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Saturday, October 31, 2026Oct 31

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UTC defensive breakdown: Mocs counting on added size, speed in 2026

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Bryce Washington, right, drills with fellow UTC junior linebacker Gavin Helton as the Mocs practice on Aug. 10 at Scrappy Moore Field.
Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Bryce Washington, right, drills with fellow UTC junior linebacker Gavin Helton as the Mocs practice on Aug. 10 at Scrappy Moore Field. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter/ Bryce Washington, right, drills with fellow UTC junior linebacker Gavin Helton as the Mocs practice on Aug. 10 at Scrappy Moore Field.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team will open its 2026 schedule Thursday, traveling to take on West Georgia in a nonconference matchup set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at University Stadium in Carrollton.

UTC will enter Rusty Wright’s eighth season as head coach seeking to bounce back from the program’s first losing record since 2017, with the Mocs going 5-7 overall and 4-4 in Southern Conference play in 2025 as they missed the 24-team field for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second year in a row.

With the opener now just days away, the Times Free Press is taking a position group-based look at UTC’s defense, following up on a previous report focused on the offense of the Mocs.


DEFENSIVE LINEMEN