymond James Stadium to face the BIG EAST Conference Bulls on Saturday, Sept. 3.   Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) and will broadcast on ESPN3.

Dave Weekley will handle the play-by-play with Warrick Dunn giving the color analysis.  ESPN3 is a broadband network that provides live sports programming.  It is a part of the WatchESPN online destination and available at ESPN3.com. 

Fans can also catch the game on the radio on the Mocs Sports Network.  The flagship station is ESPN Radio 105.1 FM in Chattanooga.  A live audio stream of the game is available on MocsVision on GoMocs.com.  Jim Reynolds is in his 33rd year as the play-by-play man for the Mocs.  Todd Agne will again have the color commentary and Will Poindexter is back as the sideline reporter.  

SEASON NO. 105
The Chattanooga Mocs enter their 105th season of football in 2012.  The University of Chattanooga was founded in 1886 and football began play in 1904.  No teams were fielded in 1917 and 1918 due to World War I.  There was also a two-year hiatus from football action during World War II in 1943 and 1944.  The Mocs have an all-time record of 488-498-35 (.495) and have won 10 conference titles.

COACHES AT A GLANCE
Former Moc Russ Huesman (Chattanooga '83) is 17-16 in three years at his alma mater.  He led the Mocs to back-to-back winning seasons in 2009 and 2010 for the first time since 1990 and 1991.  Chattanooga posted a 5-6 mark in 2011, with five of those losses coming by a combined 12 points.  He was the 2009 SoCon Coach of the Year in his first year at Chattanooga. 

Skip Holtz (Notre Dame '86) is entering his third season at USF.  He has a 13-12 record as head coach of the Bulls.  He spent five seasons at East Carolina (2005-09) where he went 38-27.  He was 34-23 in five years as the head coach at UConn (1994-98).  He is  85-62 in 12 years as a collegiate head coach. 

NOTES TO KNOW ABOUT THE MOCS

• UTC is coming off a 5-6 2011 record with included five losses by a total of 12 points. The Mocs lost three games by a 28-27 tally.
• UTC has three members of its defense on various preseason All-American teams, including junior linebacker Wes Dothard, senior defensive lineman Josh Williams and junior defensive back Kadeem Wise.
• The Mocs are receiving votes in both the Sports Network Top-25 and the FCS Coaches Poll.
• UTC is picked to finish fourth in the SoCon by the league's coaches and media.
• Chattanooga had eight players named to the preseason All-SoCon teams, including three on the first team defense (Williams, Dothard, Key).
• Despite returning 17 starters, UTC will still be a very young team in 2012. 13 starters on the current two-deep are sophomores and freshmen.

NOTES TO KNOW ABOUT THE USF GAME

• UTC's game at South Florida will be the second against a BIG EAST opponent in school history. UTC lost 56-7 at West Virginia on Aug. 31, 2002.
• Chattanooga is 59-44-1 (.572) in all-time season openers. This is just the 11th time the Mocs have opened the year at an FBS school since the Divisions (I & IAA) split in 1977. The last time was 2011 at Nebraska.
• USF is 15-0 in home openers at Raymond James Stadium.
• The Bulls were picked second in the BIG EAST preseason media poll. They return 17 starters from last year's 5-7 squad.
• Three of the Bulls' last four losses came on field goals either as time expired or in overtime.
• Since joining the FBS in 2001, USF is 15-0 all-time against FCS Opponents.
• UTC is 2-28 against FBS opponents since joining the SoCon in 1977. The two wins came against Southwest Louisiana in 1983 and 1984.

IT'S ALL IN THE NAME
On first reference, it is acceptable to refer to us as the "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga".  After that, we prefer to be called "Chattanooga" or "UTC."  Our nickname is "Mocs."

MOCS OPEN THE SEASON AGAINST ANOTHER BCS OPPONENT
Like most FCS teams, Chattanooga takes on at least one FBS squad each year.  However, the Mocs have faced some of the best in recent years.  Here is a rundown of the FBS opponents in the last four years and where each ranked when they faced UTC.

No. 10 Nebraska won 40-7 on Sept. 2, 2011
No. 2 Auburn won 62-24 on Nov. 6, 2010 - eventual BCS Champion
No. 2 Alabama won 45-0 on Nov. 21, 2009 - eventual BCS Champion
Florida State won 46-7 on Sept. 13, 2008
No. 4 Oklahoma won 57-2 on Aug. 30, 2008

UTC also faced the eventual Heisman Trophy winner for three straight seasons from 2008-2010, including Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (2008), Alabama's Mark Ingram (2009) and Auburn's Cam Newton (2010).  The Mocs were one of only two teams to sack Newton three times in a game in 2010. 

