Offensive coordinator Justin Rascati and other University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coaches are doing their best to enjoy just a little down time.
And by a little, that means a weekend.
The Mocs get to work Monday as first-year coach Tom Arth and his staff start to implement new offensive and defensive concepts. On offense, that means more of a pro-style scheme, which is a change from the spread style used in recent years under former coach Russ Huesman.
UTC returns senior quarterback Alejandro Bennifield and two offensive linemen with extensive starting experience - guard Josh Cardiello and tackle Malcolm White. Also back are receivers Alphonso Stewart and James Stovall, who lined up in the slot in the past but could have different roles in the new offense.
"We're excited to get started next week as a staff and get settled into what we want to do offensively," Rascati said. "We've got really good players, a really good quarterback, we're experienced up front and very dynamic around the quarterback at the skill positions.
"We're excited to get together. It's going to be fun. We're going to be physical on offense, so we've got to dominate the line of scrimmage, got to be able to run the football and throw the ball downfield. I know they're extremely talented, great kids, and I think they're as eager to get to spring ball and get things started."
Rascati comes to UTC from Tennessee Tech, where he served as the offensive coordinator for one season. He played at James Madison, where he was the quarterback (former UTC offensive coordinator Jeff Durden was the OC there) and won a Football Championship Subdivision national title in 2004.
The team brought in nine offensive players with the signing class that was announced Wednesday: two quarterbacks, a running back, three wide receivers, a tight end and two offensive linemen. Rascati said more players will probably be added before preseason camp because "recruiting never stops."
"We evaluated the current roster and had needs at certain positions," he said, "but I feel as a team we fulfilled our needs. We're real excited about this group. We think they're extremely talented as a group. They're great players but also great men."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.