The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offense hasn’t been bad this year.
For the most part, though, it hasn’t been good — or at least not good enough.
It could be called a work in progress, and that would be fair and accurate with half of the 12-game regular season still ahead for the Mocs, but UTC’s offense has been at its best in recent years when balance (or the potential for it) was present. That hasn’t been the case this fall for the Mocs (2-4, 1-1 Southern Conference), who return from an open date to host East Tennessee State University (3-4, 1-1) in the “Rail Rivalry” matchup at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Finley Stadium.
UTC’s rushing attack has been solid, ranking in the top 20 in the Football Championship Subdivision in both yards per game (204.0, 18th) and yards per carry (5.5, 15th), but the passing game hasn’t been on the same page, with the Mocs ranked last in the SoCon and 102nd out of 126 FCS teams in passing efficiency (111.5) and 113th in passing yards per game (149.7).
After three seasons of having one of the more respected passing games around with Preston Hutchinson and Chase Artopoeus at quarterback and receivers such as Jamoi Mayes, Sam Phillips, Javin Whatley and Chris Domercant — all of whom moved on from UTC to finish their collegiate careers in the higher-tier Football Bowl Subdivision — the Mocs have had to start over with the snaps being taken by Camden Orth, who didn’t play football in 2024, and only one receiver, Markell Quick, who caught five or more passes last season.
The Mocs remain confident the talent is there, but now it’s about consistently getting it on the same page.
“It’s the little things. It’s not anything crazy that has to be fixed, it’s timing that we’ve worked on a bunch over the past week and a half,” UTC coach Rusty Wright said. “It’s running through catches, little things with those guys. It’s got to continue to get better, but that’s the biggest thing is I think we’ll get some looks, and we’ve got to make some plays when we have opportunities to make plays.
“They’re working at them and they’ve gotten better at them, but it’s not where we need it to be.”
There have been some explosive plays in the passing game. The Mocs have 14 completions of 20 yards or longer, with 12 coming in a four-game span that started the second week of the season. There have also been a number of big plays that have been called back due to penalties, but one way or another, the passing game must improve for the offense as a whole — and the team — to do the same.
Receivers coach Ricky Spradling said a big part of his position group’s success will be about finding ways to win the individual matchups, calling it “disrespect” when other teams press up against his players.
“A lot of people end up pressing us,” Spradling said, “and so we’ve got to understand that becomes our ball now, so we’ve got to win those press looks, but there’s some times whether we’re down or we’re up, the pass game is what it is.”
Quick has five catches of 20 yards or longer, while fellow receivers Jamarii Robinson — who has been on the receiving end of UTC’s longest pass play of the season, covering 45 yards in the 28-10 loss to The Citadel on Sept. 27 — A.J. Little and Josh Williams have two apiece.
There’s potential there, and opponents could be adjusting to it.
In UTC’s most recent game, a 21-14 win at Virginia Military Institute on Oct. 4, the Keydets were able to limit the Mocs to 123 passing yards and less than 9 yards per completion in part because VMI played a defensive look it had not shown before. Orth responded with efficiency, taking what was given while completing his first eight passes — including a 6-yard touchdown to Williams — which eventually opened up the ground game as the Mocs rushed for 223 yards on 38 carries for a 5.9-yard average.
“It’s super important,” Orth said of the improvements. “Obviously that’s something that everyone strives to do, and right now we’ve been running the ball pretty well, so if we can find a way to make those explosions happen down the field passing-wise, I think that’ll help out a lot with the running game even more.”
The second half of the schedule is an opportunity for the Mocs to put both halves of the offense together in the same game and finally have the passing complement the running — or vice versa.
“It’s about being consistent and finally putting a full game together,” said Orth, who has been a central part of the ground attack with 255 rushing yards on 47 attempts (5.4 average) with three touchdown runs. “Every game we’ve had, there’s been something where we’re stepping on our own foot and hurting ourselves. Now we’re getting to the part of the season where we can’t do that, and we’ve got to obviously hit our shots when we’re taking our shots, and we’ve got to run the ball when we’re running the ball, but I think it can be pretty scary with the guys we have outside.
“You’ve already seen the backs do their work this year so far, and I’m ready to see those guys outside win a lot.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.