Chattanooga Has Plenty to Prove and to Play For in 2025

Chattanooga quarterback Luke Schomburg (photo courtesy of UTC Athletics)

Chattanooga (7-5, 5-3 SoCon)

Chattanooga enters the2025 season with just five returning starters, which along with Samford is least among SoCon teams heading into the 2025 campaign.

Despite so few holdovers from a talented, yet snakebitten team from a year ago, the Mocs find themselves picked by the league's head coaches to once again compete for the Southern Conference title, as the Mocs were picked to finish second behind Mercer in the preseason poll. 

Coaches can't vote for their own team in the preseason polls, however, the Mocs were the recipients of two out of the possible eight first-place votes.

With that said and with a quarterback battle that is in the process of being settled during fall camp, what we do about the Mocs is that they have been a consistent winner under Wright, but more often than not, they have failed to take that next step to a SoCon title or to an FCS Playoff bid. 

The 2025 season might offer less pomp and circumstance for a Mocs team entering a season than any of the previous six under Wright's watchful eye, however, it's the type of season and lack of real buzz that could end up yielding UTC's best campaign under Wright. 

There is little that can accurately be projected for this Mocs team or as a whole, in this current NIL/transfer portal era, but what I can guarantee is that the Mocs will be physical in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and that's something that is consistent with Wright-coached teams and something that is an absolute must starting point if you want to take the next natural step as a championship/playoff contending program. 

That part of the "non-negotiable" aspect of winning, Wright down to almost a routine. It's the consistency under center, taking care of the football, and offensively as a whole that Chattanooga has lacked in the years in which it has underwhelmed. If such attention to detail is applied, and the Mocs can find the needed leadership under center and at running back, this could be a quietly good football team that will start putting folks on notice in the FCS and most specifically, the Southern Conference. 

HEAD COACH: Rusty Wright (37-27/7^th Yr)

CHATTANOOGA FOOTBALL TRADITION:

SHARED OR OUTRIGHT SOCON FOOTBALL TITLES: (7) 1977, ’78, ’79, ’84, 2013, ’14, and ‘15

FCS PLAYOFF APPEARANCES: (5): 1984, 2014, ’15, ’16 and ‘23

FCS PLAYOFF RECORD: 4-5

VOLUNTEER STATE TRADITION: Chattanooga owns a strong history on the college football gridiron in a state chocked full of college football tradition. The Mocs were at one time known as the “Moccasins” and joined the Southern Conference as an official member in 1976 and played their first season as a full member a year later. The Mocs became a program to be reckoned with in the SoCon upon their first season of playing football in the league back in 1977 under former great coach Bill Oliver.

We’ll get back to that story in a moment, as Chattanooga’s gridiron story extends further back and beyond its entrance into the Southern Conference back in the late 1970s. Much of Chattanooga’s gridiron tradition prior to joining the Southern Conference was forged under the legendary former head coach A.C. “Scrappy” Moore, who coached the program from 1931-1967, winning 175 games in his 35-year career as Chattanooga’s head coach, and that still ranks as the most wins by any coach in program history.

The Mocs were one of the first to play football of the current member programs, starting way back in 1904 under the direction Walter Hullhein, who led the Mocs to an 8-4 mark over his two seasons as the head coach before stepping away from the program. Prior to Moore’s arrival to take over as the head coach in 1931, the Moccasins had 12 different head coaches, with no coach staying more than four years. Moore’s predecessor—Frank W. Thomas—had been the most successful, leading the Mocs to a 26-9-2 mark in four years as the head coach, which included three-straight SIAA conference titles in a period from 1925-29, which saw the Moccasins win four-straight SIAA titles.

In 1930, UTC entered the newly formed “Dixie Conference” and would win the first of two Dixie Conference titles under Moore’s leadership in 1931, which followed a campaign that saw the Moccasins finish the season with the only two setbacks of that campaign coming against Sewanee (L, 0-6) and Alabama (L, 0-39) in a charity game at the end of the season.

The next and only other conference title prior to joining the Southern Conference member in 1976 would come in 1941, as the UTC went 7-1-1 to claim yet another Dixie Conference title. Like much of the rest of college football, UTC didn’t field a team from 1943-45 due to World War II.

Harold Wilkes took over the program for the legendary Moore, who retired following a 7-3 season in 1967. Wilkes coached for five seasons, posting a 20-33 record over that span, which would lead to maybe the golden era of UTC football under a trio of legends, in Joe Morrison (1973-79), Bill Oliver (1980-83) and Buddy Nix (1984-92). It would usher in a new era for success on the gridiron in the Scenic City, as the Moccasins won 117 games over 19-year span, posting a total mark of 117-96.

