There are no excuses for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line this season. Not with all five starters and several experienced backups returning.
“I think there’s a lot higher standards for us this year,” center Justin Galyon said.
Nine of the Mocs’ linemen have started at least one game in their careers. Entering their third season as starters are the senior trio of Galyon, right guard T.J. Hurless and preseason first-team All-Southern Conference left tackle Chris Harr.
Hurless and Harr have started every game the past two seasons, and Galyon has started all but one. Right tackle Adam Miller started the final nine games last season, as did left guard Omre Harris.
“Last year we were subpar running the ball, and having everybody back it’s kind of been the mentality, especially from the starters, that we’ve got to get the ball rolling running-wise,” Hurless said. “And protection, we want to improve on that as well – keep [quarterback B.J. Coleman] standing.