Russ Huesman will begin his second spring practice as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s football coach this afternoon at Finley Stadium. Quarterback B.J. Coleman will begin his first.
It’s hard to tell which of the two is more excited.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there, getting our feet wet with some of the new things we’re going to try to do,” said Coleman, who transferred to UTC last May. “And it’s going to be a good experience for myself, because going through the spring for the first time with the same offensive unit is going to lead to a huge payoff.”
A year ago at this time, Huesman was still just getting to know his players. Now, after the Mocs’ 6-5 season in 2009, he expects to get more accomplished because the team isn’t starting from scratch in new offensive and defensive systems.
However, there are some key holes to fill on both sides of the ball.
“I think this spring’s going to be huge defensively for us, more than offensively, because we’ve got a bunch of kids back on offense,” Huesman said. “I think defensively, we’ve got to figure out who’s going to play, because we don’t know.”
The Mocs lost defensive end Josh Beard, the Southern Conference defensive player of the year, plus defensive tackle B.J. Taylor and linebackers Steven Smigelsky and Joseph Thornton, who was a four-year starter.
Offensively, the Mocs lost wideouts Blue Cooper and Clint Woods, who combined for 128 catches last season, and fullbacks Shaun Kermah and Will Brooks.
Practice begins at 3 p.m. and is open to the public.