Much of that golden era of winning was done under both Morrison and Oliver, as Morrison led the Moccasins to three-straight SoCon titles in their first three seasons as a league member before moving on to coach South Carolina in 1980, and then Oliver, though he would not win a league crown during his four seasons as the head coach, won no fewer than seven games and helped set the stage for the 1984 team, which broke through and became the first-ever NCAA Division I-AA Playoff berth (Now FCS Playoffs) in 1984 under first-year head coach Buddy Nix.

The Mocs would finish 6-5 in ’84, and would be the lone participant in the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs that season from the Southern Conference, dropping a 37-10 contest at Arkansas State. Nix coached the Mocs from 1984-92, and though he put together some good teams, which featured some outstanding defenses, the Mocs never could break through during the final seven years of the Nix era. Kenyon Earl would help set a precedent of great quarterbacks to come in the ensuing years to follow, and he would be one of the first real “dual-threat” signal-callers in the Southern Conference. In 1993, Chattanooga lured former Tennessee Vols linebacker standout Tommy West to become the head coach of the football program, and he would lead the program from one season before being hired away by Clemson, leading the Mocs to a 4-7-1 mark at the helm.

Buddy Green would help maintain some success from 1993-1999, however, it wasn’t really until the Donnie Kirkpatrick era of Mocs football that things would go way south again. The 1996 season would see the close of one chapter and the opening of another for Chattanooga’s football program, as the Moccasins closed out an iconic era of football at one facility in preparation to move to another. Prior to moving into its current facility Finley Stadium, which hosted the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship game from 1997-2010, the Mocs played at one of the more historic venues in college football, Chamberlain Field, which hosted Mocs football games for nearly a century, first opening its gates in 1899 and finally closing them after an October 4, 1997 after a 20-17 win over Wofford.

At the time, it was the second-oldest home venue for a Division I college football team.  The Mocs were 301-133-25 all-time inside the friendly, historic confines. The calendar year of 1996 also brought about the change in logo for Chattanooga football, as the Mocs moved from the spear on the helmet to a mockingbird, changing from “Moccasins” to just “Mocs”.

Though the Mocs appeared ready to break through in their first season in a new facility at Finley Stadium, finishing 7-4 and on the cusp of a Division I-AA Playoff bid, that would be as close as the Mocs would get until the arrival of Russ Huesman some 12 years later. Huesman’s would help pave way back to championship success in the SoCon. Chattanooga would show some promise during the 2005 season under Rodney Allison, winning six games and sporting one of the best running backs in the Southern Conference, in Eldra Buckley, who was a sensation in just a short time for the Mocs after transferring in from the JUCO ranks. But after finishing 6-5 and 3-4 in the league in ’05, the Mocs would fall back on hard times for the next three seasons, eventually prompting a change.

Russ Huesman was then hired to take the Mocs back to the top of the league, as the former Mocs player had a special dedication and connection to the program that several of his predecessors had not, and that is he not only played for UTC, but played for them during some of their glory years when entering the SoCon as a full-time member in the mid-late 1970s. Huesman would have the recipe for success, as he returned to his alma mater in 2009 fresh off helping Richmond to its first and only national title, as the Spiders’ defensive coordinator in 2008, building a defense known as the “Stonewall Defense”. Chattanooga’s defensive tradition would return almost immediately as well, and he would take over a program in shambles and would build it into a SoCon title contender and perennial FCS playoff contender in just two years.

He would help return the Mocs to a hard-nosed, defensive-minded program that so many knew it as throughout the 1980s and early ‘90s. The dedication and effort to becoming a more physical football team from the outset of Huesman’s tenure would show from the outset, as the Mocs would turn things around during that ’09 season, as Chattanooga would finish 6-5 overall and post an even league mark at 4-4, marking the best season the Mocs had had since 2005. Taking the next step for the program proved to be the toughest, as the Mocs nearly stunned national powerhouse Appalachian State to open the 2010 season opener only to fall in a crazy contest, 42-41, in overtime. It was a game that Chattanooga once held a 35-14 lead in late in the third quarter only to see it all come crumbling down.

Despite showing that they could play with anyone…anywhere…anytime…the Mocs still couldn’t break through the wall that held them back for nearly three decades, which was without a playoff appearance or a conference title. The Mocs would see leading quarterback BJ Coleman go down early on in the 2011 campaign, and despite maintaining strong play on the defensive side of the football, the Mocs could manage only a 5-6 finish to the season, losing five of their six games by a combined total of 12 points, including three one-point setbacks by the same score, losing 28-27 to No.1 Georgia Southern, vs. The Citadel and vs. No. 12 Wofford.

