Jare Gault

While the coaches looked for mental and physical toughness Wednesday during the first of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s five two-a-day practices, the players were mostly concerned with survival.

“Two-a-days is two-a-days, you got to come out here and work and go hard,” linebacker Joseph Thornton said. “As much as people don’t like it, you’re going to have to do it whether you’re feeling down or up. ... It’s hard, but this is where winners are made, right here in two-a-days.”

For the Mocs, the day began with the sun rising over the trees on the eastern side of Scrappy Moore Field and ended with the sun going down beyond the mountains to the west. The players arrived at McKenzie Arena around 6 a.m. to grab a light breakfast, get taped and put on their pads before making the short walk to the field a little after 7.

Practice began at 7:25, and the Mocs went hard for more than two hours.

“The first day of two-a-days is the most difficult of the two-a-days, I think, because you’re not in a routine,” Mocs coach Rodney Allison said. “I thought the guys did OK today. We’ve got a lot more people in this program that really want to win, and I think that was obvious (today). We got a lot more players that are willing to do what it takes to win.”

As long as Wednesday was for most of the Mocs, it was worse for a handful of players still in summer school. They had to hustle from the first practice to their 9:50 class.

“It’s a little tiresome dealing with class and (two-a-days), but the good news is it will be over (today) after I get my last exam out of the way,” said quarterback Jare Gault, who ran for a pair of long touchdowns Wednesday.

Running back Bryan Fitzgerald has yet to practice because of a right knee injury, and after meeting with an orthopedic surgeon Wednesday it was decided that surgery was the best course of action, Allison said. Fitzgerald, a senior and a preseason pick for first-team All-Southern Conference, will have the surgery next week and a timetable for his return won’t be known until after the procedure.

“There’s some good-case scenarios and some not-so-good-case scenarios, but I think it’s a great approach (to go ahead with the surgery) because once they get in there they can see what they’re dealing with,” Allison said.

The Mocs will practice once this morning before doubling up again on Friday.

This and that

Along with center Brian Heflin (back) and Fitzgerald (knee), who are out indefinitely, several other Mocs sat out Wednesday’s practices. Offensive lineman Nick Gipson and defensive tackle B.J. Taylor were held out after experiencing concussion-like symptoms Tuesday, while offensive lineman Jeff Maxi sat out following a heat-related episode on Tuesday. Offensive lineman Adam Miller also didn’t participate due to illness. ... State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, who is a UTC graduate, came out and watched the morning practice, while former linebacker Chris Johnson attended the afternoon session.

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