There are no excuses for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line this season. Not with all five starters and several experienced backups returning.
"I think there's a lot higher standards for us this year," center Justin Galyon said.
Nine of the Mocs' linemen have started at least one game in their careers. Entering their third season as starters are the senior trio of Galyon, right guard T.J. Hurless and preseason first-team All-Southern Conference left tackle Chris Harr.
Hurless and Harr have started every game the past two seasons, and Galyon has started all but one. Right tackle Adam Miller started the final nine games last season, as did left guard Omre Harris.
"Last year we were subpar running the ball, and having everybody back it's kind of been the mentality, especially from the starters, that we've got to get the ball rolling running-wise," Hurless said. "And protection, we want to improve on that as well - keep [quarterback B.J. Coleman] standing.
"We expect great things out of the five of us."
The linemen have proven themselves as pass protectors. Last season they allowed just nine sacks, third-fewest in the nation, and didn't surrender any in the final four games.
In the run game, however, there has been a lot of room for improvement. The Mocs averaged just 85 rushing yards per game last season. While the responsibility for that meager number doesn't rest solely with the five blockers, clearly something wasn't working right.
One way coach Russ Huesman went about getting better on the ground was by hiring Geep Wade, a former Mocs center who had worked with UTC offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield at UT-Martin.
Wade is coaching the tackles and tight ends. Russ Ehrenfeld, a former Mocs guard, is coaching the guards and centers.
"Not that Coach Ehrenfeld didn't do a good job, but there's five guys there and it's hard for one set of eyes to make corrections during the course of practice," Huesman said. "It's hard to coach 22 people by yourself, and that's why Geep's here and that's why we split it up. And so far it looks like it's paid dividends, but we'll see."
Harris is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery and should be ready for the Sept. 4 season opener against No. 3 Appalachian State. If he's not, Dustin Tate - who started two games at right tackle in 2009 - likely will get the start.
The line will be put to the test against the Mountaineers, who have two preseason first-team all-conference players in defensive ends Jabari Fletcher and Lanston Tanyi.
"The [defensive ends] at App are a little bit heavier, which means we're going to have to hunker down a little bit, but they're not as quick," Wade said. "They've got some explosion about them with a lot more weight behind them, so we've got our work cut out for us."
The Mocs have two very good ends as well, in preseason second-team all-conference sophomore Josh Williams and Tennessee transfer Chris Donald. Practicing against UTC's defense, Galyon said, is making all the offensive linemen better.
"I think the defense we've got in front of us our here on the practice field right now is one of the best in the SoCon, too, so it's been a good thing having them out here challenging us every day," Galyon said. "I think they're just as good as anybody we have out there, and that's helped us out tremendously."
Extra points
Wide receiver Joel Bradford (knee), tight end Garrett Hughes (shoulder), running back Keon Williams and defensive tackle Nick Craig (foot) all participated in some aspects of practice Thursday. ... The Mocs will practice today, take Saturday off and then dive into their Appalachian State preparations Sunday.