Taharin Tyson leads the UTC football team in a chant before practice on Saturday. The chanting routine has evolved to involve dancing by other players but it is a constant in the team’s routine.
Despite being a true freshman, Taharin Tyson looks perfectly comfortable. And he should. What he’s doing, he’s done plenty of times before.
The fullback is dancing around and around, with the entire University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team surrounding him. The Mocs are lined up in their pre-practice stretching formation and Tyson is in the middle.
He bounces on the balls of his feet and leads UTC in a song, “Too Hype,” he brought with him from his old team, seven-time defending state champion Alcoa High School.
“When I signed I talked to [offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield] and he was like, I want you to bring ‘Too Hype’ here and we’ll start doing that before games and practices,” Tyson said after Saturday’s practice. “I was game.”
Alcoa’s version goes on a bit longer and was done only before games, but UTC is using an excerpt that features calls from Tyson and a response from his teammates. (Alcoa’s version can be seen on YouTube.)
The Mocs seem to get into it — 6-foot-5 wide receiver Marlon Anthony and 6-3 defensive tackle Chris Mayes joined Tyson in the middle and did their own dance during the routine. For a man pushing 300 pounds, Mayes has some moves.
UTC coach Russ Huesman said he wants the time during practice to be upbeat, regardless of what the players do.
“I just don’t want them dragging, and anything they say or do is fine,” he said. “I always tell our coaches to move around and talk to them and make it light. I don’t mind them talking or joking around as long as they’re stretching.”
Tyson said he appreciates the fact that as a true freshman he’s allowed to lead the team each day.
“To be able to come in and do something like this, that’s a big honor,” he said. “I don’t take that for granted. I understand that it’s a big thing.”
Tyson brought with him a winning mindset when he arrived at UTC. During his high school career Alcoa went 58-2, so winning is all he knows. And he’s not the only one.
The Mocs’ past two signing classes have featured numerous players from programs that played for state championships as seniors. Among the others are Jacob Huesman, Troy Dye, Tommy Hudson, Terrell Robinson and Brandon Morgan.
“I’m spoiled because of that and I don’t accept losing. You need that on your team,” Tyson said. “I know how to win, I know what it takes to win and those other guys that played in state championship games or won a state championship, they know how to win.”
Extra Points
The Mocs went through a two-hour practice Saturday and will practice again today. Huesman said the plan is to taper down the practices a little heading toward Saturday’s season opener at Nebraska, but at the same time, he said, “we’ve still got to work.” … Right tackle Adam Miller (cramps) sat out practice Friday and Saturday.