ETSU Football hosts first scrimmage of the preseason

Published 4:46 pm Monday, August 14, 2023

JOHNSON CITY – After opening camp with nine practices, the ETSU football team held its first scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday afternoon inside William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.

The Bucs totaled 490 yards on 79 plays, which included 329 rushing yards and 161 yards through the air.

Five Buccaneer quarterbacks took snaps with Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Fla.) leading the charge … Riddell was 12-of-14 for 122 yards and two touchdowns … The Tampa native also had a 26-yard rushing touchdown … Drew Gregg (Newport, Tenn.) threw the other touchdown as he found Josh Purcell (Knoxville, Tenn.) for a 17-yard score.

Riddell’s first touchdown was a 7-yard strike to Will Huzzie (Duluth, Ga.), while he later hit Xavier Gaillardetz (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for a 26-yard touchdown.

On the ground, Adrian Johnson (Hendersonville, Tenn.) had five carries for 115 yards, including a 65-yard scoring run … Freshman Torey Lambert (New Orleans, La.) led all the backs with 13 carries, totaling 54 yards … Redshirt freshman Amir Dendy (Anderson, S.C.) had 11 rushes for 34 yards … Fellow running back Bryson Irby (Douglasville, Ga.) saw five carries for 20 yards and was never hit behind the line of scrimmage … Irby also had one catch for nine yards and Dendy brought in one catch for 10 yards.

Eleven different Bucs hauled in at least one catch with Gaillardetz pacing the receiving corps as he finished with three receptions for 45 yards and the one score. Tommy Winton III (Knoxville, Tenn.), Trey Foster (Knoxville) and Huzzie each had two receptions … Winton’s highlight came on a 20-yard catch from Riddell on the Bucs’ first scoring drive.

ETSU’s defense generated 74 tackles (60 solo), 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble and an interception.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Tyree Rainey (Donalsonville, Ga.) recorded the Buccaneer turnover as he intercepted a pass off Gregg in the end zone … Rainey also finished with four tackles and one tackle for loss.

Freshman linebacker Ray Coney (Fairfield, Ohio) and freshman defensive lineman Blake Howard (Cincinnati, Ohio) each had one sack … Coney was one of four players to notch five tackles, including two for a loss … Cameron Garnett (Harlem, Ga.), Sheldon Arnold II (Loganville, Ga.) and Trevor Thompson (Vinton, Va.) were the other Buccaneers to finish with five tackles.

Junior defensive back Chris Hope (Madison, Ala.) added four tackles (one TFL), while senior linebacker Stephen Scott (Greensboro, N.C.) totaled four hits (three solo).

Nate Brackett (Rockwood, Tenn.) averaged 51 yards per punt as his two attempts resulted in 102 yards … Brackett had a long of 56 yards and landed one inside the 20-yard line.

Trace Kelley (Gallatin, Tenn.) and Esteban Mendoza (Erwin, Tenn.) each had one punt, while Kelley made ETSU’s lone field goal– a 33-yard attempt.

Ewan Johnson (Knoxville, Tenn.) was 3-for-3 on extra-points and Kelley made the other PAT.

Tickets for the 2023 football season are currently on-sale and can be purchased by calling 423-439-3878 or visiting ETSUTickets.com