It was early in the first quarter of an Oct. 4 game at Virginia Military Institute when a single moment provided a glimpse of what the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program was up against in 2025.
Kamari Todd was in perfect position to make a tackle for the visitors, but VMI running back Luke Schalow, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound redshirt junior, lowered his shoulder and ran over the UTC defensive back, a 6-1, 170-pound freshman.
Missed opportunities aside, the Mocs got the win that day, but UTC ultimately wasn’t a good team this season. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and the Mocs were 5-7 overall this season — along with 4-4 in Southern Conference play to finish fifth in the nine-team standings as they fell short of the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.
What is also fair to say is that having to rely on a number of players whose bodies were underdeveloped due to not having a dedicated offseason in the weight room hurt the Mocs. So did having to rely on a number of players who didn’t arrive until May, either due to graduating high school or being late additions from the NCAA transfer portal.
“I’m not making excuses, but we had 50 new guys and a lot of people playing roles that we’ve never had here or envisioned having,” said Rusty Wright, whose seventh year as UTC’s head coach also yielded his first losing season in the role. “I’ve got to do a better job with them, and that’s the way of the world now, and we’ve got to get guys in school earlier. We can’t wait until May to have half of your team show up. It’s not fair to these assistant coaches.”