The 2012 season would see the Mocs dominant at times, but still lacked what it took to get break down that proverbial door. The Mocs would have a late-season opportunity to get into the FCS postseason, but would again fall in a heartbreaker against Wofford on the road in the penultimate game of the regular-season, dropping a 16-13 game on the road to the Terriers to fall to 5-5 and finished with a win over Elon, completing the campaign 6-5 overall and 5-3 once again in league play. The Mocs had a couple of young players that, by this time, were taking the SoCon by storm, in freshman quarterback Jacob Huesman and sophomore defensive end and sack master Davis Tull.

The 2013 season would see the Mocs accomplish one of their two goals, and that was win a SoCon championship, which snapped a 29-year streak of futility for the program. The Mocs finished in a three-way tie for the SoCon crown in 2013, as both Furman and Samford also finished with 6-2 league marks. Unfortunately for Chattanooga, however, they would be the team left at home during the postseason, as despite knocking off Furman, 31-13, in the Scenic City, the Paladins garnered the league’s tiebreaker and Samford was a qualifier for the FCS playoffs as well by virtue of a late-season, 17-14, overtime win at Seibert Stadium in a game with huge playoff and league title implications.

The Mocs other SoCon loss was, 23-21, at No. 15 Georgia Southern. Since Furman held wins over Georgia Southern (16-13) and Samford (W, 35-17), the Paladins were chosen for the postseason, while Chattanooga was one team out of the three, albeit likely the best one, left out of the postseason. The crazy tiebreaker rule implemented by the SoCon has since been changed. The Mocs did win eight games in a season for the first time in a season since 1980, finishing 8-4 overall. The 2014 season the Mocs would leave no doubts and it would be part of one of its best seasons under Huesman, as Chattanooga completed the campaign with a 7-0 league mark, which included a 9-3 regular-season mark, which included one of the most dominant seasons in league history, which included six of seven league wins by two touchdowns or more,. Only league newcomer Mercer was able to stay within a TD of the Mocs, dropping a 38-31 contest in the Scenic City.

A year later, the Mocs were again a very good football team, however, they would have to share the SoCon spoils this time around, as a result of their lone SoCon loss coming on the road in Macon to the same Mercer team, 17-14, which allowed The Citadel the chance to tie for the league title, despite losing to the Mocs 31-23 in Chattanooga. Back in the FCS Playoffs for a second-straight year, the Mocs would win their opener, 50-20, at home vs. Fordham only to lose a 41-35 overtime heartbreaker at No.1 Jacksonville State.

It would be a bitter pill for Russ Huesman and the Mocs to swallow. Especially seeing as it was his son Jacob Huesman’s final game as UTC’s quarterback. For the second time in three seasons, the Mocs would win 10 games and for the third-straight season, follow a similar path in the FCS Playoffs. Chattanooga was an at-large qualifier for the postseason, along with league regular-season champion The Citadel, as well as at-large qualifiers. The Mocs would win their first game in the postseason, downing Weber State, 45-14, in opening round action of the FCS Playoffs inside the friendly confines of Finley Stadium before once again seeing the playoff run come to an end with a 41-36 loss to Sam Houston State.

With that loss, it would bring about the end of an era for Chattanooga football, as Russ Huesman elected to move on to become the head coach of the Richmond Spiders after having spent eight seasons at the helm of his alma mater, posting what was a 59-37 overall record, which included a 36-16 mark his final three seasons as the head coach. He would be named Southern Conference Coach of the Year on three occasions (2009, ’13 and ’14) and helped the Mocs claim three SoCon regular-season titles from 2013-16, which included also making three appearances in the FCS Playoffs in successive seasons (2014, ’15 and ’16).

The Mocs were one of only 10 programs throughout the FCS to reach the postseason in three-straight seasons from 2014-16. To give you an idea of just how profound an effect that Huesman had had is the fact that the Mocs hadn’t had seven players make the all-conference teams in one season in any one season since 1979. In every season under Huesman’s leadership, however, at least seven Mocs were chosen to one of the two teams. He also coached 17 players that garnered All-America accolades during their careers, and also coached three NFL Draft picks, in cornerback Buster Skrine (Cleveland-2011), quarterback BJ Coleman (Green Bay 2012) and DE/LB Davis Tull (New Orleans-2015).

The Mocs would look to pick up the pieces under head coach Tom Arth in 2017, however, while the Mocs were solid, they certainly weren’t the same as they had been under Huesman, and for the first time since tying for the league title in 2013, the Mocs would miss the FCS postseason, posting what was a 3-8 overall record, which included just a 3-5 mark in Southern Conference action.

Arth, a former Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback behind Payton Manning, would lead the Mocs to a 6-5 mark, which included a 4-4 mark in SoCon action in his final season of league play before moving on to take the head coaching job at Akron back in his home state of Ohio. That’s when the Mocs went back to the drawing board and brought in a coach that would bring back some of that winning mentality Chattanooga had had under Russ Huesman, as Rusty Wright was hired to take over the Chattanooga football program in late 2018 and he would take the reins in his first season in 2019.

