Bryce Garcia was a late addition to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football roster. The junior transfer from Feather River College in California didn’t sign with UTC until early in the summer, and the 6-foot-4, 320-pounder was brought in primarily to add some experienced depth to the offensive line.
Saturday, he’ll make his first start when the Mocs host Cumberland in their home opener at Finley Stadium. Mocs coach Rodney Allison said he wasn’t satisfied with right tackle Robbie Elliott’s performance against Oklahoma last week, so the line will be shuffled a bit as Elliott goes out and Garcia enters the starting lineup.
Garcia, a Las Vegas native who’s easy to spot on the field because of the tattoo covering most of his left leg, will start at right guard instead of William Giles, who will slide over to left guard. T.J. Hurless, who made his first career start at left guard last week, will move over to right tackle, Allison said.
In other O-Line news, injured center Brian Heflin (back) continues to make progress and Allison is cautiously optimistic that the senior will be able to play this season.
Other random notes and observations:
— Defensive tackle Rodney Beamon is listed at 6-3, 320 pounds (he’s lost at least 20 pounds since the start of the preseason), and he showed Thursday that underneath all that mass is a pretty nimble athlete.
While the Mocs were working on punting from the end zone, Beamon, just joking around, lined up as the punt returner (who wasn’t part of the exercise). Beamon, standing just inside the 50, not only caught the punt but showed off some nifty moves as he pretended to take off on a return.
A few seconds later, he fired a frozen-rope spiral about 30 yards to assistant coach Jason McManus.
— Garcia won’t be the only newcomer making his first start Saturday. Brock Oliver, a walk-on freshman deep-snapper from Ooltewah, will also make his debut in place of Mitchell Meadows, a second-strong linebacker who had a bad snap against the Sooners that resulted in a safety.
Oliver snapped in the second half against Oklahoma and did an excellent job, punter Jeff Lloyd said after the game.
— The one player who worked the hardest during Thursday’s always light practice isn’t even going to play Saturday. Linebacker Steven Smigelsky has been out with a high ankle sprain for several weeks and is finally to the point where he can run and do some agility drills, which is what he did with his customary intensity Thursday.
The good news for the UTC defense is that Smigelsky, as well as cornerback Buster Skrine who has also been working hard to return from a knee injury, could be ready for next week’s game at Florida State.
At the end of practice, Smigelsky was fitted with one of the new ankle braces designed by UTC professor Gary Wilkerson — the same kind being worn by quarterback Jare Gault and linebacker Jarvis Newson.
For more Mocs coverage, see Friday’s Times Free Press.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
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