Tom Arth unpleased with Thursday practice, wants Mocs to finish spring strong

UTC head football coach Tom Arth, right, talks with quarterback Alejandro Bennifield during UTC's spring football game day at Finley Stadium on Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. This year's spring game was an open practice followed by a 40 minute scrimmage.
UTC head football coach Tom Arth, right, talks with quarterback Alejandro Bennifield during UTC's spring football game day at Finley Stadium on Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. This year's spring game was an open practice followed by a 40 minute scrimmage.

Tom Arth wasn't pleased with Thursday's practice.

And the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach let his players know he wasn't pleased with their effort.

"There is no Keionta Davis next year! There is no Corey Levin!" Arth said as the team came together for a post-practice huddle. "There is no Derrick Craine! There is no Nakevion Leslie!"

Arth rattled off the names of some other departed players, such as offensive linemen Jacob Revis and Hunter Townson, before saying, "It's all about you!"

His message was delivered to the entire team, but it could have been directed right at the rising seniors. Thursday's practice - the 13th and next-to-last of the spring - wasn't their best. There were some good moments, including a short pass from Alejandro Bennifield to Richardre Bagley on a crossing route that Bagley took nearly untouched for a score, but there were a number of bad moments.

And with only next Tuesday afternoon's practice remaining, Arth wanted to make sure the Mocs don't lose focus right at the end of their first spring under the new coaching staff.

"I just don't think we're tough enough," Arth said. "I'm not speaking physically, but mentally. We don't have a lot of mental toughness. I've seen it.

"Guys play hard when it's convenient for them. When it's tough, it's hot, it's getting towards the end of spring ball, you start seeing chinks in the armor starting to show, and we've just got to make sure they understand it's not acceptable - and they know that, because they've told me that. It's coming out of their mouth, and we're not going to let them have those moments, because that's what costs you games.

"That's what costs you losses to teams you should never lose to, and we can't be that type of program."

It wasn't the first time the staff has challenged the players this spring, which has typically yielded solid results the next practice. It may not even take that long - a number of players stayed to do additional work after practice ended Thursday.

Defensive lineman D.J. Prather said it's up to the seniors to do a better job of leading.

"If we lead, everybody will follow and everything will take care of itself," he said.

Alphonso Stewart, who has been one of the team's leaders through camp, said the message should "get you fired up," and that's something players must take into the final practice.

"It ignites something in you," Stewart said, "to not necessarily prove them wrong, but to just push to fill that gap, because it is such a big gap that's left the team, so it drives you to work a little bit harder, to push a little bit harder.

"Now we've got to do something over our own to prepare for that next practice, because this is a long break. We've got to keep working on our off days so when we come back we'll have the practice we need to have to jump-start our way into the offseason."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.

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