BIG PLAYS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL HIGHLIGHT FIRST SKYHAWK FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE OF CAMP

MARTIN, Tenn. – After seven days of productive practices through the first half of fall camp, the University of Tennessee at Martin football team turned up the intensity on Saturday afternoon by hosting the squad's first scrimmage.

Both teams showed glimpses of explosiveness as the Skyhawk offense threw for three touchdowns and rushed for another. Then on the defensive side, the blue squad combined to tally six sacks, four forced turnovers – including three interceptions and one fumble recovery – while also recording four pass breakups and a safety.

"There were a lot of positives today," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "I liked how we approached the day. They came out and competed while maintaining a professional mindset to get better. Now we start going a certain direction based on our personnel that has risen to the top. After that towards the end of the week we still start looking forward to our first opponent."

Gallery: (8-14-2021) Football Fall Scrimmage

Five touchdowns were scored on the day including the first touchdown coming on a 27-yard interception return by Tamel McCall early on. The offense then got on the board as freshman quarterback Josh Lundy led the third team down the field with a short pass to fellow freshman Sam Franklin who scampered down the right sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.

Another newcomer left an early mark as Memphis graduate transfer Tim Taylor pushed into the endzone off a four-yard carry. A little bit later it was Tulane graduate transfer quarterback Keon Howard who found Donnell Williams in the left corner of the endzone for a two-yard touchdown.

The defense made another stand with the offense pinned against their end zone as freshman Christian Dowell notched his second sack of the day – this time for a safety.

The afternoon's scoring ended in an overtime scenario as the tandem of Howard and Donnell Williams connected once again, this time for a 15-yard touchdown on third and long. With the second team defense looking to make a stand, recent Tennessee transfer Shawn Shamburger brought practice to a close with an interception in the endzone.

When the day came to a close the Skyhawk offense completed 27-of-46 pass attempts for 298 yards and three touchdowns while recording 37 carries for 54 yards and one touchdown. Howard proved to be a dual-threat at quarterback where he passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns while also tallying 21 rushing yards. Stewart Howell led the second team where he threw for 65 yards but tossed three interceptions. Lundy completed his day with 77 passing yards and one touchdown.

Taylor led the Skyhawk backfield featuring seven different ball carriers with a team-high 11 carries along with his rushing touchdown. Zak Wallace made the most of his four carries by posting a team-high 25 yards on the ground. Maryland transfer Jordan Castleberry tallied six carries for 20 yards.

Rodney Williams II paced the receiving core which saw 14 different receivers in the mix with a team-high five receptions for 32 yards. Donnell Williams finished the day with two receptions for 17 yards and two touchdowns while Colton Dowell also had two receptions – including a 59-yard reception from Howard to highlight a scoring drive.

Defensively the Skyhawks found contributions from 28 different players which made a tackle. The group was led by John Ford who notched a team-high seven tackles. The pair of Shamburger and Chris Hunter also posted big afternoons with five tackles and a pass breakup each.

Freshman Christian Dowell made a big impact on the defensive line with two sacks on the second team while the secondary trio of McCall, Shamburger and AJ Moss each recorded interceptions. The squad's fourth turnover came off a forced fumble by Austin Pickett which was scooped up by Korbin Harmon.

UT Martin is scheduled to hold five more practices this upcoming week before conducting its second scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 21.

Interviews

UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson

UT Martin offensive lineman Matthan Hatchie

UT Martin linebacker John Ford