GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College football team will be hosting its annual Spring Game this Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on the Greeneville campus at the football practice complex. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend.

Head coach Frankie DeBusk has just completed his 17th season at the helm of the Pioneer football program, where he has amassed 92 victories, which are the most in Tusculum history and the third most in South Atlantic Conference history.

The Pioneers are slated to return 13 starters from last year's 6-5 squad that won five of its last six games to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference.

On defense, TC returns seven starters from a team that limited the opposition to 26.8 points per game, an improvement of almost two touchdowns per contest from a year before (37.5 ppg). The Pioneers closed out 2014 with a four-game winning streak as the defense allowed 18 points per contest.

The Pioneers will be without the services of its top-two tacklers in All-America defensive end Caushaud Lyons (89 tackles, 19 TFL, 9 sacks) and All-Conference safety LiRonta Archie (76 tackles).

TC does return 2014 SAC Defensive Freshman of the Year L'Keith Brown and rising sophomore linebacker Brandyn Bartlett. Bartlett finished third on the team with 75 tackles, including three for loss, one sack and two forced fumbles, while Brown accounted for 70 stops with five hits for loss and a forced fumble.

Offensively, Tusculum brings back its top three rushers, top-two receivers and the 2014 team-leader in passing yards.

Rising sophomore quarterback Malcolm Pendergrass is back after making eight starts under center in 2014 where he passed for 1,393 yards with nine touchdowns. He also finished as the team's third-leading rusher with 298 yards and a touchdown. Rising senior Cameron Tallent is also back seeing action in six games a year ago.

All-America receiver Justin Houston led the Pioneers again in receiving yards (643) and receptions (66). The rising senior is already the program's all-time leader in catches (216), while his 2,383 receiving yards and 3,563 all-purpose yards are both fourth-most in TC history.

Rising junior wideout Ken Funnye finished second on the team with 44 receptions and third with his 464 yards, including two touchdown grabs.

Greeneville native D.J. Haney is back after leading Tusculum rushers with 566 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie campaign. Rising junior Fernando Smith was second on the team with 512 rushing yards on 116 carries, including eight rushing touchdowns.

Tusculum is also slated to return redshirt sophomore running back Isaac Robinson, who missed the 2014 season due to injury. Robinson was TC's rushing leader in 2013 as he ran for 647 yards and eight touchdowns, while gaining six yards per carry.

The Pioneers will open the 2015 season on Sept. 5th at the University of Virginia's College at Wise.

- TC -