No doubt about it, first year UTC head football coach Tom Arth wants excellence from his staff and players and one goal is to win a national championship.
“There are only a few schools at any college football level who have a realistic chance at winning a national championship and Chattanooga is one of those schools,” said coach Arth Monday while speaking at the Chattanooga Quarterback Club weekly lunch at Finley Stadium.
He also believes that to win the national championship it starts with at least three keys.
“Our players have to have a commitment to excellence, a relentless belief in our system, in themselves and their teammates and a tireless will to compete and to win.”
Arth noted that no great pre-game speech in the locker room will win a game, but it is what happens in practice starting in the spring.
Marine Toughness: “My dad was a Marine and he didn’t rely on emotion from a speech, but relied on technique and training,” Arth stated, “He depended upon toughness and a willingness to withstand anything.”
First Practice: “Our first practice last Tuesday wasn’t up to our standard of excellence and I made sure our players understood that. They came out with a different mindset and focus Thursday (second practice) and had a much better practice.
Our players need to have an unrelenting drive to dominate their opponent in every drill in every practice which will translate to game situations.”
Key Offensive Positions: Asked about how he plans to use the tight ends, coach Arth said, “Of course, the quarterback is your most important player on offense and we feel our tight end is the second most important position. We need a big physical tight end to key the run game.”
Play the Best – James Madison: “We want to play the best teams we can to be the best and we are working on a home-and-home series with defending FCS champion James Madison,” Arth stated.
He told the Quarterback Club audience how an opening-game loss last season was key to a pair of big wins late in the season.
“We (John Carroll, his former team) opened at Wisconsin-Oshkosh (eventual D-III national runners-up) and lost (33-14), but having played a real strong team early on helped us upset No.1 teams in the regular season (Mount Union) and also in the playoffs (Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA D-III quarterfinals).
“If we had not played such a strong team as Oshkosh at the beginning of the season, we would not have won those two big games later on.”
John Carroll (12-2) also lost to Wisc.-Oshkosh (13-2) in the NCAA D-III playoff semis, 10-3.
Looking to 2017: UTC opens with nationally-ranked and long-time rival Jacksonville (Ala.) State in Montgomery on August 26 on ESPN, followed by LSU (Sept. 9) before the home opener with UT-Martin (Sept.16) and then the Southern Conference schedule.
“I am excited about playing Jacksonville State to open the season on national television. Our game is the only one played that day so football fans all across the country will be ready to watch some college football and everyone can watch Chattanooga and our style of football.”
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net