And with the snap of a finger, Lucas Webb is now the old man on the block.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga free safety is the most experienced man on the team in terms of starts, having started all 40 games of his three seasons.
He’s been named three times to the All-Southern Conference first team and has 10 career interceptions (sixth all-time at UTC) for 231 yards and three touchdowns, which is tied for the league record for a defender.
His on-field performance has been enough to gain the respect of his teammates. Now the coaching staff is attempting to make him more of a vocal leader as well.
“It’s an important part of his responsibility,” new head coach Tom Arth said Thursday. “To be that leader, be that voice – especially in the secondary. I think everybody respects him because of the type of leader he is, but more importantly because of the type of work ethic he has.
“He’s getting after it every day in the weight room, out on the field in conditioning drills – he’s winning them all – and with that you gain a lot of respect, and Lucas has earned that. Now he has to become more comfortable being vocal and not be afraid to be that guy, the guy on the defense and secondary to be the vocal leader.”
Webb said the adjustment to the new staff and his new responsibilities has been “uncomfortable” but added that it’s something he may have needed at this point in his career. The team has somewhat stalled in each of the past two seasons, with the chip on the shoulder of the 2014 team that won 10 games and advanced to the Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinals being not so obvious the last two years. Both ended in the second round on the road against the No. 1 team in the country.
“We’ve kind of had this consistency of going to the first or second round of the playoffs, and then we were done,” Webb said. “It’s something that people kind of expect that we’re a playoff team but not a contender for the championship, so just like we took that jump to win the SoCon (in 2014), we want to take an even bigger jump to be a national contender.”
Arth has told the Mocs it may take them getting worse in the short term to get better in the long run, so he’s made every position up for grabs in practice, which has increased the intensity level on both sides of the ball. One would think Webb would be one who has an additional security level – and maybe he does – but he’s certainly not acting like it or speaking like it.
“I’m hoping I can get down the technique in a year and still be able to play the full speed I’m used to playing,” Webb said, “but it’s something new to get used to and at the same time, a challenge.
“You don’t get better when everything is comfortable and easy. You get better when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone, pushed to the limit.”
Spoken like a leader.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.