Wiedmer: UTC football coach Rusty Wright lets Mocs know he won't tolerate them doing the wrong thing

UTC football coach Rusty Wright gives instructions during a spring practice in March. Wright has added three players to the roster for his first season in charge of the Mocs.
UTC football coach Rusty Wright gives instructions during a spring practice in March. Wright has added three players to the roster for his first season in charge of the Mocs.

It was late in the afternoon of April 15 and new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Rusty Wright was about to address his Mocs as a single unit for the last time before sending them off to exam week and a brief summer vacation.

Standing on one of the school's athletic fields that's adjacent to Engel Stadium, Wright told his team: "Enjoy your time off. Don't enjoy it too much."

On Tuesday, Wright having just dismissed three players for a "violation of team rules," the whole world found out what enjoying your time off a bit too much can get you.

And that's a good thing.

Being a college head coach of any sport is a difficult assignment these days, whether that sport be football or fishing, soccer or softball, basketball or bowling. Kids are kids, even if most of them are technically old enough to vote and join the military.

Because of that they're going to make mistakes, and when they do, some punishment for those mistakes may encourage them not to make those same mistakes again. Call it tough love.

Though no one may ever come forward to explain what the mistake or mistakes were that cost rising senior linebacker Ian Hayes, redshirt freshman cornerback Jhaeden Smith and redshirt freshman tight end Logan Pitts their spots on the Mocs, everyone in the UTC football program now knows that bad decisions will have serious consequences.

In this case, very serious consequences.

To return to the news release announcing the dismissals, Wright's quote was as follows: "Everybody on our team is clear on what the rules are. These three young men knew the rules, and they know they violated them. I can promise you it's never best for the team to lose three players from the roster, but there's also a standard that our players are held to, and that we're going to live by, and we're not going to sacrifice doing things the right way for anybody."

He also said in the release: "It should be understood that we can't go about our daily business making the wrong decision, and our guys know they're held to a higher standard."

When it comes to athletes, a higher standard should be the only standard. Especially at UTC's FCS level, because it's not like the school is making millions of dollars off these young men's athletic skills. Let's be clear about this: UTC athletics runs in the red every single year.

This doesn't mean the school shouldn't fund an athletic department. It does mean that an athletic scholarship to UTC is a gift, no matter how much time the athlete must spend to hold onto that scholarship. Beyond that, athletes - whether they like it or not - tend to be the face of the school, especially to youngsters.

So if an athlete is doing something he or she shouldn't - especially if that action is done in public - it sends an awful message about what the school stands for, or at least tolerates.

photo Mark Wiedmer

And don't think for a minute that this was easy for Wright. For starters, the Mocs are down in numbers, which means, as the coach stated, "It's never best for the team to lose three players from the roster."

Wright also knows that none of these players were his signees. They all came to UTC to play for Tom Arth. And two of them - Hayes and Smith - were honor-roll students last year, Hayes making the dean's list.

So they would seem to have been good kids who simply made a mistake that was bad enough to get them dismissed.

But Wright also knows that even good kids will test a new teacher or coach to see just how far they can go before that adult strikes back. They want to know if Wright's bite is as harsh as his bark. Will he give an inch? A mile?

Now they know.

Wrong decisions will bring the Wright consequences to prevent such behavior from happening again.

If you're a UTC player, you now know beyond a shadow of a doubt what enjoying yourself too much the wrong way can cost you.

If you're a UTC supporter, you should enjoy knowing that your new head football coach isn't willing to sacrifice doing things the Wright way, regardless of what might momentarily be best for the team.

Such tough love may not improve this year's won-lost record, but somewhere down the road upholding such high standards just might make the difference in being able to enjoy the spoils of a championship season.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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