In this file photo, quarterback B. J. Coleman prepares to run a play at UTC football practice at Scrappy Moore Field.Twenty-five years ago the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga began the 1986 season in search of an 11th consecutive winning record and the Mocs’ fifth Southern Conference championship since joining the league in football in 1977.
The Mocs are still chasing that fifth SoCon title and the 2011 season could be their best shot since the program’s heydays came to an end in the mid 1980s.
With a talented roster led by proven seniors such as quarterback B.J. Coleman, wide receiver Joel Bradford and linebacker Ryan Consiglio, is it now or never for UTC to have a breakthrough season, to win the SoCon or make a playoff push?
“If we don’t win the title this year, are we dead? No, I don’t think that’s the case at all,” offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said. “I think that it’s a big year from a standpoint that we’ve got these key players, these seniors in key roles, and they can help us win some games.
“We may not ever have a quarterback like [Coleman] again, we may not have a receiver like Joel again, but I don’t think this makes or breaks us from a program standpoint going into Year 3.”