Tom Arth knew it wouldn't be easy.
By stepping in for former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Russ Huesman, Arth knew he wasn't moving into a new situation because the former coach had failed. Huesman won 59 games in eight years at his alma mater, helped the Mocs earn three Southern Conference championships and led them to three straight appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, winning a game each time.
But after last season, the Mocs were devoid of experience. There was talent on the roster, but it was mostly unproven. Five All-Americans had to be replaced, with seniors moving on and being replaced by freshmen. Plus, with new schemes being introduced and Arth and his coaching staff trying to implement their style, growing pains were expected.
A pro-style offense was installed. The team moved to a 3-4 front for its defensive base. Making such changes has been a pain, but players and coaches said they have seen improvements from day one to week one to week three. After an 0-3 start, UTC believes better results are on the horizon.
"When you start out the way you start out, it's easy to point fingers. It's coaches, it's players, it's people on the outside," Arth said. "It's easy to point fingers, but what we've talked about is that the fingers shouldn't be pointing out. The only way we're going to affect any type of change and be better is if we point at ourselves. What can we do individually to contribute to improving?"
While some of those who contributed to the success under Huesman have departed, some remain, and it's understandably difficult for them to endure such a start to the season.
Still, Arth said "our players understand that it is a learning process and there's an opportunity for us where maybe things haven't gone quite as well and it hasn't been as easy as it's been in the past for them. But I think they realize there's an opportunity for us to become better and to reach new heights in the program once we put it all together and once we're playing the way we're capable of."
Still, the stench of losses to fifth-ranked Jacksonville State, No. 24 UT-Martin and 25th-ranked LSU of the Football Bowl Subdivision and Southeastern Conference have been frustrating. Arth has preached progress, and while it's been tough to see on Saturdays, the Mocs say it's there.
"I feel like we're all still learning," defensive tackle Isaiah Mack said. "We hadn't played this defense, and some guys are just now getting an opportunity to play in college, or we have freshmen coming in and playing - and this ain't high school football no more.
"We're still trying to learn, but we're coming closer to learning and mastering everything we want to do, especially on defense, because we don't just want to play the 3-4. We want to master the 3-4."
It's easy to understand any disappointment the Mocs are feeling. Even beyond their record, they are averaging a Southern Conference-worst 50 rushing yards per game and only 228.7 yards of total offense through three contests.
But backing Mack's point, only 10 players on the active roster have started at least 10 games in their career. UTC's current top passer (Nick Tiano), top rusher (Darrell Bridges) and top receiver (Joseph Parker) were on different rosters last year. Bridges and Richardre Bagley, the team's most versatile offensive threat, have missed game time with injuries. Most of the offensive line is new to the rotation, having never played in college.
As a result, the Mocs have been focused on getting better and letting the final product speak for itself.
"We haven't got out to the start we wanted to, but I definitely think we've made strides every game," center Josh Cardiello said. "A lot of people don't see the film the way we watch it, so to a fan's eye it looks different than it looks to us. So while some of the pains show up, they're easy fixes.
"I definitely think as an O-line we can play better. It's tough when you've got three guys that haven't really played many meaningful snaps - and a couple that haven't played any - so it's tough to go out and play as one unit whereas last year, we'd all played together the prior season, so we jelled pretty well. We're working towards that, and I just think we've got to get better in that area where we're playing as one instead of five different positions.
"I just know that there's a lot of potential on this team, and I definitely think that things are going to start going the right way."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.