Believe it or not, we are just 25 days away from the kick-off of the 2010 Chattanooga Mocs football season. Over the next three weeks, GoMocs.com will break down each area of the 2010 squad, leading up to one of the most anticipated home openers in school history against No. 3 Appalachian State on Sept. 4.
With the Mocs hitting the field in full pads for the first time today, we will first focus on the offensive line. This should be one of the strongest groups on the field in 2010. All five starters return, to go along with a solid corps of backups and some new faces that could be thrown into the mix.
"I have said this before, but I like our offensive line," stated Head Coach Russ Huesman. "I like them because it is important to them and they are hard workers. We have everybody back, so we should be better. We protected B.J. pretty well in the passing game, but we have to do a better job in the run game. I think we will. With Coach (Geep) Wade and Coach (Russ) Ehrenfeld, we now have two sets of eyes watching the offensive line and I think that is going to help. It certainly showed in the spring."
Senior Chris Harr (6-6, 260) leads a group of 17 linemen who are currently fighting for time on the field. He is No. 1 at left tackle and is joined on the first unit by seniors Justin Galyon (C - 6-4, 290) and T.J. Hurless (RG - 6-4, 295), junior Omre Harris (LT - 6-2, 290) and sophomore Adam Miller (RT - 6-4, 260). A total of nine returners have seen action during their careers while eight have made at least one start.
Harr was a second team All-SoCon selection in 2009 and is the only Moc on the offensive side of the ball to earn preseason First Team All-SoCon recognition from the league's coaches. Hurless started all 11 games last season while Galyon was on the starting line 10 times. Harris and Miller entered the first group at Presbyterian and started the final nine games of 2009.
"Three of us have been together for three years now, so it is just trust in the person beside you," said Galyon. "I think we have that. We have everybody back from last year and some good freshman coming up."
The Mocs did not allow a sack in any of the last four games of the season, a string of 176 pass plays. This streak includes a matchup against BCS Champion Alabama in the season finale. Starting QB B.J. Coleman has not been sacked since the Georgia Southern game on Oct. 17. He went the final 213 pass plays of the year without being sacked.
The Mocs' offensive line allowed only nine sacks in 2009. It was the second fewest sacks allowed in the SoCon and tied for 4th lowest number in the nation. "Returning all five starters, we are hoping to improve on that," stated Hurless. "It is really comfortable being able to play with the same guys and that should help us."
The second unit also has some experienced players, including sophomores Nick Gipson (G - 6-2, 290), Will Hewitt (G - 6-4, 290), Dustin Tate (T - 6-5, 280) and Austin Wilson (C - 6-3, 260). Gipson sat out last season with an injury after seeing action in four games as a freshman in 2008. Hewitt, Tate and Wilson all made at least one start during the 2009 campaign.
"Having five returning starters is great if they are good players and I think they are good players," added Huesman. "Eventually we are going to have to have eight to ten ready so when we substitute, the drop off is not significant."
Redshirt freshmen returning include Darien Brewer (T - 6-5, 255), Hunter Dockery (T - 6-4, 300), Irvin Hernandez (G - 5-10, 275) and Steven Nease (G - 6-0, 250). Dockery and Brewer have both worked with the second unit in fall camp.
Tyler Watson (6-3, 285) transferred to UTC after redshirting last season at MTSU. He joins four other freshmen, Devin Caldwell (6-5, 250), Taylor Dodds (6-5, 260), Chas Presnell (6-6, 265) and Patrick Sutton (6-1, 225) as the newcomers to the group. Caldwell has been rehabbing an injury up to this point in camp, but Dodds has also worked his way up to the second group.
"We are a year older, a year stronger and maybe in a little bit better shape," stated Huesman. "Again, when you have a group that you like a lot and are willing to work, you have a chance."
Cerebral Bunch - The offensive line has a lot of academic honors among its ranks. Miller, Tate and Wilson were all on the 2009 Academic All-SoCon team. Hernandez, Hewitt, Hurless, Miller and Nease made the Dean's List and were joined by Harr, Tate and Wilson on the Athletics Director's Honor Roll. Nease owns the highest g.p.a. on the team with a perfect 4.0.
Football Graduates - Five Mocs earned their degrees at the 2010 Summer Commencement on Saturday. Of the 45 Mocs in all sports who graduated during the 2009-10 academic year, 18 were from the football team. Football makes up about 33% of the student-athlete population at UTC, so having 40% of the graduates was an impressive accomplishment.
Practice Schedule - The Mocs practice on Wednesday, Aug. 11, has been moved to 7:45 a.m. at Scrappy Moore Field. Below is a schedule for the rest of the week, including the first scrimmage on Friday. All practices are at the newly renovated Murphy-Haugerud Football Practice Complex at Scrappy Moore Field, unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday - 7:45 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday - 7:45 a.m.
Thursday - 7:45 a.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Friday - 2:30 p.m. - Scrimmage at Finley Stadium.
