Isaiah Mack followed up his first year of spring football practices at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a solid summer that propelled the defensive lineman to Southern Conference all-freshman honors last season.
UTC coach Russ Huesman hopes similar results are in store for other young players.
The time to get better is now for the Mocs. With this year's spring practices complete and the Blue-White game in the rearview mirror, players will focus on the classroom this week, taking final exams while their coaches hit the recruiting trail.
After that, it's bonding time for the Mocs - and how much the team improves from the end of school to the beginning of preseason camp is up to the individuals.
"These are the most important months of any part of the season," Huesman said after Saturday's spring game. "This is the part that keeps me up late at night thinking about it. These three months are huge - not only in development and speed, but the biggest thing is that it brings the team together because they're asked to do things on their own. It's not the coaches, we're not involved, we're asking these guys to do it. That's where you get the team together, you see some leadership come about.
"For anybody that doesn't say that these aren't the most important months, they're telling you a story, because I think you can ask any coach in America and they'd say that."
Mack is a prime example. Occasionally showing glimpses of his ability last spring, he used the summer months to put himself in a position to contribute, and an early-season injury to sophomore Taylor Reynolds gave the 6-foot-2, 280-pound Mack an opportunity for more playing time than he already was receiving. He parlayed it into a season in which he had 54 tackles (nine for loss), 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick.
"The summertime really helps you build as a team," Mack said. "It helps you master your craft longer so you can focus more on football and not having outside distractions."
Now players like running back Kyle Nalls and defensive back Le'Vonte Larry will try to take advantage of that opportunity. Having gone through their first spring practices a year ago as 2015 signees, Nalls played as a freshman and Larry, who is in the mix to start at dimeback (sixth defensive back), redshirted.
The coming months that Huesman referenced will be especially beneficial for those who haven't gone through a spring and summer with the team before, but it's an important stretch for everybody on the roster as the Mocs work to compete for their fourth consecutive SoCon title.
Larry especially wants to work and improve. The 5-foot-9, 190-pounder feels he has an opportunity to be a part of a special defensive unit that returns eight starters and a number of other players with experience, so the upcoming months will provide him a chance to work with teammates and prepare to compete for a starting position.
"I just want to do what I have to do," Larry said. "I want to do everything right and make sure everybody is on the same path."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.