Wright, who is currently still in charge of Chattanooga’s football program, would have a profound and immediate impact. Wright, who was a former player for the Mocs during the early-mid 1990s (1992-95) and was an assistant during Huesman’s tenure as the head coach, would help bring the winning edge almost immediately, finishing 6-5 overall and 5-3 in league play in his first season as the head coach of 2019 and then in the COVID 19-shortened 2020-21 season, he helped the nationally ranked and preseason SoCon favorite Mocs to a 3-2 record overall, including a 3-1 mark in SoCon play. After another six-win campaign in 2021, he would lead the Mocs to seven wins (7-4) in 2022 and on the brink of a playoff bid.

The Mocs, which had been favored to win the SoCon title in 2022, broke through and won eight games—the most in Wright’s tenure thus far—and made it back to the postseason for the first time since Huesman was in charge in 2023. The Mocs would finish off the campaign with a solid 8-5 record, which included a 6-2 record in league play. The Mocs would even do something that no other team in UTC history had done in the ’23 FCS Playoffs, which is win a game on the road in the playoffs, knocking off Austin Peay, 24-21, behind backup quarterback Luke Schomburg.

The Mocs would eventually see their playoff run come to an end in the second round, however, dropping a 26-7 contest at league rival Furman in the second round of the ’23 FCS Playoffs. In ’24, the Mocs entered the season as the preseason favorites once again, however, for a second-straight season, the Mocs would have late-season quarterback issues, with Chase Artopoues once again going down with an injury. This time, unfortunately for Mocs fans, that would prove costly, as Chattanooga missed the postseason, finishing with a 7-5 mark, which included costly losses down the stretch to both Western Carolina (L, 34-38) and at home vs. Samford (L, 13-36).

Both losses came without Artopoues under center. The Mocs finished the season with a 24-17 on the road at Austin Peay and ended the season with at least seven wins for the third-straight season and were one of the “First Four Out” of the FCS Postseason, according to reports on the ESPN Selection Show on Selection Sunday for the 24-team FCS Playoff field in late November. In six seasons as a head coach, Wright has coached the highest NFL Draft pick to come from the SoCon since 1974, in offensive lineman Cole Strange (2^nd round pick by New England Patriots) and also coached the school’s second all-time leading rusher, in Ailym Ford (2019-23/3,928 career rush yds), while posting a 37-27 record over those six seasons as UTC’s head coach and is the only Mocs coach to finish .500 or better in six-straight seasons, as well as behing the fasted Chattanooga coach to reach 30 wins. He has helped the Mocs to a 29-15 SoCon ledger in his six seasons as the head coach. The Mocs are picked to finish second by the league’s head coach in the 2025 preseason polls, which is conducted by the nine league head coaches. Chattanooga even got two first-place votes. Coaches aren’t permitted to vote for their own team in the poll.

Great Players

The Mocs had some great players in the late 1970’s and early ’80’s in the Southern Conference, with the likes of defensive tackle Ronnie Powell and running back Kenny Mitchell, who both garnered All-America honors during that memorable title run in 1977.

Morrison would lead the Mocs to three-straight Southern Conference titles before leaving to become head coach of South Carolina. Morrison was a character on the sidelines, known for smoking cigarettes on the sidelines during games. From 1977-80, the Mocs had a balanced offensive attack, led by running back Gwain Durden and Mike, who rank No. 1 and No.2, respectively, on the school’s all-time leading rushing list, with Durden having gained 3,656 career yards, while Smith added 3,340 career rushing yards.

Prior to moving into its current facility Finley Stadium, which hosted the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship game from 1997-2010, the Mocs played at one of the more historic venues in college football, Chamberlain Field, which hosted Mocs football games for nearly a century, first opening its gates in 1899 and finally closing them after an October 4, 1997 after a 20-17 win over Wofford. At the time, it was the second-oldest home venue for a Division I college football team.  The Mocs were 301-133-25 all-time inside the friendly, historic confines.

Of course, the Mocs would make their only FCS playoff appearance as a program in 1984, as the Mocs posted a 6-5 record, including a 5-1 mark in Southern Conference play to qualify for the NCAA FCS Playoffs, losing 37-10 to Arkansas State to bow out in the opening round.

Though the Mocs have had some good teams, they have struggled to find their way in the Southern Conference since that ’84 title team, although they have been extremely competitive and have produced some of the league’s top performers at several positions, most notably, at wide receiver. Players like Terrell Owens (1992-95), Stefpon Hawkins (1996-99) and Cos Dematteo (2000-03), who have set the bar high for all receivers who have followed that trio.

