Pioneer Football Adds Three More Signees

(GREENEVILLE, TENN.)---Tusculum College head football coach Frankie DeBusk has announced that three more student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play for the Pioneers next season. TC has now signed 14 players in this year's recruiting crop.

Jarvis Smith, a 6-1, 255 pound fullback, is a transfer from East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. Smith was an
All-Mississippi Conference selection and played in the state all-star game. He is a native of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee and is one of the all-time leading rushers in Hamilton County history after his Soddy-Daisy High career.

"Jarvis has tremendous speed and hands for his size," said East Central head coach Willie Coats. "We're excited that he will continue his career at the next level and I believe that he will do a great job at Tusculum."

The Pioneers also will add a pair of high school players to the fold. Preston Austin threw for 1,174 yards as a senior at South Caldwell
High School in Hudson, North Carolina. The quarterback passed for 21 touchdowns during his final two seasons as a Spartan and rushed for seven
more.

Linebacker Jeff Wheeless of Upson-Lee, Georgia will also become a Pioneer in 1999. Wheeless is earned all-district honors and the 6-0, 210 linebacker could be a valuable special teams performer for the Pioneers.

DeBusk stated that his staff was not finished with the recruiting process. "We've signed a lot of our top targets, but we are still trying to sign a few players that would be valuable for our program."

Spring practice for the Pioneers begins on March 15. The 1999 campaign is tentatively scheduled to begin with a Thursday night home
special versus Livingstone on September 2.

3/4/99

TC Releases Tentative Football Schedule

(Greeneville, Tenn.)--Athletic director Ed Hoffmeyer and head football coach Frankie DeBusk have tentatively released the 1999 Tusculum College football schedule. The 11-game slate features five contests at Pioneer Field and a full slate of games against South Atlantic Conference foes.

Non-conference opponents Livingstone, Charleston Southern, and Jacksonville round out the Pioneer ledger. The Pioneers open the campaign September 2 with a Thursday night home special against Livingstone. The Bears have won two straight Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and went 7-3 in 1998. Eight consecutive league games will follow before TC closes the season with back-to-back games versus Division I-AA members Charleston Southern and Jacksonville.

The schedule features six games against teams that finished last season with winning marks, including NCAA Division II runner-up Carson-Newman and 8-3 Presbyterian. "It's obviously a tough schedule," stated DeBusk. "We played all of the SAC opponents last year and we know how tough they all are. Every week will be a big challenge."

TC narrowly missed a winning campaign during the 1998 season and returns plenty of starters from last season's 5-6 squad. Spring practice begins March 15.

1999 Pioneer Football Schedule
Sept. 2 Livingstone
Sept. 11 Catawba
Sept. 18 at Lenoir-Rhyne
Sept. 25 at Carson-Newman
Oct. 2 Presbyterian
Oct. 9 at Mars Hill
Oct. 16 Newberry
Oct. 23 at Wingate
Oct. 30 at Gardner-Webb
Nov. 6 at Charleston Southern
Nov. 13 Jacksonvillle

Note: All times and dates are tentative.

3/4/99