Future begins to emerge as Golden Eagles wrap practice with physical Spring Game
COOKEVILLE — The experienced veterans got a little break
Saturday when the Tennessee Tech football team held its final
workout of Spring drills with a two-hour “Purple/Gold
Game” in Tucker Stadium.
Head coach Watson Brown watched his experienced players early in
the scrimmage, then turned over most of the action to the younger
players, and he liked what he saw.
A handful of future standouts emerged on both sides of the line
during the sun-splashed exhibition in front of a few hundred
interested spectators.
“I saw what I wanted to see, and overall I liked what I
saw,” Brown said after the offense had produced 491 yards,
seven touchdowns and a field goal.
“Now it’s time for the staff to do a lot of
evaluating. We know what we have, and now we get to work figuring
out the best way to use the talent that we have.
“I think we’ll be able to put this last piece of tape
with the others and see who we think can play and who
can’t,” Brown said. “We can put our depth chart
together and see really what we can do, like our tight ends, what
can they do. I think our defense, much more than our offense, has a
better feel of gap control.”
Brown was also pleased that his team came through the month
healthy.
“We didn’t hurt anybody, thank goodness, because this
has been the most physical spring I’ve ever done,” he
said. “I felt that this team was so young, we needed to block
and tackle every day, so we’ve had some injuries, but I think
that all of them will be back in the fall. I’m glad we got
through it and got a lot of work done.”
On offense, rookie runningbacks Dontey Gay and Tremaine Hudson
capped off strong spring performances and appear ready to take on
major roles in the offense as sophomores in 2009. Gay rushed nine
times for 90 yards and scored two touchdowns, while Hudson had
eight carries for 102 yards and a TD. It was the second week in a
row that Hudson gained 102 yards.
Freshman quarterbacks Tre Lamb and Jeremy Woods were sharp. Lamb
threw for 64 yards, connecting on 4-for-6 passes, and rushed for a
touchdown. He directed the offense to 17 points, the most by any of
the four quarterbacks. Woods was 5-for-8 for 55 yards, including a
17-yard scoring pass to tight end Cory Powers that capped a
nine-play, 65-yard scoring drive.
Among the 11 players who caught passes, new names included
freshman Demetrous Garrett, a transfer from Navy, with three
receptions for 48 yards; Powers, a transfer tight end from UAB,
with two grabs for 32 yards and a score; redshirt freshman Cody
Seiber from Anderson County, with three catches for 29 yards and a
TD; and freshman Jamere Hogue, who moved to tight end from defense,
and had one catch for 12 yards.
While those newcomers look to bolster the offense, Tech’s
defense also appears ready to add a few new playmakers, headlined
by senior Kelvin Quarles, a transfer from UAB. The 6-foot-3,
245-pound outside linebacker, led Tech with eight tackles and had a
quarterback sack.
LaDarrius Verge, an incoming freshman from Murfreesboro Riverdale
High School, also made his presence known with two tackles and a
quarterback sack.
Freshman Richmond Tooley, who became a starter last fall midway
through the year, was the leader of the defense Saturday. The
Memphis native had five tackles, broke up a pass, had the
game’s only interception, and blocked a point-after
attempt.
The rushing game accounted for 235 yards and five scores on 44
attempts, while the passing attack gained 256 yards on 21-for-34
accuracy, with two touchdowns.
The punting game continued to shine Saturday, with both Nick
Campbell and Jason Lennartz looking strong. Campbell, a sophomore,
handled the punting duties last year after Lennartz was injured
following the first game. Campbell had four punts and averaged 52.5
yards per try. Lennartz kicked twice and averaged 54 yards.
Following the punting, the defense stopped Lamb & Company in
the first offensive possession of the afternoon.
Sweeney took over and drove the squad 65 yards in 10 plays, a
19-yard strike to Garrett highlighting the drive. After Gay caught
a 10-yard pass, the 5-foot-9, 195-pounder from Henry Clay High
School in Lexington, Ky., broke through the middle for a nine-yard
touchdown.
Barnes was sacked to end his first possession, before Lamb marched
his unit to the 12, setting up a 28-yard field goal by Timothy
Donegan.
Sweeney also converted his second opportunity, driving Tech 65
yards in eight plays to set up an eight-yard touchdown by Gay. The
biggest play of the drive was a 27-yard pass and run to Henry
Sailes.
Tooley intercepted a pass from Barnes at the 35, setting up a
short field, and Lamb made it count when he handed to Josh Paz for
a one-yard touchdown. It ended a six-play scoring drive featuring a
13-yard pass to Benford and a 14-yard run by Hudson.
The final drive before the “halftime” break saw Barnes
get his unit in gear for a 65-yard, nine-play touchdown drive. The
junior quarterback hit Garrett for 22 yards, followed by a 13-yard
pass to Colin Allen and an 11-yard completion to Benford to the 18.
Three plays later, Barnes avoided a heated rush and scrambled
toward the sideline, finding Seiber for an 18-yard touchdown.
Following the break, Sweeney got one more possession and moved
Tech 65 yards in eight plays, with Hudson rambling the final 12
yards for the score. Hudson and Gay accounted for 51 of the 65
yards.
Woods moved Tech 65 yards for another TD, the drive taking nine
plays to reach the end zone. Woods, a freshman from Ooltewah, hit
Powers for 15, Seiber for four, Stevens for 12 and Seiber for
seven, before connecting with Powers for a 12-yard touchdown.
The quickest scoring drive was also Tech’s final touchdown,
led by Lamb who rushed six yards for the score on the fourth play.
A 19-yard toss to Sailes and a 37-yard run by Hudson set up the
TD.
The defense then held the “O” to three-and-out on
three consecutive possessions as the game came to an end. The
Dickerson brothers, senior Derek and freshman Chris, made the
defensive stops on the final two plays of the day.
OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
RUSHING (attempts/yards/TD)
Team: 44/235/5TD
Hudson 8/102/TD; Gay 9/90/2TD; Beech 11/22; Sailes 1/9; Stevens
4/6; Lamb 2/3/TD; Barnes 6/2; Paz 2/1/TD; Cassidy 1/0
PASSING (completions/attempts/int, yards/TD)
Team: 21/34/256/2TD/1int
Sweeney 8/13/0, 93/0; Lamb 4/6/0, 64/0; Barnes 4/7/1, 64/1; Woods
5/8/0, 55/1
RECEIVING (receptions/yards/TD)
Team: 21/256/2TD
Sailes 3/53; Garrett 3/48; Benford 3/29; Seiber 3/29/1TD; Robinson
2/34; Powers 2/32/1TD; Allen 1/13; Hogue 1/12; Stevens 1/12; Gay
1/10; Beech 1/4
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
TACKLES
Quarles 8; Griffin 7; McChurch 6; Tooley 5; Wallace 5; Miles 5;
Dillehay 5; Paz 4; Perez 3; Richmond 3; D. Dickerson 3; Grimes 3;
Qualls 3; Seivers 2; Moran 2; Ryce 2; Verge 2; Davis 2; Miley 2; C.
Dickerson 2; Harlan 1; McIntosh 1; Ordu 1; Waters 1
SACKS
Quarles 1; Verge 1; Richmond 1
INTERCEPTIONS
Tooley 1
BLOCKED KICKS
Tooley 1
PASSES DEFENDED
Tooley 1; McChurch 1; Moran 1
PUNTING
Campbell 4 punts/52.5 average; Lennartz 2 punts/54.0 average