Hawkins is the school’s all-time leading wide receiver in terms of career receiving yards, with 2,375 career receiving yards, which was just a little more than Owens, who had 2,320 career receiving yards. DeMatteo ranks fourth in school history in career receiving yards (2.092) and ranks second in program history in career TD catches (23). DeMatteo’s six TD catches against Mississippi Valley State in 2000 is a Southern Conference single-game record for wide receivers.

Owens, of course, who also played basketball for Mack McCarthy at UTC, went on to a prolific career in the National Football League, as he was originallydrafted into the league in the third round of 1996 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Owens would go on to garner six Pro Bowl invites, and spent times in Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati. Owens played in two Super Bowls with the Eagles and is just the sixth player in NFL history to record 1,000-career receptions, 14,000-career receiving yards and 100-career TD catches.

Plenty of talented players have also made their presence known under center for the Mocs over years, including greats such as Kenyon Earl (1991-94) in the early 1990’s, which is a quarterback with a similar skill set as current Mocs quarterbacks Jacob Huesman and Terrell Robinson, as he is a dual threat under center. Earl finished his career third in school history in career passing yards (6,400).

SMU transfer Chris Sanders (1999-2000) came to Chattanooga as a junior, and holds many of the school’s passing records, despite playing only a couple of seasons in the Blue and Gold. Sanders is the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards (7,230 yards), career 300-yard passing performances (12), 200-yard passing performances (22) and single-season TD passes (27, 1999).

B.J. Coleman (2009-11) would transfer to Chattanooga from Tennessee in 2009, and under then first-year head coach Russ Huesman, Coleman and the Mocs offense would flourish, leading the Blue and Gold to the brink of the playoffs in a couple of those seasons.  Coleman still holds the school record for career TD passes (52), and ranks second in the program’s record book in career passing yards (6,871 yards).

In more recent years, guys like quarterback Jacob Huesman (2012-15) and edge rusher/linebacker Davis Tull (2011-14) dominated each side of the Mocs, with both winning Southern Conference Player of the Year on their respective sides of the football in three out of the four seasons on the Mocs team. Tull finished his career as Chattanooga’s all-time leader in sacks, while Huesman finished his career with more than his fair share of school marks, including holding the program records for passing yards (8,197 yds) and total offense (12,248 yds).

In more modern times, the Mocs have had greats like running back Ailym Ford (2019-23), offensive lineman Cole Strange (2018-21) and defensive linemen Jay Person (2020-23) and Devonnsha Maxwell (2018-22), who were both SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honorees, with Person claiming the top defensive award twice in his career (2022 and ’23) and Maxwell doing so once (2021).

The Mocs have a great tradition of players, coaches and winning in the Southern Conference and rank third in league history, ranking just behind VMI with seven league titles.

OFFENSIVE SCHEME: Pro-Style/Multiple

DEFENSIVE SCHEME: 3-4 base/Multiple

COACHES PRESEASON PROJECTION: 2^nd (2)

KEY OFFENSIVE RETURNERS: TE John McIntyre (Preseason second-team All-SoCon/12 rec, 145 yds, 1 TD, 12.1 YPR); Justus Durant (60 rush att, 272 yds, 5 TDs, 4.5 YPC); OL BJ Ragland (Preseason first-team All-SoCon); QB Luke Schomburg (49-of-92 passing, 663 yds, 4 TDs); RB Journey Wyche (63 rush att, 180 yds, 1 TD, 2.9 YPC); RB Solomon Locke (26 rush att, 82 yds, 3.2 YPC);

KEY OFFENSIVE DEPARTURES: RB Reggie Davis (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24/transferred to Alcorn State); Almarion Crim (transferred to South Dakota); QB Chase Artopoues (out of eligibility); OL Reid Williams (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24); WR Chris Domecrant (transferred to Central Florida); WR Javin Whatley (second-team All-SoCon in ‘24/transferred to Arizona); WR Sam Phillips (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24/transferred to Iowa); LG Tyrell Ragland (out of eligibility); TE Jay Gibson (out of eligibility); OL Dave Monnot III (out of eligibility)

KEY DEFENSIVE RETURNERS: DL Montrell Henderson (12 tackles, 1 QBH in ‘24); DL Marquise Freeman (12 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 INT, 1 TD in ‘24); DB Jermiah Bastiste (preseason second team All-SoCon/21 tackles, 7 PBUs, 3 INTs in ‘24); DB Martez Cooksey Jr. (18 tackles, 1.0 TFL in ‘24); DL Jestin Gilmore (11 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack in ‘24); LB Zion Rutledge (25 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2 PBUs in ‘24); DJ Adams (7 tackles, 0.5 TFL)