ROSTER, DEPTH CHART AND BREAKDOWNS
An updated roster can be found on pages 10-11 of the .pdf of the game notes.  There is a roster breakdown on page 12 and a list of the starters and letter winners returning and lost on page 13.  An updated depth chart is on pages 14-15. 

LETTERMEN/STARTERS RETURNING/LOST
The Mocs return a total of 46 lettermen from the 2011 campaign. There are 26 on the offensive side of the ball, while 19 return on defense. One specialist will also return for the 2012 season. There are 17 starters returning, including eight on offense, eight on defense and one on special teams.  A complete breakdown of starters returning and lost is available on page 13 of the game notes .pdf.

THREE MOCS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Senior defensive end Josh Williams, junior linebacker Wes Dothard and junior defensive back Kadeem Wise have all been named to various preseason FCS All-American teams heading into 2012.  Dothard was on the Sports Network and College Sporting News second teams while Williams made the third team for both publications.  The pair were listed on Phil Steele's third team while Wise made Steele's fourth team. 

Dothard (6-1, 235), a native of Carrollton, Ga., is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign that included 98 tackles, five forced fumbles and two defensive scores.  He was a First Team All-Southern Conference pick and was the league's Player of the Month in September.

Dothard was actually a first team selection on the 2011 Sports Network/Fathead.com All-American squad, but tight competition among the returning linebackers knocked him back down to the second team heading into 2012.  He is expected to return to his position as the middle linebacker. 

Williams (6-3, 235) is the Mocs' all-time leader in sacks with 21.5 in his three-year career.  The Griffin, Ga., native led the SoCon in sacks last season (9.5) and earned first team honors from the league.  He has started 31 of 33 games in his career.

Wise is a two-time All-SoCon performer with eight career interceptions.  He was the 2010 SoCon Freshman of the Year and a second team all-league pick in 2011.  He has started every game at cornerback over the last two seasons.  

DOTHARD NAMED TO BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD WATCH LIST
Junior linebacker Wes Dothard was named to the 2012 Buck Buchanan Award Watch List.  Dothard is one of 20 players up for the top defensive honor in the Football Championship Subdivision presented by The Sports Network.  Dothard (6-1, 235) is coming off an outstanding sophomore season that included 98 tackles, five forced fumbles and two defensive scores.  He was a First Team All-Southern Conference pick and was the league's Player of the Month in September.  He was also on The Sports Network's All-American First Team.  The Buchanan Award Watch List can undergo revisions during the 2012 season. Ballots will be sent to a panel of about 175 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries following the regular season on Nov. 19. The top three vote-getters are invited to The Sports Network FCS Awards Presentation.

POLLARD NAMED TO FRED MITCHELL AWARD WATCH LIST
Sophomore Nick Pollard is one of 44 student-athletes on the 2012 Fred Mitchell Place-Kicker Award Watch List the selection committee announced prior to the season.  The annual Fred Mitchell Award is provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 750 FCS, Division II, III, NAIA and NJCAA football teams.  Pollard (Smryna, Tenn.) is coming off an outstanding 2011 season that saw him break the Mocs' freshman scoring record with 61 points.  He connected on 31-of-33 PATs and was 10-of-14 on field goals, earning Southern Conference All-Freshman honors.  He hit all nine of his field goal attempts from inside 30 yards, made his last eight field goals overall and connected on 14-straight PATs.  

EIGHT MOCS NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-SOCON TEAMS
UTC had eight student-athletes named to the SoCon Preseason All-Conference Team.  Senior DL Josh Williams (Griffin, Ga.) was one of three on the first team defense from UTC.  He is a two-time First Team All-SoCon selection and is Chattanooga's career leader with 21.5 sacks.  The Mocs were the only team in the league with three individuals on the first team defense.  UTC led the SoCon in total defense (305.3), scoring defense (19.7) and was No. 2 in the nation in pass defense (140.8) and pass efficiency defense (100.15) last season.

Joining Williams on the first team are junior LB Wes Dothard (Carrollton, Ga.) and junior DB D.J. Key (Centerville, Tenn.).  Dothard was a First Team All-American in 2011, totaling 88 tackles and five forced fumbles.  He also had two defensive scores, returning an interception against Jacksonville State and a fumble against Samford. 

Key was Second Team All-SoCon last season, finishing with 77 tackles, three interceptions and nine pass breakups.  He had a school-record 85-yard interception return for a touchdown against Western Carolina. 

