UTC tight end Chris James savors final season with Mocs
Oct. 29—Life is a lot different these days for Chris James.
On and off the football field, so much has changed for James since he arrived at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga three years ago, it seems one of the few things that remains the same is the No. 17 jersey he still sports when he suits up for the Mocs.
Now a 6-foot-3, 228-pound tight end and seventh-year senior, his time in the Scenic City has included a change in head coaches for UTC and a change in positions for James. The former quarterback has endured a number of little injuries that have slowed him at times. Before landing with the Mocs, James was a high school senior at nearby Georgia program Gilmer in 2014, spent a redshirt season at Division II Valdosta State and then two seasons at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.
So it's been a journey, but James is an adult now. He graduated with a degree in sport management in spring 2020. He's engaged to be married. He goes to bed at 9 p.m., and he has to do a lot better job watching what he eats.
"I feel like a grown-up outside of football, but I just get to come here every day and just be a kid when I'm here," James said. "I'm just going to enjoy it for as long as possible. I'm older, so I've got to take care of my body a little bit better, but the guys know I can act a fool with them anytime I need to."
Fellow seventh-year senior Harrison Moon — the offensive lineman is also engaged to be married — relates to the changes James has had to make to continue playing football. Moon, who prepped at Signal Mountain and began his collegiate career at Mississippi State, and James were both granted sixth-year waivers by the NCAA in December 2019 due to injuries — and then 2020-21 became a free year of eligibility across the board due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I love watching him," Moon said. "I know he's worked hard, but sometimes you're like, 'Man, that's an old man running right there,' but it's exciting watching him run and it is funny. I want to see him get in the end zone because he works too hard to not get in the end zone, so that's our new goal for him."
The kid in James got a chance to come out in UTC's 55-13 win at Samford last week. A preseason All-American in 2020 and an All-Southern Conference first-team selection in 2019, James had a career-high 83 yards on just two catches last Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. That included a career-long 48-yarder on the second drive of the game, when he caught a short pass from quarterback Cole Copeland and raced to the Samford 5-yard line, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run by Copeland two snaps later.
"I see Chris turn, and I'm like, 'There's nobody. What is going on?'" UTC coach Rusty Wright said. "There's no question he thought he was going to get hit, because when he caught it, he kind of paused a second, then he turned and nobody tackled him. I'm glad because he's been working hard, and it was really good for him to have a good day."
It was his biggest gain since a 40-yarder in 2019 — also against Samford.
James ranks second on the team this season with 15 catches and 206 receiving yards, and he has helped the Mocs (4-3, 3-1 SoCon) remain in the hunt for a conference title and the program's first appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs since three in a row from 2014 to 2016. UTC faces Furman (4-3, 2-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Finley Stadium for homecoming, leaving only road games against Wofford and Mercer and the regular-season home finale versus The Citadel on the Mocs' schedule.
UTC endured a slow start on offense and overall this season, and an overtime loss at reigning SoCon champion Virginia Military Institute earlier this month has left the Mocs little margin for error when it comes to reaching their ultimate goals, but James feels his team is on the cusp of "playing its best ball."
"We knew at the beginning of the year that wasn't anything close to how we could play football," James said. "I think we're just getting started, but we haven't played our best game yet, I don't think. We just have to be focused — Coach Wright says it all the time. This late in the season, it's about wanting to be around each other and continuing to move forward, and I think this team has that."
James has grown up during his time with the Mocs — and it seems those around him have, too.
"You know, teams in the past sometimes later in the season, you're just ready to be done," James said. "With this time, we enjoy being around each other and enjoy going to work every day."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.
