University of Tennessee at Chattanooga quarterback Terrell Robinson (South Pittsburg, Tenn.) was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Week the league office announced today. Robinson came off the bench to guide the Mocs to a near upset of No. 1 Georgia Southern on Saturday.
Seeing his first career action under center, Robinson went 5-9 passing for 62 yards. His big numbers came running ball, pilling up 114 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. He is the Mocs' first 100-yard rusher of the season and the first to run for three TDs since Eldra Buckley in 2006.
Robinson put together all four of Chattanooga's scoring drives, but came up short on a two-point conversion with less than two minutes remaining as UTC fell 28-27. He is the first UTC quarterback to run for 100 yards since Gary Bloodsaw came off the bench for 101 yards on five carries in a 55-10 win over VMI on Oct. 11, 1980.
Early in the second quarter, Chattanooga's senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award Candidate B.J. Coleman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) suffered an injured shoulder on a late hit and was unable to return. Robinson stepped in to finish the drive, but fumbled two plays later. The top-ranked Eagles scored on their next two possessions to take a 14-0 lead in front of a capacity home crowd at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.
Robinson settled down on the Mocs' next possession and orchestrated an 11 play, 82 yard drive that cut the lead to 14-7. He had three runs for 15 yards, including the five-yard scoring strike, and was 3-3 for 45 yards in that drive.
In UTC's opening possession of the third quarter, Robinson and the Mocs went 76 yards on seven plays to make the score 21-14 GSU. All 76 yards were on the ground against the No. 2 ranked rushing defense in the nation. All but 20 of those yards were gained by freshmen, including Robinson (30), Taharin Tyson (15) and Marquis Green (11).
Chattanooga tied the game at 21 with just over nine minutes to play on Robinson's 11-yard scoring run. That 16-play drive was the longest of the year and tied for the third longest in terms of plays under Mocs Head Coach Russ Huesman.
After the Eagles went up 28-21, Robinson rallied the troops one more time for an 11-play, 73-yard march that ended with his 5-yard scoring run. With less than two minutes left to play, UTC went for two but Robinson was caught in the backfield and his pass incomplete.
Robinson joins Green as the second Moc to earn SoCon Freshman of the Week honors. He is the fourth Moc overall to earn weekly recognition from the league, also joining senior WR Joel Bradford and sophomore LB Wes Dothard.
