Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess
Buy this photo »
UT quarterback B.J. Coleman launches a pass during a spring practice and scrimmage on Saturday (April 4, 2009) at Neyland Stadium.
In a decision that has been widely expected for several days, former McCallie School quarterback B.J. Coleman made it official Wednesday night by confirming to the Times Free Press that he will sign scholarship papers with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Thursday.
Coleman, who left the University of Tennessee program two weeks ago, had spoken with several other teams before deciding to return home. He was in Knoxville on Wednesday but planned to return to Chattanooga Thursday morning to sign the paperwork and there is a 2:30 press conference scheduled today at McCallie.
“I’m excited,” Coleman said. “I think there are big things coming for the UTC program with this new staff, and I can’t wait to be a part of it and just get back to concentrating on football.”
Continue reading at the The Chattanooga Times Free Press..
UT's new $45 million football…
Images from Larry Murphy's book on…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group at Neyland Stadium. ){kind=link}
Comments » 76
bspurlingcac#225603 writes:
Good luck Mr Coleman. Go Vols!!!
NTNSTY writes:
Congratulations B.J. - GL
gnm53108 writes:
I'll second that.
Good luck BJ.
UTVolAlum writes:
Good luck to BJ Coleman!
With as much publicity as the Chattanooga Times gave the kid you would have thought he would be signing with USC or Oklahoma.
He was a 3rd string QB with the Fulmer regime and the new coaching staff agreed.
Things worked out well for BJ Coleman who will now be playing at UTC rather than sitting the bench for two more years at Tennessee.
UTandETSUfan writes:
Too bad they have a postseason ban next year, no playoffs for him. Good luck though BJ
Fossilfiction writes:
Good luck and goodbye.
give_him_6 writes:
Well, he was covered in the Times-Free Press cause he was a hometown kid. And he owns the passing records in town. So that covers that. As far as him sitting th ebench for 2 more years in Knoxville, we'll never know how that would have worked out. And if I need to remind you, at the end of last season, we didn't really have a number 1, 2 or 3. Kiff wanted to play games and is chasing a bigger QB fish for next season. BJ was tired of coaches playing games. So, you are right, he can now play.
Congrats BJ!!!!!!!
Go Vols
borovol1956 writes:
Of course he will sign there. He should have done that in the first place. He never was and never will be a "big time" QB but the could do quite well at UTC. The world has a way of getting things right.
PepperGrinder (Inactive) writes:
“I think there are big things coming for the UTC program with this new staff, and I can’t wait to be a part of it and just get back to concentrating on football.”
Really? You should have just showed some patience and maturity and stuck with UT. There is nothing big going on at UTc.
Redbone writes:
Who cares? Good Riddance. Probably should have signed there in the first place. A place more on the level of his ability.
belayvol writes:
And next year, he goes to Duke who had no place for him this year. Good luck BJ.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Maybe he'll grab the brass ring in Chatt.
campvol#212157 writes:
Good Luck BJ.
pms151 writes:
Just another QB with an overblown ego. He was not worth the scholarship. Methinks there is at least one more lurking in knoxville.
NoogaVol55 writes:
Do you really think the post season ban matters? With or without him...UTC is bottom of the southern conference.
Whatever makes you happy I guess.
EarlyReader writes:
Wednesday May 6, 2009
Chattanooga football program fails academic review
BETH RUCKER
Associated Press Writer
Chattanooga's football team must improve its academic standing in the upcoming year, or the Mocs could lose their Division I membership for all sports.
The Mocs are already facing a postseason ban in football for the 2009-10 season because of consistently poor scores in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate, which measures academic eligibility, retention and graduation.
Chattanooga associate athletic director Laura Herron said the school began focusing on its APR scores only after the hiring of athletic director Rick Hart in 2006, but the football program had already dug a deep hole by that point.
"We can't do anything about the first three bad scores. We improve year to year and we'll get out of this cycle," Herron said. "We really hope this coming academic year, the one upcoming, will get us out of the penalties for the APR. Then we continue to keep improving and get out of the historical penalty rate."
The scores released Wednesday are calculated based on data from the fall semester in 2004 through the spring semester in 2008. Each athlete receives one point per semester for remaining academically eligible and another point each semester for remaining at that school or graduating.
A mathematical formula is used to correlate a final team score, with 1,000 points being perfect. Teams that fall below 925 can be subjected to immediate penalties. Those falling below 900 consistently, such as Chattanooga football, can be hit with the harshest sanctions.
In the state of Tennessee, 23 Division I athletic teams scored below a 925 APR - the equivalent of a 60 percent graduation success rate under the formula. Five of those teams averaged below 900 for the four-year span, the equivalent of a 45 percent graduate success rate.
CoachFulmer writes:
Here comes the Mocs complete domination over the Southern Conference.
GO VOLS!
StroVol writes:
BJ definitely won't contribute to the Academic problems at UTC.
GreenDevilVol writes:
Very,Very good point TCHDWN10C !!!
NobodyCares (Inactive) writes:
I think young Mr. Coleman is an excellenet example of the Peter Principle as defined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1968 book "The Peter Principle." He was wise to fall back to his acceptable level of competence.
smokymtman writes:
I still say he wasn't half as bad a QB as Crompton!!!!!!!
b_neas writes:
now he can be just like terrell owens!!!!
SignalMtnVol writes:
A lot of people slamming BJ for going to UTC.
"Heh BJ, if you thought you were good enough to start at UT and slammed LK on your way out the door, then why is the best you could do lowly UT Chattanooga?"
