UTC helmets are seen during spring football practice at Scrappy Moore Field on Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Tom Arth learned a lot about his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team during its first two-a-day set of practices Saturday.
His defense seems to have quickly adjusted to the new 3-4 front, but his offense still has a way to go.
The defense dominated a 20-minute team session of the afternoon practice at Scrappy Moore Field, the team's first full day in pads after the acclimation period. Sophomore K.J. Roper and redshirt freshman Elijah Pankey intercepted passes, and the defenders flew around and made plays throughout the 90-minute practice.
The morning's practice was focused primarily on third-down situations, both short and long. About "75-80" percent of the practice was devoted to third downs, Arth said, and he felt the players reacted well to the new stuff that was installed.
"There are a lot more adjustments, a lot more variety and complexity in the call," he said. "There are a lot more exotic-type things in how we play on both sides, but our players responded really well to it.
"Third down is when people start to separate, because it's such a critical part of the game. I told those guys before practice, every single third down that comes up in a game is an impact play. If you get off the field, you made an impact on the game. You convert a third down offensively, that's an impact play, so understanding how important those situations are for our players and how much emphasis we'll put on it and how often we'll practice it is important."
Although the defense got the better of the second session, the offense did have some highlights. Alphonso Stewart had some catches turn into long gainers, as did Dy'Kari Hickey and Dejuan McQuarters. Tight ends Malcolm Colvin, Bailey Lenoir and Jack Keebler were effective in pass-catching as well, while Richardre Bagley broke untouched through the line for a couple of long runs.
"We just wanted to get out there and rep some plays," Arth said. "As we advance, we'll go unscripted at times to prepare for game-like situations, but what we saw today, we saw the defense come out and put it together. I felt they took a real big step forward; they communicate so much better, adjusted to the offensive formations and motions and matched patterns really, really well this afternoon.
"I would say they dominated the practice in a lot of ways, but what I saw from the offense was a willingness to fight. There was never a point when they got down on anybody else - they just kept playing the next play. It's a learning experience for everybody, every day, every situation, but overall I'm very pleased with our growth from practice one to practice four."
The Mocs are off until Wednesday evening, the first of four practices for the week.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.