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ASU wary of Chattanooga's tight defense Mocs vastly improved from 2008
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Published: November 7, 2009
BOONE
Coach Jerry Moore of Appalachian State said he didn't have to watch game tape very long to see why Chattanooga is the surprise story in the Southern Conference.
"We froze the picture at one point on a play that Furman makes against them," Moore said. "The Furman kid gets hit right at the goal line, and you freeze it right there, and all 11 players for Chattanooga are in the picture."
A lot of the Mocs' overnight success -- going from 1-11 last season to 5-3 this season -- has been predicated on a swarming and blanket-like defense.
That's not too surprising, considering that new Coach Russ Huesman was a successful defensive coordinator at Richmond, which held Appalachian to 13 points in a playoff game last year and went on to win the Football Championship Subdivision title.
Huesman will return to Kidd Brewer today, and with one more victory his Mocs can equal the program's win total of the past three years combined. The Mocs are winless in their past 12 trips to Boone, however.
Huesman said he didn't know exactly what to expect when he replaced Rodney Allison and took over a Chattanooga program that had had just two winning seasons in the past 17.
"I don't want to say surprised," Huesman said of the way this season has gone. "We've had some good fortune…. We've caught some teams at some pretty good times. We've been healthy. I think our guys are playing with some confidence."
Moore said: "They are a very confident football team right now. Their whole demeanor has changed…. They're not quite like Richmond (yet), and I don't think anybody expected them to be like Richmond this year. But I'll say this. They're on track to being like that."
Moore also said that the Mocs' defense -- which is giving up 151 fewer yards and 16 fewer points a game than it did last year -- is comparable to No. 1 Richmond in that it prides itself on being physical.
"I think defensively has been the biggest surprise," Huesman said. "I thought we'd be better on offense than defense…. We're still not fantastic on defense, but somehow we're making enough plays to slow people down. We're actually rushing the passer better than I ever dreamed we could."
Defensive end Josh Beard, the brother of Jerry Beard, a former ASU running back, has been a catalyst. He ranks first in the FCS with 10.5 sacks.
The Mocs also have gotten a lift from quarterback B.J. Coleman, a 6-5, 210-pound sophomore from Chattanooga who played in three games at Tennessee last season. He has passed for 1,710 yards and 13 touchdowns, with just three interceptions in 269 attempts. Senior Blue Cooper has been the top target.
"He has great arm strength, so we have the ability to throw the football and move it that way," Huesman said of Coleman. "We haven't run the ball on anybody this year."
The Mountaineers (6-2, 5-0 SoCon) have been rolling on offense, averaging 51 points and 630 yards the last four weeks. They rank No. 1 in the FCS in total offense.
"I think a key has been getting the right plays matched up with the defense, the right matchups with players," Moore said. "All of us have been together for a while…. These players know."
tbowman@wsjournal.com. | 727-7320
Game day
• Teams: Chattanooga at Appalachian State
• Time: 3:30
• Radio: WKBC 97.3; WBLO 790
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