Davis Tull had to give one last parting blow.
Last Saturday, with Chattanooga’s blowout win over Virginia Military Institute wrapped up early in the third quarter, the Mocs’ burly defensive end bullied past the VMI right tackle and buried quarterback Al Cobb deep in the backfield for a 5-yard sack.
Plays of that nature have cropped up with recent regularity as Tull has racked up Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards in both his sophomore and junior seasons.
“Very, very disruptive,” Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said Monday. “He’s a very, very good football player. I know a lot of people at Central Michigan after their game (Aug. 28 against UTC) called me and said, ‘This young man is a very, very talented football player.’
“When you watch him on film, he plays with effort. He plays with toughness. He has that mentality to be disruptive and rush the passer as well. So, I’ve been very, very impressed with him, good football player.”
Although the Mocs haven’t matched up with their in-state foe in more than 40 years, Tull is certainly no stranger to Knoxville. Before trekking south to UTC, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior churned out an award-heavy career at nearby Bearden High School, which sits just 10 miles from the UT campus.
After producing an all-region year as a prep junior, Tull’s success spilled over into the following season as the Knoxville native garnered a bevy of preseason accolades heading into his senior campaign. However, Tull’s high school football career ultimately ended on a sour note after suffering a broken femur in the Bulldogs’ second game of the 2009 season.
This year, though, Tull has continued his disruptive presence as a collegiate pass rusher, racking up 22 total tackles — nine for loss —and a team-high five sacks.
“I’ll tell you what, they’re extremely well-coached (on defense),” offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said Wednesday. “Extremely simple schematically. They don’t do a whole lot at all, but what they do, they do very, very well.
“They’re philosophy is they’re not going to make very many mistakes. They’re going to keep the ball in front of them. They’re going to play hard. I give their coaches a lot of credit. You’d think that with their simplicity, you could scheme them, but everything you devise, you realize they have an answer for.”
While Tull headlines UTC’s potent defensive attack, which leads the Southern Conference in yards allowed per game (291.2), it’s dual-threat quarterback Jacob Huesman who spearheads the Mocs’ versatile, run-first offense.
Through five games, the 2013 SoCon Offensive Player of the Year has rolled up 258 yards rushing and four ground scores, all while directing a Mocs offense that’s averaging 45 points per game in its last three contests.
However, Huesman’s wheels could become even more vital this Saturday as the Mocs will be without senior running back and leading rusher Keon Williams, who’ll miss the UT contest after undergoing surgery on his left hand.
“They have so many designed quarterback runs, and it’s just amazing what teams are doing now as far as running their quarterback,” defensive coordinator John Jancek said.
“They’re really challenging because it equalizes the number of guys you that have in the box. It takes the extra hat out of it and basically forces one-on-one matchups, and you’ve got to get off blocks and you’ve got to tackle.”
