Quarterback Nick Tiano tosses the ball to a coach during the UTC football team’s first spring practice at Scrappy Moore Field on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Since arriving in Chattanooga, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Tom Arth and his staff have done everything they could to promote competition at every position. It is a concept the players have embraced.
So when Chris James was signed to compete for the starting quarterback position, junior Nick Tiano and sophomore Cole Copeland never batted an eyelash.
Game on.
Copeland was the Mocs’ most successful quarterback during the team’s 3-8 campaign in 2017, earning Southern Conference all-freshman recognition by throwing for 1,177 yards and seven scores and guiding the Mocs to wins over eighth-ranked Samford and East Tennessee State University.
Tiano was thrown into the fire at the beginning behind an offensive line entering the season devoid of experience, and he struggled for the most part, with 873 yards and six touchdowns while being sacked 16 times in four games before suffering a shoulder injury against Western Carolina.
And now throw in James, a strong-armed, 6-foot-3, 220-pounder with three years of eligibility remaining, and a spirited battle lies ahead.
“I saw a lot out of Chris in the first few days that really gave us a lot of reasons to be excited,” said Arth, a former NFL quarterback. “I’ve seen a lot in Nick in terms of his growth and he’s playing at a pretty high level, and you see some growth in Cole as well. We’re still making a lot of mistakes, still missing some throws, still making some bad decisions, and that’s the biggest thing for me.
“We have to understand how important the decision-making process is and understanding the situations and not putting our team in a bad spot. We’ve made some great plays, but we’ve made some catastrophic plays that were not necessary at all. That’s where we need to continue to see improvement. We’ve got experience, which is going to benefit them tremendously, but they’re still young players.
“Mistakes are part of the game; it’s how you grow, how you get better. I’m glad we’re making them this spring.”
Copeland and Tiano were learning on the job last season, which meant there were going to be growing pains. They showed signs of improvement as the season went on, with Tiano throwing for 249 yards and four touchdowns in his final start against Virginia Military Institute and Copeland playing turnover-free football while also leading the game’s only touchdown drive in the 10-3 win over ETSU in the season finale.
Both former area high school stars say they’re ready for the competition.
“I think it’s just the best thing for all of us,” Tiano said. “When surrounded by great guys who work hard and push you, you’re all pushing each other and all trying to get better every day. We’re all team guys; there are no selfish guys out here for themselves. We’re just pushing each other, pushing the team and doing whatever it takes to be exactly where we need to be. Me and Cole knew what the situation was going in, and adding another one is the same deal.
“All of us have to come out here and be our best every day. It’s the best thing for us.”
Added Copeland: “Chris coming here didn’t change anything. I knew Nick was going to push me, and Chris is another dude that’s going push us. It’s only going to raise our level of play.”
An offense that ranked near the bottom of the Southern Conference in most categories needs either a jump-start from one of the returning quarterbacks or a jolt from a newer one to get on track in the 2018 season.
If not Copeland, if not Tiano, it’s going to be James.
“Chris has great intangibles,” offensive coordinator Justin Rascati said. “He’s a natural leader, extremely competitive, and football is really important to him. Being a leader of this football team is really important to him. He’s a guy that studies the game, arguably like nobody I’ve ever been around. He’s always in the office trying to find ways to get better and works really hard and he’s extremely talented, so he’s going to add a good competition to that room this offseason.
“I’m really excited to work with those guys.”
The Mocs held a controlled scrimmage Friday night and are off for spring break this week. They return to practice on March 19.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.