The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team returns home to face Mercer in Southern Conference action this weekend.  Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) in Finley Stadium on Saturday, March 27. 

A capacity limit of 5,000 fans is in place and tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com.  All seating is general admission with tickets start at $5 for youth and $10 for adults. 

UTC is up to No. 9 in this week's Stats Perform FCS Top 25.  The Mocs are 3-1 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play.  The Bears bring a 2-5 overall record and 2-2 mark in league action. 

The Mocs met with the local media on Tuesday in McKenzie Arena.  Below are excerpts and videos from today's press conference from head coach Rusty Wright, senior QB Drayton Arnold and junior LB Christian Snyder. 

Head Coach Rusty Wright
On the fans returning to Finley Stadium:
"I know it will be great for kids. I know they'll be excited about having people back and having an opportunity to play in front of someone. It does matter … It does matter that those guys. They want it as full as it could possibly be and have an opportunity to play in front of as many people as you can.

On the recent play of Tyrell Price:
"I think he's finally getting back to himself a little bit. In the run-scheme-type things we do, that offensive line and that one back have got to be in sync with one another. It took us a little while upfront to get used to blocking some things and doing some things because of the lack of doing things leading up to that.

"He's running with a purpose.  He is seeing things a little better than he did two weeks ago, three weeks ago when he first started.  Gino's doing the same thing. They're starting to rub with their shoulders down and leaning forward. We're not getting stalemated as much, we're falling forward for another yard or two and that's always good. It's always good to have a kid like TP around. It's a guy that's been a good player in this league. He is getting back to being healthy. I think his body's feeling as good as it can right now. It's better than it was six, seven months ago for sure.

"I think he's trusted it now. Coming off that knee surgery, I think he trusts playing and doing that. You can tell he is playing with a little confidence. We're blocking things better too, which helps."

On being a top 10 team halfway through the spring season:
"I think we have an opportunity to be a good football team. I don't know if I'm surprised. You watch these games on Saturday and then go back and watch everybody in the league on Sunday, it's not clean football. It's just not.  I don't get too excited about it, I don't get too down about it. I just think we're playing football right now.

"I think the one thing we are doing as a program is learning how to win. Which goes a long way. We've won a game in overtime when we didn't play our best. We won a game at the end that we probably played pretty good, just didn't finish it. I think that's the one thing our guys are learning is that you got to keep playing, you got to give yourself an opportunity to win football games. Whether it's the last play of the game, or we got to go play a couple more after it's over. That's the one thing I hope out of all this craziness - I don't care where we end up and all that - I think that's the one thing we learned moving forward, that will help grow this program.  Winning is contagious, just like losing is."



Drayton Arnold – Sr.-QB
On the upcoming game with Mercer:
"They're a good team, very talented. We've got to come out and take care of business. They have a lot of guys with experience."

On recent play of RBs Tyrell Price and Gino Appleberry:
"[Tyrell Price] got injured in 2019 unfortunately. He looks great, like he hasn't been injured at all. He and Gino. They run the ball hard and take care of the football. Being able to hand the ball off to them is pretty easy for me."

On the play of the defense:
"As an offense, being able to rely on your defense is a big thing. We're able to do that. You can always count on them to make plays. They did that for us all day Saturday. Hopefully they can do that again."

On not getting down after a tough game:
"You prepare as well as you can and sometimes the performances don't go your way. That's part of the position and part of life. I'm not mad, I'm not upset about it. I'm glad I got to wake up this morning and do what I love to do. I'll continue to have that attitude. We play Mercer this week and that's what I'm focused on. Regardless of the outcome, my approach stays the same."

On fans returning to Finley Stadium:
"It's awesome. The fact that they're finally able to watch us play is big for us. It'll add another element to the game. Having them finally be able to watch us is really exciting."



Christian Snyder – Jr.-LB
On holding Furman to under 200 yards:
"We all go in with the expectation of doing that. That's what we need to do, regardless of what happens, we expect to play to the best of our ability."

On the play of Kam Jones:
"He's a very hard worker, very energetic person. Comes with a passion every day and every game. It's exciting to watch."

On fans coming to the game:
"It definitely impacts the game, but like I said, we just have to keep focusing on ourselves and that'll bring energy in itself. You play for team around you, your teammates, and the brother next to you…. at the end of the day that's what you're doing it for."

On how much fun he's having this season:
"Obviously playing football in the spring is unique. We have an opportunity to go out there and play football, and that's all you can ask for. We play football, we go to school, and we love to do it. We might as well take advantage of the opportunity that we have."