KEY DEFENSIVE DEPARTURES: DB Josh Battle (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24/transferred to Southern Miss); DB Reuben Lowery III (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24/out of eligibility and NFL undrafted free agent signee of the Baltimore Ravens); DT Marlon Taylor (first-team All-SoCon in ‘24/out of eligibility and undrafted free agent signee of the Atlanta Falcons); DB Jordan Walker (second-team All-SoCon in ‘24/transferred to West Virginia); DT Quay Wiggles (second team All-SoCon in ‘24/out of eligibility); DL Joseph Barkhole (transferred to Appalachian State); LB Alex Mitchell (out of eligibility); DB Beni Mwamba (transferred to Memphis)

KEY SPECIAL TEAMS RETURNERS: PK Jude Kelly (preseason second-team All-SoCon/16-of-23 on FGs in ‘24/36-of-36 on PATs in ‘24); LS Ethan Myers; P Heath Jehu (44.1 YPP in ’24)

KEY TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS: RB Ryan Ingram (Wofford); DB Khari Gee (Georgia Tech); DB Nick Coates (Eastern Illinois); DB Kaelin Drakeford (Eastern Illinois); QB Camden Orth (Bowling Green); WR Shamar Sandgren (South Alabama); OL Ryan Merklinger (Western Illinois); LB Kristian Ozane (Davidson); DB AJ Wallace (Arkansas State); WR Markell Quick (NC Central); Jamarri Robinson (Northern Colorado); TJ McElmurray (Iowa Central CC); DL Jacoby Sharpe (Hampton); DB Jordan Davis (Ball State)

BRIEF OVERVIEW AND 2024 RECAP: Chattanooga came into the 2024 season as the preseason league favorite, but like every other season in which they have entered with high expectations under seventh-year head coach Rusty Wright, the season only yielded diminishing returns.

The Mocs appeared to at least be in good shape to make a postseason appearance heading into an early November clash with Western Carolina, however, a surprise injury to Chase Artopoues put that in immediate peril. Still, despite the 37-31 loss at Western Carolina, the Mocs still were in a good position to make the postseason, however, as it turns out, Chattanooga would be the 25^th team in what was a 24-team FCS playoff field, as Chattanooga was literally revealed to be the “last team out” of the FCS Playoffs, as it was announced on selection Sunday.

The Mocs really went out and challenged themselves in the non-conference last season, and that was something that Wright and his staff should be commended for. The Mocs overcame a 69-3 loss to a very good Tennessee team to open the season to rebound and put themselves in position to pull off an FBS win the following week against Sun Belt member Georgia State a week later only to drop a heartbreaking 24-21 contest.

The SoCon opener against No. 23 and eventual Southern Conference champion Mercer was probably the most frustrating game of the season for Wright and his staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball, where the Mocs established next to nothing in the ground game, and could only muster a field goal and were an alarming 0-for-12 on third down in the 10-3 league-opening loss. The Mocs would seemingly recover to play some good football winning five-straight, including four by two touchdowns or more before losing that heartbreaker in Cullowhee the Catamounts.

Even with that loss, winning out would have given the Mocs eight wins, including a 6-2 conference mark and that should have been enough to have easily qualified for the postseason. The Mocs, who were favored in their final three games at The Citadel, vs Samford and Austin Peay. Unfortunately, another the Mocs would bookend in their ’24 SoCon slate with excruciatingly painful home losses to both Mercer (L, 3-10) and Samford (L, 13-36), which pretty much ended any hopes of UTC’s postseason hopes.

With that said, there is both a lot of optimism and a lot of unknown entering the 2025 season. There are massive holes to fill for the Mocs on both sides of the ball, and while the defense usually reloads and that should again be true this fall, it’s the offense that seems to have the most question marks, having the replace both quarterback spot as well as some household names for Mocs fans when it comes to the offensive line.

THE OFFENSE: Chattanooga will have a changing of the guard for the first time in two years at quarterback…Well, sort of, as the signal-caller slated to take over for Chase Artopoeus next season has big-game experience, and over the past couple of seasons, has seen more action in the bigger games of the season than even Artopoeus did, as Luke Schomburg did much of the heavy lifting down the stretch this season, and was a starter in both of the Mocs’ playoff games last season. 

Schomburg is coming off a 2024 season which saw him complete 16-of-33 passes for 338 yards, with two TDs and three INTs in four games last fall, including starting the final three of the seasons after Artopoeus went down with an injury. In two seasons so far, Artopoeus has logged action in a total of 11 games, completing 59-of-115 passes for 855 yards, with four touchdowns and six INTs. 

The question isn’t necessarily Schomburg, but the weapons he will have around him this fall. Schomburg is expected to have a battle on his hands for the starting signal-calling duties, with graduate transfer Camden Orth from Bowling Green expected to battle Schomburg for the starting spot. The past two seasons has seen the Mocs lose most of their most talented wideouts to either graduation or the transfer portal, with the departures of guys like Javin Whatley, Chris Domecrant, Sam Phillips, Jamoi Mayes, and Jay Gibson have all moved on. 

