It was just a year ago that University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Rusty Wright was grasping for answers about his team, with one of the biggest questions being, essentially: “Who are (most of) these guys?”
UTC’s final roster entering the 2025 season had been thrown together in a rush, including transfers added as late as mid-summer at wide receiver and defensive end. All told, the new faces came from everywhere, with the group including NCAA Division II and Division III walk-ons as well as players from NAIA programs.
Was there some talent there? Sure, based on past accomplishments or potential, but Wright, his staff and the holdovers from the 2024 UTC roster didn’t know who did what well and how the new players would respond to adversity.
“I don’t feel like everybody was well acquainted with each other,” UTC junior center Devin Lively said Tuesday. “You’re struggling on how to communicate with maybe the guy playing next to you. You don’t really know the best way to communicate to them.”
The end result for the Mocs was a 5-7 record, the program’s first losing season since 2017. Wright, who has been the head coach at his alma mater since the 2019 season, doesn’t hang the disappointing outcome on the circumstances.