University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic director Rick Hart likes that the Mocs are opening their season against third-ranked Appalachian State.
“I love it – I do,” he said.
Hart said the opener is getting extra attention because it’s a Southern Conference game, and he wouldn’t mind arranging future schedules this way in the years to come.
“I do think the players’ focus and attention in the community, everything, has been maybe at a different level because you know coming out it’s a conference game,” he said. “You’ve got a shot at the perennial power in your league.”
Not only is the UTC-Appalachian State game the only SoCon game on the opening Saturday of the season, no other conference games will be played until Sept. 25.
The Mocs played four weeks in a row before visiting Appalachian State last season, losing 35-20, so they’ve had more time to prepare for the Mountaineers this season.
Because Appalachian State does so many different things on offense, Mocs coach Russ Huesman said not having to prepare for an opponent before the Mountaineers has been beneficial.
“It’s helped that we’ve had all this extra time to practice,” Huesman said following Sunday’s practice. “We only had a week to prepare last year and our kids did a pretty decent job of knowing what to do.”
Huesman said the coaches have tried to show the Mocs’ defense everything that the Mountaineers did last season, even if it was just once. Starting Tuesday – UTC is off today – the coaches will focus on what Appalachian State does regularly.
Not only does Hart like the Mocs’ opener, he also likes UTC’s entire home schedule. After Appalachian State, UTC has home games against Eastern Kentucky, Georgia Southern (homecoming), Elon and Samford.
“I’ll be a fun year, and we’ll see what happens,” Hart said.
Extra points
Tight end Garrett Hughes (shoulder) practiced Sunday without the green no-contact jersey for the first time since early in the preseason. Defensive tackle Nick Craig (foot) went through all of practice except the four-minute drill at the end. Kicker Nick Pollard (hip) also did some light kicking. … Huesman will speak to the Chattanooga Quarterback Club today at noon at the Stadium Club at Finley Stadium.