Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / UTC defensive back Rashun Freeman practices Aug. 4 at Scrappy Moore Field. Freeman, who starred in high school for Ooltewah, is in his sixth year of college football and eager for a strong finish to his time with the Mocs.When Rusty Wright took over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program after the 2018 season, he looked around and saw a number of what appeared to be unhappy players.
It appeared some of the fun had been knocked out of the program Wright helped guide to 36 wins in four seasons (2013-16) during his second stint as an assistant at his alma mater. In the two years after he left, the Mocs totaled nine wins. Players were unhappy about the state of affairs.
Defensive back Rashun Freeman, one of the players who had committed to UTC when Wright was still the Mocs' linebackers coach under Russ Huesman, was one of those. Like Wright, the program he committed to wasn't the program he'd experienced during his time.
"I've always been a winner in everything I do," said Freeman, referred to by Wright as the "most important guy we have on that side of the ball."
Freeman had been an all-state selection at Ooltewah, and the Owls won 30 games in his final three seasons (2013-15).
"I want to win in everything I do, so it was always just an expectation," Freeman said. "That always made it heartbreaking with any type of losses that we took or if seasons didn't go as well. Things changed every year, from what it seemed like to me, but you have to roll with the punches. That's just how the business of college football goes; you're going to have your ups and downs, but you have to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes."
Previous head coach Tom Arth did take the Mocs from three wins in his first season to six in his second before leaving for Akron, but Freeman was frustrated by things happening in the program. Maybe it's just a small thing, but the previous coaching staff changed Freeman's jersey number - without telling him - prior to the 2017 season, freeing it up for an incoming player who ultimately did not last long at UTC. It's not that the number had any special meaning to him, but when you're not winning, every decision made by others can be frustrating.
When Wright says his biggest concern when became head coach was "making sure this place can be as good for those young people we have in this program," that's what he's referring to.
"I don't think this place was in a good place mentally from how we left it," Wright admitted. "Our biggest concern was making sure these young folks we're in charge of are moving in the right direction. Football will happen and will take care of itself, but that was my biggest concern, more so than getting back to what we were those last few years. We're going to get to that point at some point. I don't know when that will happen, but when I took this job, this place was not in a good frame of mind, from players to managers to trainers. I didn't see kids smiling; I didn't see kids enjoy being coached hard and trying to do as well as they can.
"I've seen older kids walk in my (office), and they'd never walked in before. They have to feel like they can come in and sit down. Guys always knew that as hard as we were on them, they all knew we had their back."
But of course, no program is going to be judged solely on its ability to make players feel good. With a No. 18 national ranking in both Football Championship Subdivision polls listed by the NCAA, the Mocs are expected to compete in the Southern Conference and perhaps beyond, but they will be tested immediately with a season opener against Austin Peay, which is also nationally ranked. The Mocs do return all 22 starters from a successful 2020-21 campaign, which adds an additional level of excitement to this season's prospects
The program under Huesman had made its way to a level of national respectability that made people notice, and it's a path Wright also has the Mocs on now.
And now there's an opportunity for Freeman - a four-time Academic All-SoCon selection and 17-game starter - and the rest of the seniors to leave the program at least as good as they found it.
"It matters a lot to me," Freeman said. "When Coach Huesman left, I was disappointed because we didn't win the SoCon that year. Ever since then, I've expected to win every game. I've felt like we could have won the SoCon championship, gone to the playoffs and made some noise, so this season means a lot to me, and not just necessarily because I'm from the city but because I'm a part of the program.
"But also, I feel like the city needs our football team to be great, to kind of bring the city together and get the sports scene brought back up and make everybody excited to come back to the games. I want the younger kids in Chattanooga to be able to look at UTC like a top school, and I just hope that I'm setting a good example for them if they want to come to college and play football and be successful."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.