The SoCon coaches picked the preseason teams, and were not allowed to vote for their own players.  Two Mocs made the second team offense, including sophomore TE Faysal Shafaat (Orlando, Fla.) and senior OL Adam Miller (Cohutta, Ga.).  Shafaat was on the SoCon All-Freshman team after making 19 catches for 179 yards and two TDs in 2011.  Miller was a preseason pick last year and is a three-year returning starter at right tackle.  He is a two-time Academic All-SoCon honoree and has twice been named to the FCS ADA Academic All-Star team.

Sophomore DL Davis Tull (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior DB Kadeem Wise (Lawrenceville, Ga.) both made the preseason second team.  Tull was an all-freshman choice in 2011, posting 30 tackles and five sacks while starting all 11 games.  Wise is a two-time Second Team All-SoCon choice.  He has eight career interceptions and has started all 22 games over the last two years. 

Sophomore PK Nick Pollard (Smyrna, Tenn.) is on the specialists second team.  He broke UTC's freshman scoring record with 61 points in 2011.  He connected on 31-33 PATs and 10-14 field goals while being named to the SoCon All-Freshman squad. 

MOCS PICKED FOURTH IN SOCON PRESEASON POLLS
UTC was picked No. 4 in both the SoCon Coaches and Media preseason polls for the second straight season.  Prior to that, UTC had not been picked that high in both polls since 1991.  

YOUNG SQUAD
With 17 total starters returning, the Mocs have a lot of experience coming back.  However, UTC will still be a young team in 2012.  There are only eight seniors on the roster.  Of the 62 Mocs that participated in a game last season, 22 were freshmen and another 17 were sophomores.  There are 13 sophomores and freshmen who are listed as starters on the two-deep, including eight on offense, three on defense and two specialists. 

FOUR ALL-SOCON SELECTIONS RETURN IN 2012
Of the seven Mocs who made the All-SoCon team in 2011, four return for 2012.  All-American linebacker Wes Dothard heads the list that includes defensive end Josh Williams and defensive backs Kadeem Wise and D.J. Key.   

15 CURRENT MOCS HAVE BEEN HONORED BY THE SOCON DURING THEIR CAREERS
In addition to the four All-SoCon team members who are returning in 2012, there are 11 others who have received either All-SoCon or SoCon All-Freshman honors in their careers.  Marlon Anthony, Chris Awuah, Josh Freeman, Marquis Green, Gunner Miller, Nick Pollard, Keyon Reed, Terrell Robinson, Faysal Shafaat, Davis Tull and Keon Williams were all members of the SoCon All-Freshman team during their respective first seasons at UTC.

THURSDAY NIGHT HOME OPENER
The Mocs host Glenville State at 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) on Thursday, Sept. 13, to open the 2012 home schedule.  This is the sixth Thursday night home game for the Mocs since Finley Stadium opened in 1997.  Thursday night games have been very popular in the Scenic City with 30% larger crowds on average, based on the rest of the season's attendance.  Two of the six largest crowds in Finley Stadium history have occurred during these Thursday night contests.  UTC drew 14,002 when it last hosted Glenville State on Sept. 3, 2009, the fifth-largest number ever at Finley.  The Mocs also had 13,186 fans for the Samford game on Aug. 31, 2000, the sixth-biggest crowd at Finley.  Most importantly, Chattanooga is 5-0 when playing in Finley Stadium on Thursday nights.   

MAJORITY OF THE MOCS ARE FROM TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA
Of the 89 members currently on the Mocs' spring roster, 79 list Tennessee (49) or Georgia (30) as their home state.  That means 89% of the roster is from Tennessee or Georgia, including 55% from Tennessee and 34% from Georgia.  Five Mocs are from Florida, four from Alabama and one from North Carolina. 

MOCS ROSTER INCLUDES A NUMBER FROM THE CHATTANOOGA AREA
UTC's football roster boasts 20 members from the Chattanooga area.  Northwest Whitfield High School in Tunnell Hill, Ga.,  is currently the biggest feeder to the program with four former members on the Mocs' roster, including Adam Miller, Dustin Tate, Dean Haynes and Synjen Herren.  Be sure to check out page 10 to see a full breakdown of the 2012 roster. 

32 MOCS MAKE THE HONOR ROLL, 23 ON THE DEAN'S LIST
The Mocs football team set a new program record with 23 student-athletes on the Dean's List for having a 3.2 g.p.a. in the 2012 spring semester, including:  Don Cope, Mike Hammons, Robert Harrison, Shane Heatherly, Brandon Henry, Irvin Hernandez, Will Hewitt, Shaun Hill, Jacob Huesman, T.J. Hurless, J.J. Jackson, Zach McCarter, Adam Miller, C.J. Murrell, Steven Nease, Brynn Oliver, Ethan Poe, Nick Pollard, Keyon Reed, Travron Taylor, Davis Tull, Robert Wagner, Austin Wilson.  The following nine members of the football team made the Athletics Director's Honor Roll for posting a 3.0 g.p.a. in the spring:  Nick Craig, Synjen Herren, Tommy Hudson, Deshion Kendall, D.J. Key, Michael Slowey, Darian Stewart, Jeff Veres and Muhasibi Wakeel.  The 23 that made the Dean's List were also on the Athletics Director's Honor Roll.

