For the nine seniors on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, Monday was their last "first" practice. For the 21 true freshmen, it was their first taste of working out with the full squad on Scrappy Moore Field.
They won't don shoulder pads until Wednesday and won't be in full pads until Friday, but they went through a two-hour practice that begins the lead-up to the season opener against Jacksonville State.
The Mocs had a solid first day Monday and go again at 6:30 this morning on the final day of summer-school classes.
"I thought we looked athletic out there," coach Russ Huesman said. "We're just in helmets, so I hope that the guys can remember what we taught them in the spring. Other than that, it's football, but it's not really football until they put their pads on, and you can't tell those things without pads on."
Derrick Crane runs the ball during the first day of football practice for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Monday was the first time that senior offensive lineman Synjen Herren participated in all parts of a practice since tearing a knee ligament during preseason camp last year. He did participate in a few of the spring drills but wasn't cleared 100 percent until this summer.
"I'm excited," said the Northwest Whitfield High School graduate. "Coming off the (Southern Conference championship) season we had last year, we're hoping to do better than that this year, and hopefully I can be a part of it. I had no limitations over the summer, and it's going to be nice to hit somebody finally. It's been a while, but I've tried to perfect my craft instead of worrying about hitting people."
For senior defensive lineman Josh Freeman, the full excitement of preseason camp won't come until the players go in full pads.
"It's still good getting back out with all the guys, and going through position work instead of running," he said. "For myself, the biggest thing to do now is to lead by example and show the younger guys how we work.
"Me and (junior) Keionta Davis, we're looked at as the leaders of the line, so we have to set the tone as to what we're going to accomplish every day, which is to go 100 percent."
UTC to visit LSU in 2017
UTC will play Southeastern Conference power LSU two years from now.
The game is set for Sept. 9, 2017, in Baton Rouge, La., and the Mocs will receive $500,000 for making the trip.
They play at Florida State this season, at Alabama in 2016 and at Kentucky in 2018 for comparable payouts.
"The money is huge. It's critical for our program," Huesman said recently. "It gives the players on campus an opportunity to go against programs they might have wanted to attend when they were growing up. It's important for them to get that opportunity, so it'll be cool. It'll be cool for the fans, and the game-day atmosphere is cool."
The programs have met once before, a 26-19 Tigers win in 1954.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.