Opportunity abounds for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s wide receivers. And perhaps no Mocs wideout has a bigger opportunity this offseason than its biggest player, Marlon Anthony.
Listed at 6-foot-5 — he appears to be at least an inch taller, not counting the extra inch or two created by his hairstyle — the freshman is well aware of what’s before him.
“It’s a really important offseason for me,” Anthony said. “I’m working hard to get better, and I think I am getting better.”
Blue Cooper, who had 84 catches last season, is gone. Clint Woods, who had 29, also is through. The Mocs’ top returning wideout, Chris Pitchford (44 catches), is recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Mocs completed 232 passes last season, but most of the players who made those grabs weren’t on the field last Friday or Monday when UTC’s offensive skill-position players showed up at Finley Stadium for voluntary, unsupervised workouts.
Nor will they be on the field today when the wideouts go up against the secondary for the first time this offseason.
Among all the players who have participated in the workouts spearheaded by quarterback B.J. Coleman, they had a combined 54 catches last season. Running back Chris Awuah and tight end Garrett Hughes were responsible for much of that total with 17 each.
That means two or three go-to wideouts need to emerge in the coming months — spring practice starts Feb. 28 — and the best way to speed that process, Coleman said, is to do what the Mocs are doing this winter.
“Being able to work with new talents like Marlon and Joel (Bradford), Brian Sutherland, Terrance Davis, it’s going to help us out a lot,” Coleman said. “Those guys have got a lot of talent, and we’ve just got to be able to put it in motion.”
Anthony arrived at UTC as a three-star prospect out of Kell High School in Acworth, Ga. Given his size and athleticism, Anthony looked like a possible play-right-away freshman. Instead, he redshirted in 2009 and used that time to begin transforming his lean frame into more muscle.
He said he showed up at UTC weighing just 185 pounds. He said he’s at 200 now and would like to get to at least 215 before next season.
“I’m picking up weight and I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing in the weight room,” he said.
Two dozen offensive players and 10 defensive backs took part in Monday’s workout, and Coleman said it was great to see so many Mocs putting in the work beyond hitting the weights during the offseason.
“You’re investing yourself for four or five years, or however long you’re blessed to play this game, in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and these guys understand that,” he said. “We’re out here in January, in the cold weather, but anybody can be out here in January. The important thing is that you work while you’re out here, and we’re all doing that.”