When the 2025 University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team holds its first preseason practice Thursday, the Mocs will begin in earnest their preparation for a schedule that opens Aug. 30 at Memphis, the lone Football Bowl Subdivision opponent they’ll face this year.
UTC went 7-5 overall and 5-3 in Southern Conference play last season. That left the Mocs just shy of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and what would have been a second consecutive berth in the 24-team bracket for NCAA Division I’s lower tier after six consecutive seasons of not getting in.
There’s been a lot of attrition since last fall, though, so the roster looks very different compared to not just last year but recent seasons.
Here are five questions the Mocs face entering camp, and with the countdown to kickoff for Rusty Wright’s seventh season as head coach just beyond the four-week mark.
1. Who are these guys?
It’s a fair question. For the first time since probably 2017, at least among fans and outside observers, there’s very little familiarity with the majority of the players in the program.
Even the 2019 team in Wright’s first year as head coach returned the previous season’s starting quarterback, starting running back, top receiver and some other quality players on both sides of the ball. This team brings back only four guys who started the final game of the 2024 season finale and 23 of the 52 UTC players who participated in that game at Austin Peay.
All told, the Mocs lost almost 50 players who appeared on last year’s roster, so it’s going to take a while to determine just who’s who. (Bonus question: Did the coaching staff use name tags when players arrived Wednesday for check-in day?)
2. What happens at quarterback?
We’re already back to this conversation?
Luke Schomburg finished each of the past two seasons as the starter, but he didn’t elicit quite as much confidence with last year’s closing stretch as he did when he played in 2023, when the 6-foot-3, 194-pounder led the Mocs to a first-round playoff win at Austin Peay by passing for 259 yards and a touchdown.
Wright and his staff brought in Bowling Green transfer Camden Orth, a big-bodied dual threat who arrived in January. His ability to aid in the running game could give him a leg up in the competition, as Schomburg is more of a dropback passer. Still, Schomburg being in his fourth season in the program can’t hurt.
3. How will the offense shape up?
There may not be much of a drop-off from 2024, when UTC averaged 25.0 points and 346.2 yards per game (218.7 passing, 127.5 rushing). That may sound crazy after six primary starters on that side of the ball transferred (four to FBS programs), but UTC’s situation is another reminder that the portal works both ways.
The Mocs brought in seventh-year senior Orth to potentially replace Chase Artopoeus (who threw for 4,633 yards and 31 touchdowns in two seasons at UTC but dealt with injuries down the stretch both years); sixth-year senior Ryan Ingram (who rushed for 2,000 yards during his time at Wofford) to replace Reggie Davis after he departed for Alcorn State; a trio of receivers to replace the three who departed for FBS programs; and a couple of quality transfers for the line.
Add that to an already quality backfield led by Justus Durant and Journey Wyche, talented returning receivers in Taylor Crumedy, A.J. Little and Josh Williams, plus three returning starting lineman, and while it may take a little while to round into shape, there is some potential with this group.
4. What happens on defense?
Like the offense, only two of the 11 starters from the 2024 finale are still on the roster. Yet there are even less concerns on this side of the ball, where the Mocs have shown a knack for excelling by simply adjusting to where their strengths are within the defense.
Last season a defense known in recent history for having All-America pass rushers (Davis Tull, Keionta Davis, Isaiah Mack, Devonnsha Maxwell and Jay Person all received at least one such honor since 2014) morphed into a unit known for being dominant via takeaways, with the Mocs’ 25 ranking as the program’s most since forcing 26 turnovers in 2011. The Mocs don’t currently have that known edge rusher who has produced at the FCS level (although transfer end Orlando Daniels has that potential), so this defense could look similar to last season in how it gets the job done.
It certainly won’t look similar in terms of personnel after losing five primary starters to graduation and three edge rushers, two cornerbacks, both starting safeties and its best linebacker (Alex Mitchell) to the FBS ranks via the portal.
5. What are some realistic goals for this season?
Despite everything outlined above, the Mocs were picked to finish second in the SoCon, a fact even more stunning considering only three players received preseason All-SoCon recognition, which was the second-fewest selections in the league (ahead of only Virginia Military Institute).
That speaks to the respect that the program, which has yet to log a losing season under Wright, has earned over the years. It also shows a collective belief by coaches at other programs in the league that UTC will figure out how to be competitive and even good despite the roster turnover.
As usual, the nonconference slate is challenging (three road games, two against teams ranked among the top 25 in the FCS during the preseason, and the opening trip to Memphis, which is 21-5 in the past two seasons), so by October, everyone should have an idea of who the 2025 Mocs are as a football team.
With few exceptions, it’s rare to see an FCS team more talented than what UTC puts out on the field. So if history is any indication, there’s zero reason to believe the Mocs won’t have a chance against every team on their schedule not named Memphis or Tarleton State.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.