Mocs Media Luncheon - Quotes, Video and Photos

Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) in Finley Stadium.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head football coach Russ Huesman, junior offensive lineman Corey Levin and sophomore defensive lineman Taylor Reynolds met with local media on Tuesday, recapping their bye-week and discussing the upcoming game against Furman.

Select quotes from Tuesday's lunch can be found below. For the full interviews, check out the MocsVision video links included within the story.

Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 1:00 p.m. in Finley Stadium. Chattanooga earned its highest FCS national ranking in school history on Monday at No. 6 in both the STATS.com Top 25 and FCS Coaches Poll.

Taylor Reynolds, defensive lineman, sophomore
Did it help watching highly successful players at your position last year?
"Watching those guys and seeing what they did every day was a huge help to me. I knew my time would come when I started playing a lot, and it's here now. I'm enjoying the season right now and staying healthy. It's going good."

What kind of challenges will Furman bring?
"They have a good team. Their quarterback last year was hurt. He's back this year, so he's a big threat for them. Their running back is pretty good, and their offensive line is stout. They have an All-Conference guard that's really good. It's Furman. They're good every year. We have to have a good week of preparation and be ready on Saturday."

How nice is it having a home game this week?
"It's big. It's always fun playing at home. We're coming off a bye-week, and a week before that we were away. So it feels like it's been awhile since we've been at home. Hopefully we have a good crowd there Saturday to support us."

Head coach Russ Huesman
Opening Statement.
"People ask all the time: when do you like to have a bye-week? I always think the third, fourth or fifth week of the season is probably the best time. We've been fortunate the last few years to have it fall either the third or fourth week of the season. A lot of times it's to try to get your guys healthy, but for us we've been healthy.

"I think it was more about getting them mentally rested and get them away from football a little bit. Hopefully it reenergizes their batteries and gets them excited to play, and get a big stretch here of seven weeks in a row where we have to play.

"We understand we're playing an excellent football team. Furman's record is probably not indicative of how good they are. They have played a monster schedule, two FBS schools and they won one of them against Central Florida.

"They played Coastal Carolina, one of the best teams in the country. It was a three-point game. They played South Carolina State last week who is very athletic. Furman hasn't won a lot of games this year, but they have played a very tough schedule. They've come out of it in pretty good shape. They're healthy and well coached. We know that if we don't play our best we won't win this game."

What makes Furman such a good team?
"They've been playing great defense. They're physical. They held South Carolina State to three points and an FBS school to twelve or fifteen points. Even against Virginia Tech at the half I think it was a seven or ten to nothing game. They've been playing really good defense. They're athletic on defense. They're pretty physical, so their defense has been carrying them no question."

Thoughts on Furman's quarterback.
"He's really important, first and foremost the leadership aspect of it and what he brings to that team. It seems like they always win when he's playing. There's something about him. He's not the fastest guy in the world. He runs well enough to beat you with his feet and throws a good ball. They don't throw it a ton, but when he throws it he's very accurate. He can throw a deep ball."

"I think someone said he's been voted captain three years in a row now, and he's got another year left so he's probably going to be four-time captain at Furman. He has great leadership skills. I think they play better when he's in the game. He's a gutty player. In his first game his freshman year, they played Clemson. He played really well and the bright lights didn't affect him. He's one of the best players in the league in my opinion."

Do you feel Furman is the toughest team in conference play?
"I have no idea. I know they're good. I think our league is good. There's a lot of people in the league that can beat each other. I think before it's all said and done there's going to be a ton of surprises, so nothing shocks me at all in this league. Do I think Furman is one of the better teams in this league? Yes, but I think there are a lot of good teams in the league too."

Did you mainly focus on Furman during the bye-week?
"Not really. Sometimes you can get over saturated by over doing it. Our guys went out and recruited Monday and Tuesday, so we didn't do anything Furman. Wednesday we came back in and did some recruiting and started touching base with the coaching staff. Thursday and Friday was really us. We didn't put any Furman stuff in. We didn't introduce it to our players and gave them Saturday off.

"Then Sunday we came back and had a regular Tuesday practice and really put part of the game plan in and introduced it to the guys. Now if we were playing a triple option team, you'd take an extra day or two.

"We got an extra day to prepare on a Sunday, which we normally don't. Normally we watch a film, lift, and do a pool workout and cut them lose and crank it up Tuesday. Realistically, we got the extra day, but for coaches, we've been watching a little bit more than we normally would."

Corey Levin, offensive lineman, junior
On the physicality of Furman.
"What I can remember from last year is they have a couple of strong guys inside, a couple of stout defensive lineman. They're really athletic. They can run well. Their linebackers have been there for about three years, so they know how to play the game. They play pretty intense."

On finding out about UTC football earning highest FCS national ranking in school history.
"It popped up on Twitter. It's pretty cool, but it's just a number. We still have games to win, so that really isn't anything at all."

What's it like being a part of a program that's breaking numerous records?
"It's always a good feeling to break records and do new things around a program that didn't have much success early on. That I'm a part of bringing success to that is great. It shows how much these coaches and my team members have put into it. It feels great."

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#62 Corey Levin: OL; 6' 5"; Junior

#94 Taylor Reynolds: DL; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#62 Corey Levin
: 6' 5"; Junior
: OL

#94 Taylor Reynolds
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: DL

Players Mentioned

#62 Corey Levin

#94 Taylor Reynolds

Players Mentioned

#62 Corey Levin

#94 Taylor Reynolds