Anyone ever think that it may be best for him to go somewhere and play for a year, than go to another school and sit out for a year? Look, BJ could have handled it better, but what's done is done. How many people here have left a job to pursue other career options? I'd say every single person on here, or we'd all still be working where we did when we were teenagers.
dvhill100 writes:
Check your ego at the door and do well. Good luck.
JayTee writes:
I'll bet daddy put the pressure on BJ to leave UT and play for the MOCS because of the friendship with the coach.
I only hope he makes it into pro football because his degree from UTC won't open many doors in the real world.
What a waste.
Mr_Bandman writes:
No time for diaper changing in the new regime...
3ballvol writes:
why go there? They are freaking horrible! Hometown or not they suck.
Misplaced_Vol_in_KC writes:
I agree with the hometown coverage, that should happen. As for the next 2 years not knowing what would happen, I agree too because BJ quit. As far as Kiffin playing games, I always thought the head coach is the one in control, not an egotistical kid. If he thought he was the best, he should have stayed and earned it. I really don't believe Kiffin thinks any of his QBs will scare off a top QB recruit.
gbeejr#1354500 writes:
My guess is that Coach Cut thought it would be best for BJ to get some actual playing time at UTC so in theory he would be more prepared to play when he transfers to Duke next year. Afterall, quitting on something you started is second hand nature for BJ. Now if BJ lays an egg at UTC then off bets are off. GO VOLS!
gwbask writes:
I wish the young man the best. But by quitting, he will never know how far he could of gone or reached his full potential. He will never know if he could of been #1.
KENVOL writes:
I'm not sure why everyone is bashing BJ. He was our best hope at QB. There is NO ONE on the team any better. So if he is that bad then God help us next year at QB. This is not to say he is a great QB but we do not have a great QB. But I think he was the best that we had. I just think CLK had other things in mind and BJ didn't fit the plans. I wish the kid well and hope and pray that one of our QB's left will decide to actually play this year.
VOLinDAWGland writes:
I graduated from UTC and have lived in Atlanta for many years now. Unless things have improved, UTC was just a terrible football town. They made some noise and have a nice facility for basketball, but the football program didn't have much of a pulse. Perhaps BJ can breathe some life into it. I know BJ is running out of time in terms of sitting out a year if he went to a Bowl Subdivision school, but certainly he could do better than UTC. I guess he'd prefer to be a big fish in a small pond.
I always thought he was a good 2nd QB recruit and was waiting for the top one to get come on, but never did. He wasn't a top shelf QB recruit for a program with ambitions to be at the top of the SEC.
miamiVOL writes:
hahaha, thats great
givehim6 writes:
Good luck BJ. You will be back in your nice warm nest now, and you can be the home town hero again too.
GreerVol22 writes:
still thim him better off at ETSU.
PaulTheVol writes:
With luck this will be the last time we hear of him and the small-town Chattanooga media.
matrosscbc writes:
Name the last big time QB we have had...........
UrbanStopCallingMe writes:
I hope he gets the starting spot, if not he will be transferring to Volunteer State Community College AKA "Harvard by the highway".
StroVol writes:
If that Mockingbird don't sing, Momma gonna buy you a.........
UrbanStopCallingMe writes:
I didn't quit on BJ, he quit on me.
panties4tebow writes:
I heard they are renaming the swamp to Felons Stadium/Panties Field, any truth to this?
IndianOutlaw writes:
A question. I am confused. Chattanooga, they get upset when you call the UT Chatt or UTC, can't go to the playoffs next year because Academic issues. I thought that Chattanooga students were superior to us common UTK,UTM or UT Memphis folks. What caused this?
tino2009 writes:
Good luck, good bye...
CBS SPORTS
Centenary men's hoops, UT-Chattanooga football get bans
http://www.cbssports.com/general/stor...
shoalcreekvol writes:
Beej (as he calls himself) can live at home and have Mommy tuck him into bed now. Daddy will drive him to the field (can't call it a stadium) and oversee practice to make sure that the coaches give Beej all the reps and that the other players all high-five Beej after each play.
This clown went out of his way to make the case that quitting is the best thing for him b/c, in his own arrogant words, "he couldn't have had a better spring" and he deserves to be the starter at a major SEC school, and it was NEVER about him getting attention or being treated as special.
Too bad he undercut his own argument when he signed with one of the worst 1-AA schools in the country, and one that has a post-season ban, just because it was "hometown" and he would get the attention that he obviously wants (see press conference at UTc for confirmation). So in the end it was all about wanting to be patted on the head and told how special he is...
Between prima donnas like TO and BJ, I say we should institute a ban on recruiting players from Chattanooga who have initials for first names.
shoalcreekvol writes:
Erik Ainge is in the NFL;
Casey Clausen was a terrific stone-cold college QB;
Tee Martin won a national championship;
Peyton Manning is, well Peyton Manning;
Heath Shuler was a great college QB who was the #2 overall draft pick...
Ironcity writes:
Lets face facts, the kid wants to play foorball and their was no guarentee he would do anything more then mop up at UT. I for one wish he would have stayed, but I don't blame him if he believes he was not going to play.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you.
NoMoreWooAfterGoodOleRockyTop writes:
“I didn’t just quit. I didn’t just walk out."
Can someone please explain what "quit" and "walk out" means to BJ?
jasonn1970 writes:
I've yet to see any evidence there are any SEC QBs in Knoxville. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong come September. I'm hoping CLK can recruit a few.....
StroVol writes:
It means no First team snaps, no playing time and no fu..ing fun = no choice.
thevoice writes:
Good luck BJ. Thanks for your time at UT. You're a good kid.
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.