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FIRST LOOK: ETSU’s revived program faces toughest test yet at Montana State

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Many around the Gallatin Valley have probably heard of Johnson City, Tennessee, but the reference can likely be attached to the Bob Dylan song “Wagon Wheel” later made famous by Old Crow Medicine Show or Darius Rucker.

On Saturday in Bozeman, the Montana State football team will host the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. ETSU resides in Johnson City, Tennessee. You might have heard of the city but it’s unlikely you’ve heard of the football team and that’s for good reason. ETSU played in the Southern Conference between 1970 and 2003 before dropping football, sighting financial strain on the school as a whole.

In 2013, the ETSU student government voted for a $125 per semester fee increase that would aid in the reinstatement of football. In the spring of 2013, the Tennessee Board of Regents approved the vote. In May of 2013, ETSU accepted an invitation to rejoin the Southern Conference. In June of 2013, the school hired veteran coach Carl Torbush as head coach. The Buccaneers were allowed to sign a recruiting class in February of 2014 and last February in preparation for its first season in 13 years this fall.

This season and next season, ETSU will play at Kermit Tipton Stadium on the campus of Science Hill High School in Johnson City. In February, the day after National Signing Day, ETSU announced it would have a new stadium ready to move into before the 2017 season.

This season, playing as an FCS independent, East Tennessee State is 0-6, including losses to Division III Maryville College (28-21) and Division III Emory & Henry (27-24). ETSU has also suffered a 56-16 home loss to Kennesaw State, a 47-7 loss at Charleston Southern, a 58-9 home loss to St. Francis and a 52-0 loss last week in Macon, Georgia to Mercer.

ETSU is giving up 53.25 points per game to Division I opponents. The Bucs have scored just eight points per game in those games. ETSU will try to slow down a Montana State offense averaging 43 points and 544 yards of total offense per outing.

QUICK HITS

Location: Johnson City, Tennessee

Mascot: Buccaneers

Conference: FCS independent — join the Southern Conference in 2016.

Founded: 1911. The fourth-largest college in the state of Tennessee is one of the top schools in the nation for rural medicine and primary care education. ETSU is also known for its pharmacy, nursing and public health programs. East Tennessee State also has a nationally acclaimed program for music majors with an emphasis in bluegrass, old times and country music. ETSU also features the nation’s lone master’s degree in storytelling.

Enrollment: The school had 14,952 undergraduate students and an endowment of $115 million.

Stadium: Kermit Tipton Stadium is a 6,600-seat stadium located at Science Hill High School in Johnson City. It is the temporary home for the Buccaneers. ETSU is averaging 7,497 fans per game during four home games this fall.

THE TEAM (0-6 overall, no conference)

ETSU head coach Carl Torbush

ETSU head coach Carl Torbush

Coach: Carl Torbush, who’s been the defensive coordinator at Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kansas, Texas A&M and North Carolina, was hired as the head coach at ETSU in June of 2013 in preparation for the first football season for the school since 2003 this fall. Torbush’s most successful years came at North Carolina, where he was the National Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 1996 and the Tar Heels’ head coach from 1998 until 2000. Torbush also served as the head coach at Louisiana Tech (1987) before coaching on Mack Brown’s UNC staff from 1988 until 1997. Torbush was Turner Gill’s defensive coordinator at Kansas before following Gill to Liberty last season.

THE OFFENSE

ETSU quarterback Austin Herink

ETSU quarterback Austin Herink

Austin Herink, quarterback, 6-3, 206, redshirt freshman — The Middle Tennessee State transfer is an in-state product from Cleveland who threw for more than 6,000 yards and 67 touchdowns in high school.

This season, Herink has completed 62 percent of his passes but is throwing for just 113 yards per game. He has thrown two touchdowns (ETSU has scored just nine on offense) and three interceptions. He has been sacked 13 times this season but has scored two rushing touchdowns.

Nick Sexton, a 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman, has also played in all six games. He is completing 42 percent of hiss passes for 57 yards per game. He has thrown one touchdown and six interceptions.

ETSU running back Jujuan Lankford

ETSU running back Jujuan Lankford

Jajuan Stinson, running back, 5-9, 182, redshirt freshman — Stinson has been the main ball carrier for a team that runs the ball nearly 60 percent of the time.

This fall, the former Tennessee special teams player of the year has rushed 61 times for 234 yards (3.8 yards per carry) and three touchdowns of EWUS’s six rushing touchdowns. He is averaging 47 of ETSU’s 122.7 yards per game rushing.

Cory Colder, Falon Lee and Tony Drew each have rushed for more than 100 yards all told this season.

Dalton Ponchilla, wide receiver, 5-11, 183, redshirt sophomore — Ponchilla played at Mercer during the 2013 season, catching eight passes for 72 yards. He transferred in the following off-season and sat out last season.

This season, he has accounted for more than 25 percent of ETSU’s passing offense. He has 15 catches (third on the team) for a team-leading 254 yards. He is averaging 16.9 yards per catch and has two of ETSU’s three receiving touchdowns.

THE DEFENSE

ETSU linebacker Dylan Weigel

ETSU linebacker Dylan Weigel

Dylan Weigel, linebacker, 6-0, 213, redshirt freshman — WEigel has been a bright spot on a defense surrendering 45 points, 425 yards and 215 rushing yards per game.

The former Tennessee first-team all-state selection has 66 tackles, including 42 solos stops and seven tackles for loss. He has forced one of ETSU’s three forced fumbles and recovered the only two the Bucs have secured.

Tavian Lott, cornerback, 5-11, 178, junior — Lott is a veteran on a defense otherwise highlighted by youth. Lott spent two seasons at Snow College before transferring to ETSU.

The former 3-star junior college recruit has broken up three passes (among the nine PBUs the Buccaneers have this season) and he has one of ETSU’s two interceptions.

Austin Gatewood, linebacker, 6-1, 221, redshirt freshman — The former Eastern Tennessee prep defensive player of the year is third on the Bucs with 27 tackles. He also leads the team in quarterback hurries (3) and has one of the team’s two interceptions.

Photos courtesy of East Tennessee State Athletics Department. All Rights Reserved.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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