At running back, the Mocs also had some huge questions to be answered last season with the departures of both Ailym Ford and Gino Appleberry following the 2023 season. Chattanooga enters the 2025 season with some question marks at both receiver and running back, and head coach Rusty Wright has gone to the transfer portal to address those concerns accordingly. 

The good news is that running back looks like it would be in excellent shape, as the Mocs added Wofford transfer Ryan Ingram during the off-season, and he will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer from Wofford, bypassing the league’s policy on having to sit out at least one season since it is an in-conference transfer. Ingram has played a lot of meaningful football in his career at Wofford, as he played 39 games during his career with the Terriers, finishing with 23 starts at the running back position, totaling 2,020 yards and 19 TDs on 422 carries with the Terriers. 

Also, back to compliment Ingram at the running back position will be Justus Durant, who was in his first season for the Mocs last season after transferring in from Shorter.

Solomon Locke and Journey Wyche could be other couple of running backs to keep an eye on for the Mocs in 2025.  At wide receiver, replacing guys like Phillips, Whatley, Domecrant and Gibson isn’t something you just do overnight, or reload by doing immediately. However, there is talent waiting in the wings for the opportunity to be the next home run hitter in the passing attack for the Mocs.

South Alabama transfer Shamar Sandgren, redshirt freshman Taylor Crumedy, redshirt sophomore AJ Little, and Josh Williams could be ready to step up as the next star quartet of receivers for the Mocs, while top pass-catching tight end John McIntyre also returns to the fold for the Mocs. The offensive line has been the unit that the Mocs have become recognized most for in Rusty Wright’s tenure as the head coach, and a lot of that has to do with Cole Strange being drafted so highly in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Last season was one that would see the Mocs struggle, however, in comparison to the standard, which has been set by guys like Strange and others that came before like McLendon Curtis that set the bar highly for the Mocs’ offensive front. This season, the Mocs will have to replace at least two starters it lost to the transfer portal, in Almarion Crim and center Reid Williams, who have moved on to South Dakota and UNLV, respectively. The good news is there is veteran leadership still around for the Mocs and moving forward into the 2025 season, with redshirt senior right guard Bryce Goodner, left tackle Will Buchanan, and left guard Tyrell Ragland all returning to the fold.

The Mocs weren’t bad on the OL last season, but they certainly lacked the explosiveness in the running game we’ve become accustomed to seeing out of Rusty Wright’s teams. The Mocs finished out the 2024 season ranking 72^nd in the FCS in total offense (346.2 YPG), while 88^th nationally (127.5 YPG) on the ground last fall. Both of those totals are lower than what UTC fans have become accustomed to, but with those three veterans mentioned above and a running back of the caliber of Ingram, that should change in 2025. While the offense struggled at the times, the defense was solid, and its numbers were a bit skewed by some of those tough non-conference games, especially having to face off against a pair of FBS teams, as well as one that made the 12-team FBS Playoff last season. 

THE DEFENSE: The Mocs have some big questions to be answered at all three levels of a unit that finished the 2024 season that ranked an uncharacteristically low 65^th in the nation in total defense (366.5 YPG) last fall but did rank a solid 28^th nationally in scoring defense (22.1 PPG). 

One of the bigger blows that the Mocs have to overcome along the defensive front is along the defensive front, where UTC has to find a replacement for Chris Victor, who has transferred out to the University of California to continue his career. Nose tackle Marlon Taylor, who was the 2024 SoCon Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has also moved on and is an undrafted free agent signee of the Atlanta Falcons.

Other veteran performers like Quay Wiggles and Joseph Barkhole must also be replaced along the defensive front, and that essentially means UTC will head into the 2025 season having to replace all four starters along the defensive line heading into 2025. There are some veterans still around, however, who are expected to step into starting roles this fall, in both Montrell Henderson at defensive tackle, as well as Marquise Freeman at defensive end. 

There are major questions at linebackers as well, with the losses of the entire secondary to graduation. Reinforcements were brought in from the transfer portal, however, and those additions should provide immediate support. At linebacker, the Mocs must also replace top tackler Alex Mitchell, as well as Kobe Joseph, who has also seen his eligibility expire. The good news is that Davidson transfer Gunnar Clary should move into an immediate leadership role at linebacker this fall. 

Eastern Illinois transfer Nick Coates should give immediate support at defensive back heading into the 2025 season. Chattanooga is a team that is in the process of rebuilding but could still be a factor in the Southern Conference title race this fall.

