What Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright said about facing No. 15 Tennessee at Neyland Stadium

What Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright said during his press conference on Tuesday about his Mocs opening the new season by facing No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday afternoon (12:45 Eastern Time, TV: SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville:

Opening Statement

“Looking forward to a huge challenge and a great opportunity to start the season up in Knoxville. And I know these guys are excited about it and just ready to get going. I think we’ve had a good fall camp. Just looking to watching our guys go compete on Saturday in a great environment. And we’ll see what happens.” 

Being able to use in-helmet communication in Saturday’s game at Tennessee

“(We) can, but we’re not. And that’s another thing I hadn’t figured out either. I understand that in the NFL game, because everyone huddles, not everyone at our level or the Division I level huddles up anymore. So you still have to signal to all of those other guys. I’m not real sure how big of a difference that’ll make unless it’s just the communication between the offensive coordinator and the quarterback or the defensive coordinator and whoever is calling signals defensively. But you still have to (signal calls in). Everybody in the NFL huddles, there are no uptempo offenses. They may do those things, they all huddle. So I understand the communication part there at our level, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.” 

What he has learned about this Chattanooga team during the offseason and through the preseason

“I love the way these guys have been since January. It’s a really good group. It’s a really good group of people to be around. They give you everything they have. We went out there this morning and practiced and it was probably one of the better Tuesday practices we’ve had since I’ve been here. Because we’re not always perfect and not always great, but they go. You tell them to go and they go, and that’s the biggest thing. We’ve got some guys back. They’re good players, no doubt. And we got some guys that have to step up in some spots and they’re trying to do that. This group will try. I think this is a physical bunch. 

I really do. I don’t think they have any issue hitting somebody in the mouth and I don’t think they’ll back down from that. So that’s the biggest thing, they’re going to give themselves a chance and (if we’re) not (good enough), we’ll try and get it figured out and get better for the next week. But I think that’s the one thing they want to do. It’s important to this group to be good. And they work hard at trying to do that, trying to do things right. So that’s what’s got me excited about seeing where the end result can be.” 

The benefit of playing a team like Tennessee to start the season, opposed to in the middle of the schedule or later in the year

“Well, I know they’re going to be excited to go play. Sometimes when you play them late (in the schedule), they may not be quite as excited and those things. And look, we’re going to be in an adverse situation from the time the ball kicks off Saturday until the time it’s over. So it’s only going to help us somehow, some way. It’s only going to help us. And I’m going to find out about people that we might have some questions about. I’m going to find out about guys and see what their fight is like and see what those things are. 

“But you know, and I told them today, I was like, it’s going be adverse. I mean, you are going go up against the guys bigger, faster and stronger than you. And I said, that’s not going to happen after this week. Most of the time we’re going to go out there and the playing field is going to be a lot more level. So we got to find some things out about it. 

“But I’d like to know about my team going into a year rather than waiting to find out at the end of the year. Find out what kind of people we have and who’s going to do the right things for sure. So, no offense, but I’d much rather play these guys than play somebody I should go beat, or (a team) people think we should (beat), as far as who we’re playing and those kind of things. So I’d much rather have a much harder challenge. These guys are excited about playing them. And sometimes when you play people from lower levels and those kind of things, especially even at our level, you play lower-level teams, they don’t take them as serious. They don’t do those things. And I know my guys are excited about going to play. So I’ll find out some things about our football team, especially this weekend and next week, with the level of competition we’re going to play.” 

The challenge of facing Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava without much college film of him

“He’s talented. Yeah, he’s talented. He can make all throws and the scariest part is when he gets it in his hands and he tucks it, it gets real interesting then. So just a very talented young man. I’m sure you’ll see a lot of growth from him from the bowl game, going through the bowl game then spring ball, then fall camp and him having an opportunity to go play. I think that’s the thing, his talent level, the sky is the limit. At the end of the day, he can do everything that they’re trying to ask him to do in that offense. And I think you’ll see him continuously get better, especially as the season goes along, gets more comfortable with everything.” 

