For the nine seniors on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team, Monday was their last “first” practice. For the 21 true freshmen, it was their first taste of working out with the full squad on Scrappy Moore Field.
They won’t don shoulder pads until Wednesday and won’t be in full pads until Friday, but they went through a two-hour practice that begins the lead-up to the season opener against Jacksonville State.
The Mocs had a solid first day Monday and go again at 6:30 this morning on the final day of summer-school classes.
“I thought we looked athletic out there,” coach Russ Huesman said. “We’re just in helmets, so I hope that the guys can remember what we taught them in the spring. Other than that, it’s football, but it’s not really football until they put their pads on, and you can’t tell those things without pads on.”
Derrick Crane runs the ball during the first day of football practice for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Monday was the first time that senior offensive lineman Synjen Herren participated in all parts of a practice since tearing a knee ligament during preseason camp last year. He did participate in a few of the spring drills but wasn’t cleared 100 percent until this summer.