Tennessee football is all set for a ranked matchup this Saturday. Well, kind of. ETSU heads to Neyland Stadium as the No. 24 team in the FCS Division I league, according to the FCS Coaches Poll. This is a debut for the Buccaneers after it started the year just outside the top 25.
ETSU is 1-0 to start the year after a strong showing in week one. The Bucs defeated Murray State 45-17 with two quarterbacks at the helm of the offense. Cade McNamara, an Iowa transfer, completed 12-of-17 passes for 146 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Jacolby Criswell, a North Carolina transfer, completed 5-of-8 passes for 34 yards. He also ran for 46 yards.
Overall, it was an impressive attack on the ground from ETSU to propel it to a win. The team rushed for a net of 392 yards and five touchdowns. Devontae Houston led the way with 128 yards and two touchdowns on 14 attempts.
In the air, Jeremiah Harrison had the best day. He recorded three catches for 56 yards and a score.
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This is the first year for ETSU under the watch of head coach Will Healy. The Chattanooga native echoed the respect he has for the program throughout his press conference on Monday.
“We’ll go down on Friday and compete our rearends off,” Healy said. “We got a bunch of guys who have been in that arena before. It’s exciting. You’re getting to play in the Mecca of college football against a great staff. It’s a great opportunity for us as a staff to compete and scheme some of the best coaches in the country. It’s a great opportunity for our players to play against some of the best players in the country.”
In college, Healy played at both Air Force and Richmond. After his college playing career, he quickly turned to coaching. His first gig was as the receivers coach at Chattanooga. From there, he got the head coaching gig at Austin Peay before elevating to Charlotte. He was fired in 2022 and spent time at both UCF and Georgia State before getting this job.
