Gauging the Mocs: 10 after 10

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team completed its 10th practice of the preseason Saturday afternoon, leaving the Mocs less than three weeks from their season opener against Tennessee Tech on Aug. 30 at Finley Stadium. Today, the Times Free Press takes a look at 10 players who have stood out in the first couple of weeks:

1. Marshall Cooper, junior inside linebacker

Cooper’s biggest contribution in his first season with the program was a punt block that led to the winning touchdown in the season finale against East Tennessee State. This season he appears in good position to occupy one of the positions vacated by Tae Davis and Dale Warren. Head coach Tom Arth raved recently about Cooper’s knowledge of the system and knowing where everyone is supposed to be. He will play.

2. Brandon Dowdell, sophomore free safety

Replacing four-time first-team All-Southern Conference selection Lucas Webb won’t be easy, but Dowdell has shown an ability to make plays. He’s packed on about 15 pounds of muscle and is very instinctive, which should give the preseason first-team All-SoCon return specialist an opportunity to be known for defense as well as his return skills.

3. Derek Mahaffey, senior defensive tackle

Perhaps nobody on the team has a chip on his shoulder quite like Mahaffey, a second-team all-league selection last season who was left off both preseason all-conference teams this year. It’s led to a locked-in player who at times has dominated up front.

4. Isaiah Mack, senior defensive end

Mack has been primed for a breakout season for a couple of years now. The change in system stunted a little of that last season, but with a year of experience playing end in the 3-4 alongside Mahaffey, he’s primed for a year worthy of the preseason first-team All-SoCon accolades he received.

5. Nyvin Nelson, freshman inside linebacker

Nelson has been one of the newcomers most likely to get on the field immediately, with a dearth of experienced players at the position. He’s progressing well but has a ways to go — Arth recently said he’s hoping the game “starts to slow down” for the true freshman — but Nelson definitely has shown he can make plays.

6. Genuine Potts, freshman receiver

Potts was one of the prize pickups of the 2018 recruiting class, and he will have a chance to play immediately. The coaching staff has been giving him a number of repetitions to see what he can do, and with the new redshirt rule, eligible to any first-year player who participates in four games or fewer, he will receive opportunities in games early and can still have a fifth season of eligibility if the coaching staff feels he isn’t fully ready yet.

7. Tyrell Price, junior running back

Price came in with lofty expectations — he was a second-team allleague selection without playing a game — and he hasn’t disappointed. At 6-foot, 220 pounds, he has the speed to elude tacklers and has shown the strength to shake off initial hits around the line of scrimmage.

8. Cole Strange, sophomore offensive lineman

Perhaps no UTC player transformed his body in the offseason quite as much as Strange, who went from a 270-pound freshman who didn’t really know what he was doing to a much bigger, stronger-looking player with a year of experience and knowledge of how to play on the offensive line. Position coach Nick Hennessey recently said Strange was “dedicated to being the best he can be,” and his growth in one offseason signifies that.

9. Nick Tiano, junior quarterback

Tiano had to grow up quickly last season, his third year of school but first as a starter and first getting any advanced on-field experience. He recently said that last year his “eyes were wide open” in those first few games, but he has looked this preseason like a player with a grasp of the system and a supreme confidence in where players need to be and where the ball needs to go.

10. Malcolm White, junior offensive lineman

White is the most experienced returning player on the roster in number of starts, and he’s looked that way. A coach recently said of White that while watching video “we don’t talk about him. That’s a good thing.” At left tackle, it’s been his responsibility to protect the quarterback’s back side, and both Tiano and sophomore Chris James seemingly have had time to make reads and throws with the combination of White and Strange.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@ timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.