As he looked ahead to this Saturday's University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football game against Southern Conference foe Mercer at Finley Stadium following last weekend's 20-18 win at Furman, longtime "Voice of the Mocs" Jim Reynolds made the following observation:
"Next week, three crucial things at home we haven't seen: Fans, running water, toilets."
Replied head coach Rusty Wright, "That's got to be a win, right?"
Oh, these Mocs are winning, all right. And not just by having the Finley bathrooms open with running water and as many as 5,000 fans allowed in the stands during this COVID-restricted time.
Call it spring ball if you want, but also call the Mocs 3-0 (at least in SoCon play, since, technically, that October loss at Western Kentucky officially remains a part of the 2020 record) for the first time since 2016. In case you're wondering, should the Mocs defeat the Bears on Saturday, they'll also be 4-0 in SoCon action for the first time since 2016, which was Russ Huesman's final season running the program.
But this Wright guy, now in his second season, is doing a pretty nice of job of duplicating his former boss Huesman's success, especially on defense, where the Mocs limited a Furman offense averaging more than 400 yards a game to 170 total.
And befitting a man unencumbered by ego, Wright has pretty much embraced Huesman's defense in total, saying on that same radio show, "When Russ was here, we didn't change defenses much. We blitzed 12 times total the entire 2016 season. We played one defense the whole first half (against Furman). You get good players and put them in position to make somebody beat them."
He's probably right, but if junior Ty Boeck - who won STATS FCS national defensive player of the week after recording eight tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery against Furman - gets much better he might wind up in the NFL next fall instead of starring for the Mocs one last autumn.
In truth, as much as Wright is enjoying being 3-0 in the SoCon's spring restart after the league canceled its fall schedule, he somewhat wishes the Mocs weren't playing at all, especially with the fall schedule set to begin on September 2 at Finley against Austin Peay.
"It doesn't look like it does in the fall," said Wright on the SportTalk radio show later Monday in critiquing the spring product. "Our guys aren't prepared for that."
To underscore what he feels is wrong with trying to play a conference-only schedule in February, March and April before returning to a normal fall routine roughly three months later, he pointed to center Kyle Miskelley's injury against Furman, which may keep him out for the start of the fall season.
"That's the kind of thing that makes no sense," Wright said on Saturday. "That is what frustrates me about playing right now. What are we doing? I've got to look (Miskelley), his mom and his dad in the face and say, 'I'm sorry.' That's where grownups have to stand up for these kids."
Then again, as Wright has also been quick to point out, "(The players) want to play."
He's also said, "As long as those three buses (of players) are happy and excited and love playing, I'm good."
Moreover, he believes his Mocs, "Don't just want to be good. They feel like they've got a chance to be great."
The next step toward that greatness comes Saturday in front of a crowd that could reach a maximum of 5,000.
If UTC's first three victories this season are the barometer, it figures to be another tight one, the Mocs' first three wins coming by a total of 14 points.
Wright even joked after the Furman win, "You're watching the wrong crew if your heart can only handle so much because we're going to make it interesting."
It has all been interesting and successful enough thus far that Wright is more than right to point to this coming weekend against Mercer and say of his team, "They deserve for Chattanooga (or at least 5,000 Chattanoogans) to come out and watch."
Especially since Finley Stadium once again has water that runs and toilets that flush.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.