Chattanooga Mocs Picked to Finish 2nd in the SoCon

(gomocs.com) Football season is nearly upon us. One of the final rites of passage was held today in Greenville, S.C. The Southern Conference Media Day shared this year’s preseason poll and all-conference prognostications. The Chattanooga Mocs were picked to finish second in 2025 with three on the all-conference squads.

First Thought

“It’s always good to come over to Greenville because you know, the season’s right around the corner. You’re getting ready to start fall camp. And you know the biggest thing is, we got to get ourselves ready to go no matter the situation.” – Coach Rusty Wright

Preseason Poll

1. Mercer (6): 60

2. Chattanooga (2): 50

3. Western Carolina (1): 49

4. ETSU: 43

5. Samford: 40

6. Furman: 36

7. Wofford: 19

8. The Citadel: 17

9. VMI: 10

All-Conference Teams

Offensive Player of the Year: Taron Dickens, R-So., QB, Western Carolina

Defensive Player of the Year: Andrew Zock, So., DL, Mercer

First team offense

QB: Taron Dickens, Western Carolina

RB: Devontae Houston, ETSU

RB: Branson Adams, Western Carolina

OL: BJ Ragland, Chattanooga

OL: Mike Bartilucci, The Citadel

OL: Ashton Flinn, ETSU

OL: Eli Brasher, Furman

OL: Xavier Jennings, Mercer

OL: Zach Watson, Western Carolina

TE: Jackson Pryor, Furman

WR: Hakeem Meggett, ETSU

WR: Adjatay Dabbs, Mercer

First team defense

DL: Nick Hunter, ETSU

DL: Andrew Zock, Mercer

DL: Conroy Cunningham, Samford

DL: Caleb Fisher, Western Carolina

LB: Je’Mazin Roberts, The Citadel

LB: Ryan Earl, Furman

LB: Hayward McQueen Jr., Western Carolina

DB: Cale Williams, The Citadel

DB: Kouri Crump, VMI

DB: Ken Moore Jr., Western Carolina

DB: CJ Coombes, Wofford

First team specialists

PK: Ian Williams, Furman

P: James Platte, The Citadel

LS: Alex Applefield, Samford

RS: Brayden Smith, Mercer

Second team offense

QB: Quincy Crittendon, Samford

RB: Autavius Ison, Mercer

RB: CJ Miller, Mercer

OL: Jonathan Cline, ETSU

OL: Micah Sumpter, ETSU

OL: Luke Petit, Furman

OL: Tyler Murray, Mercer

OL: Aaron Sanez, Western Carolina

OL: Quincy Hughes, Wofford

TE: John McIntyre., Chattanooga

WR: Adonis McDaniel, Mercer

WR: Malik Knight, Western Carolina

WR: Isaiah Scott, Wofford

Second team defense

DL: Brenden LeBlanc, ETSU

DL: Micah Nelson, Western Carolina

DL: Brandon Maina, Wofford

DL: Marion Smokes, Wofford

LB: Ty Anderson, ETSU

LB: Jaden Mosley, Samford

LB: Blue Monroe, Western Carolina

DB: Jeremiah Batiste, Chattanooga

DB: Donovan Watkins, Mercer

DB: Samaurie Dukes, Western Carolina

DB: Maximus Pulley, Wofford

Second team specialists

PK: Ewan Johnson, ETSU

P: John McConnell, Mercer

LS: Jaiden Hamilton, Mercer

RS: Braylon Knauth, The Citadel

Notable

• This is the first time the Mocs have been picked second in the league under Wright. There are three firsts, one third and two fourths.
  2024: 1
  2023: 4
  2022: 1
  2021: 1
  2020-21: 3
  2019: 4
• Chattanooga is the only program to have a winning conference record every season since Wright took the helm in 2019.
• This is the first conference honors for Ragland, McIntyre and Batiste. McIntyre and Batiste are returning starters at tight end and defensive back, respectively, while Ragland started several games in 2024 as a junior playing multiple positions across the offensive line.

Final Thought

“We’ll give ourselves a chance to see what kind of football team we have. It starts in August then September and October; we’ll see where it all shakes out there at the end, but it’s going to be like it is every Saturday in the Southern Conference. You got to be ready to go play. I’m excited to watch this group start to start season.” – Wright