Kendall Watson's phone didn't ring like he wanted it to after a standout prep football career at McCallie.

This time last year, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel was at the University of Central Florida.

With three more Chattanooga FC home matches and two more University of Tennessee at Chattanooga regular-season football games remaining on their respective schedules, it would appear that the marquee athletics events for 2021 at Finley Stadium are coming to a close.

Ty Boeck has become a tackling machine for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this season.

What enabled the UTC football team to go from an overtime loss against the reigning SoCon champion to a statement win against the top team in the standings in the span of a week?

Devonnsha Maxwell found another gear in the fourth quarter when it came to quarterback pressure. UTC found a way to do something no one else had done this season: beat East Tennessee State.

Maybe the UTC football program has taken its talent for granted.

A willingness and an ability to do so much on the football field helped Jacob Saylors help Marion County High School's football program for four years. The former Warriors star has written a similar story with East Tennessee State University as the Buccaneers prepare to visit UTC on Saturday.

In last year's balloting for the Heisman Trophy, Alabama placed three in the top five with receiver DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris.

Kohl Henke joined the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program in 2018 as the third highest-rated prep recruit of head coach Tom Arth's second signing class, right behind fellow three-star prospects in defensive tackle Josh Walker and defensive end Mychal Austin (both since departed).

Rusty Wright and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team need a short memory this week.

The UTC football team lost in overtime Saturday at Virginia Military Institute, a result that was frustrating for the Mocs and puzzling in how it happened.

It has taken a while, but it appears UTC's offense is slowly rounding into form.

The UTC men's basketball team opened practice last week for its 2020-21 schedule, with the Mocs coming off an 18-8 record in their fourth season under coach Lamont Paris.

Within the past couple of years, LSU won college football's 2019 national championship, Florida won the Southeastern Conference's 2020 Eastern Division title and Texas A&M finished last season ranked No. 4 nationally.

The UTC women's basketball team tipped off practice last week for the 2021-22 schedule, hoping to improve on last season's 14-10 record.

The thought of going to college in the state of Tennessee had never occurred to CaMiron Smith.

Jay Person couldn't believe it.

UTC used its SoCon opener to prove its offense is capable of making explosive plays. Lots of them, actually.

Reginald Henderson knows it. All of the UTC receivers know it.

Jordan Jones and the rest of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga starters had a sideline view of the last game of the Mocs' spring season, a 35-28 loss to Mercer back on March 27 at Finley Stadium.

It took a while for linebacker Ty Boeck and the rest of the UTC defense to settle in Saturday against Kentucky. But not that long.

There were two reasons in particular for the preseason hype surrounding the UTC football program: the defense and the running game.