Nico Iamaleava making it look effortless when he tucks the football and runs

“I can promise you it looks real effortless, but that’s at SEC speed for you when he is going. So yeah, I mean he made it look real effortless against Iowa a couple of times. And those are Big 10, corn-fed boys. He’s a good football player.”

Tennessee believing it has one of the best defensive lines in college football this season

“They got a couple that are pretty special, they really do. They’ve got a couple ends for sure that are really special. They’ve added some pieces to it over the summer … in the transfer portal and those kind of things. So they have an opportunity (to be the best), they do. It’ll be all we want to handle and then some. But, without seeing a couple of them play, just knowing what they have, one defensive end has got a chance to be top-five draft, pick something like that. So yeah, he’s pretty special.” 

The biggest challenge against playing an FBS opponent, if it’s athleticism or size or something else 

“Well, you’re talking about athleticism and speed and those different things all play into it. I got asked yesterday about the athleticism or the depth and its athleticism. Because I can’t simulate that (in practice), as hard as we try and as adverse as we make it for our guys. It takes a couple of plays to get caught up to the speed of it. And then when you do, you have to play at that speed and handle that athleticism the whole time. 

“So that’s the biggest thing. Guys are guys, football is still football when you get out there and do it. You have to be in the right spots. They have to be in the right spots, they have to do the right things. We have to do the right things. But that’s what happens when you’re playing folks like this, especially one that’s progressively (improved). You can see them progressively getting better since Josh (Heupel) has been there, being a good football team.”

If tempo offenses are easier to defend now because they’re more common

“(Tennessee is) snapping it about once every 20 seconds, so they’re moving pretty quick. We’ve seen it/ I don’t know if we’ve seen it quite as fast, at our level. We tend to not let it get started a lot of times, which helps. They get it started and get going, it’s hard (to stop). But we’re doing some things trying to help our guys out with that. But nobody stopped (Tennessee), they stopped themselves when you watch film … which is the scary thing when it’s all said and done. 

“But yeah, we see it. We just haven’t seen it. Maybe it’s fast, but it’s not quite as fast as what they do. But it’s interesting because, you know, (the) center judge is backing out and they’re snapping the ball and I’m like, somebody’s got to get set, you know? Because I actually watched, went back and watched two or three games yesterday to see the center judge backing out on them on offense just to see how many penalties he threw. Because if he was really set during the course of the game, I think I saw him. Wasn’t many (penalties). So I’m not sure how good that guy is, when he is backing out, trying to watch what he’s supposed to watch. That’s how fast it’s going at times.” 

If he takes much away from Austin Peay’s game at Tennessee last season, keeping that game competitive into the second half

“Well, I watched it. I’ve watched that (game). UConn, couple more people a little more similar to us. And I’ve watched the Georgias and Alabamas and all that. But Tennessee (didn’t) play well (against Austin Peay). The first drive I think they dropped three balls dead in their hands. Austin Peay did some things a little uncharacteristic early, schematically, and gave them some issues. But then when they figured it out in the second half, it was some unsound stuff. 

“We’re not going to go reinvent the wheel to go play. We got to go do what we do. We got to get better at some things no matter what happens Saturday. But again … I don’t even remember where it was in (the season) for them, but (they) probably weren’t too fired up about playing them. I don’t know who they had the next week, and that’s part of it too. They’re, they got 19-, 20-, 21-year-old guys too.”

Simulating noise in practice this week while preparing to play Tennessee at Neyland Stadium 

“I mean, we played Rocky Top on Sunday. We played the team deals. I mean, it’s loud. Hopefully it’s loud for the right reasons, not the wrong ones. Hopefully they’re making noise so we can’t do anything because we’re playing well. But it’s hard to simulate all that stuff. When it’s all said and done, we got some things to hopefully help ourselves with it. Alabama’s loud too, maybe not as loud as Neyland, but it’s loud. They’re all loud just because of the sheer number of people.”