MOCS WELCOME FOUR NEW ASSISTANT COACHES
Chattanooga head football coach Russ Huesman brought in four new assistant coaches during the offseason.  Alex Akins (offensive line), Adam Braithwaite (safeties), Thomas Brown (running backs) and Wesley Satterfield (tight ends) worked with the team during spring practice and will be on the sidelines for the first time at UTC in the fall. 

Atkins spent the previous two years at Itawamba (Miss.) Community College where he was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.  He is a former All-American offensive lineman at UT Martin where he was a four-year starter and team captain from 2003-06.

Braithwaite was the defensive coordinator for NCAA Division III Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., in 2011.  Prior to that, he spent three years on the staff at the University of Michigan.  A 2002 graduate of William and Mary, Braithwaite played defensive back for the Tribe from 1997-2001.

Brown joins the Mocs from Georgia where he served the previous season as a graduate assistant in the Bulldogs' strength and conditioning program.  He was a four-year letter winner for Georgia from 2004-07 and played two seasons in the NFL with Atlanta and Cleveland. 

Satterfield comes to Chattanooga after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant for Ohio State.  Prior to that he spent three years on the football staff at North Carolina where he was a quality control assistant (2007-08) and graduate assistant coach (2009) working with the quarterbacks and receivers.  Satterfield was a four-year starter at quarterback, kicker and punter for Sewanee: The University of the South, earning SCAC Offensive Player of the Year honors as a junior.  He set a conference single season record for quarterbacks in 2005, scoring 11 rushing touchdowns.

TEAM CAPTAINS CHOSEN FOR 2012
Following the 2012 Blue & Gold Spring Game, team captains were named for the upcoming season.  Selected by the players and coaches, the position of team captain for the Chattanooga Mocs is one of honor and responsibility.  LB Shane Heatherly (Sr. - Waynesville, N.C.), RB J.J. Jackson (Sr. - Marietta, Ga.), DB D.J. Key (Jr. - Centerville, Tenn.) and OL Adam Miller (Sr. - Cohutta, Ga.) are charged with the task of leading Mocs Football in the classroom, on the field and in the community for the next year.

SEASON TICKET SALES PUSH
The Mocs are looking to break a season ticket sales record for the fourth year in a row in 2012.  Chattanooga started the recent trend with the arrival of head coach Russ Huesman in 2009.  In 2009, the Mocs sold 2,527 season tickets, topping that with 2,676 in 2010.  UTC sold 2,761 for the 2011 season.

ATTENDANCE IN THE HUESMAN ERA
UTC has seen a dramatic growth in attendance at home football games since the hiring of Russ Huesman in December 2008.  Seven of the Mocs' top-10 crowds in school history have come in the 15 home games of the Huesman era.  Chattanooga is averaging 11,212 fans per game since the start of 2009.  Prior to Huesman's arrival, UTC averaged 5,767 fans per game in the 2008 season. 

THREE MOCS BATTLING FOR NFL ROSTER SPOTS
Three former Mocs are currently on NFL rosters, including Buster Skrine (Cleveland), B.J. Coleman (Green Bay) and Chris Lewis-Harris (Cincinnati).  Skrine was a fifth round draft pick by the Browns in 2011 and is fighting for a starting spot in the secondary.  Coleman is currently the third string QB for the Packers after being picked in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Lewis-Harris signed with Cincinnati as a free agent and has had an impressive camp in the Bengals' secondary.  Former Moc and future NFL Hall of Fame Terrell Owens was recently cut by the Seattle Seahawks.   

CONGRATS TO STEPHEN FOX - U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPION
Despite all of the excitement around the start of college football, the big story in Chattanooga has been Stephen Fox's win at the U.S. Amateur Golf Championships on Aug. 19.  Fox, a senior on UTC's men's golf team, won the prestigious tournament at historic Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, Colo.  He joins the likes of Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and many other great golfers who have won the Havemeyer Trophy.  He also received an invite to the 2013 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. 

MOCS SEARCHING FOR A NEW AD
Chattanooga is currently undergoing a national search for a new Director of Athletics.  Rick Hart left the position in July to become the Athletics Director at SMU.  Hart served as UTC's AD from 2006-12.  Senior Associate AD Laura Herron is currently serving as the Interim Athletics Director.