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE GAME TO WATCH: at Tennessee Tech (Sept. 6)—After opening the season on the road at American member Memphis, which is presumably a loss, much like the 2024 season, the Mocs will face a major test on the road in the second week of the season, although this opponent at least won’t an FBS opponent like Georgia State was last season on the heels of that blowout loss to the Vols last season. 

What it will be is a very good Tennessee Tech team that many feel will be in the mix for a Big South-OVC title this fall. It will also give the Mocs a chance to get an early preview of the newest conference member a year prior to the Golden Eagles begin play on the SoCon Football gridiron in 2026.

Like Chattanooga, the Golden Eagles were a team listed as one of the last four teams out of the FCS playoffs last season, and the Golden Eagles have expectations entering the season as high as they have been entering any season in the modern era of the program.

The point is, the team from Cookeville isn’t one traditionally one that has been associated with OVC success on the gridiron, and in mid-July, the Golden Eagles were selected as the preseason favorite in their league for the first time since 1978 to give you an idea of how barren success has been on the gridiron for Tennessee Tech. 

When the Mocs and Golden Eagles do battle on the gridiron this fall, it will mark the 41^st time in series history, with Chattanooga holding a 30-10 all-time lead in the series. The Mocs have won four-straight over the Golden Eagles and seven of the last 10. The two last met back during the 2018 season, which saw the Mocs claim a 34-10 win to open the 2018 campaign.

CONFERENCE GAME TO WATCH: vs. Western Carolina (Nov. 1)-- On the first day of the final month of the 2025 regular-season, Western Carolina will go in search of its fourth-straight series win over Chattanooga when the Catamounts travel to the Scenic City. 

By this time in the schedule, Kerwin Bell’s club should have a pretty good idea on whether or not they are in the mix for a first SoCon football title in program history and return to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 1983, and after the result of this late-season contest against the Mocs, the Catamounts could either take a step even closer to that ultimate goal, or take a step back from those two goals and start to once again second-guess itself before ultimate failure on both goals once again in 2025.

One thing for sure is that each of the past three seasons, the great wins established by Kerwin Bell’s Western Carolina teams would seemingly emphatically say that the Mocs were one of the best 24 teams in the FCS and belonged in the postseason. 

That’s what makes this game so interesting, and when looking back to last season, the Mocs were considered ahead of WCU for one of the final four playoff bids due to “metrics”, despite the fact that the Catamounts had posted a 38-34 win during the regular-season, or the fact that the Catamounts finished higher in the Southern Conference’s final standings. Leading WCU to its third-straight win over Chattanooga last season was backup quarterback Taron Dickens, who really came of age in the late-season home win over the Mocs, as Dickens passed for 431 yards and five touchdowns in the four-point win over the Mocs.

Each of the past two meetings between the two have come as a ranked matchup, and WCU’s 52-50 win at Finley Stadium two years ago might go down as the best game in the history of this great SoCon rivalry. In recording that thrilling win a couple of years ago, the Catamounts snapped a streak of 47-straight losses on the road to ranked FCS opposition, which spanned all the way back to a win at Furman in 1984 with the win over the Mocs on that occasion. When the Mocs and Catamounts get together a day after Halloween, it will mark the 51^st all-time clash between the two programs, with Chattanooga holding the 30-20 all-time series edge.

QUOTABLE: Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright on quarterback Luke Schomburg learning late last season that he would be getting the starting nod on Thursday following an undisclosed injury to Chase Artopoues and how Schomburg has handled pressure situations throughout his UTC career.

“It shows what kind of kids we have in our program…Didn’t bat an eye and didn’t bitch and complain and just tried to go make it happen and get it done and that’s the way he’s been since day one…You would like him to be a little further along in terms of doing some things now, but I told somebody when that happened that every time that poor kid’s been put in the game the circumstances have been enormous.”

Final Synopsis: With only five starters back and question marks at quarterback and at linebacker, the lofty pick of No. 2 in the preseason poll seems a little off to me, however, we know that Rusty Wright and his staff are as good as any in the league and they will have a plan to attack those perceived potential weaknesses heading into the campaign. The Mocs also won’t have to worry about having such as brutal of a non-conference slate this fall, getting a bit of a breather against Stetson. Tennessee Tech, Tarleton State, and of course Memphis won’t be easy of course. Both Tarleton State and Tennessee Tech enter the season  ranked in the STATS Perform Preseason Top 25 poll, with Tarleton State checking in at No. 10 in the poll, while Tennessee Tech enters the season ranked No. 21. The Mocs were among those receiving votes in the preseason poll. My biggest question mark about this team is even beyond quarterback, though, and that is how Chattanooga adjusts to having so many unknowns coming into a season on the defensive side of the ball--arguably more questions entering a season than any since Russ Huesman's first season in charge way back in 2009--and that makes me somewhat hesitant to predict any kind of real title-contending season for Chattanooga in 2025.