The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga still has three openings on its football coaching staff following the slew of departures in recent weeks, and Mocs coach Rodney Allison said Thursday that he expects to have at least two of them filled by the end of the month.
Allison has interviewed several offensive line coaches to succeed John Turner, who left for South Alabama, and he said a replacement could be announced as early as Monday.
“I’ve got the guy I want. It’s just a matter of getting the paperwork taken care of,” Allison said.
The Mocs also must fill openings for a defensive backs coach and a tight ends coach, and Allison said he expects to have at least one of those filled before spring practice. Only three assistants — Carmen Felus (offensive coordinator), Jason McManus (recruiting coordinator/wide receivers) and Bobby Allison (defensive backs) — remain from UTC’s staff on Dec. 1
Practice, pro days set
The Mocs are scheduled to begin spring practice March 26 at 6 a.m. at Finley Stadium, Allison said. They will spread out their 15 practices over three weeks and play their spring game on April 19, possibly at Chamberlain Field.
The Mocs’ 17 seniors won’t be participating in spring practice, but those who want to take a shot at playing pro football will get a chance to impress some NFL scouts on March 17 when UTC hosts its seniors pro day. They will do strength testing in the morning before going to Finley Stadium for speed workouts. Among the players expected to participate are first-team All-Southern Conference safety Chris Camacho, cornerbacks Ronnie Jackson and Brandon Golder and defensive lineman Charles Profit.
Sanders an AFLstarter
Former UTC quarterback Chris Sanders, who led the SoCon in passing in 1999 and 2000, will start today for the AFL’s Dallas Desperados, the Dallas Morning News reported earlier this week.
Sanders replaces injured starter Clint Dolezel, who is out with an injured shoulder. Dallas is Sanders’ fifth AFL team and he has a record of 4-12 as a starter. In his AFL career, he has completed 355 of 610 passes for 4,085 yards and 71 touchdowns, with 21 interceptions.
Sanders started his collegiate career at SMU before transferring to UTC. He was one of the 16 finalists for the Walter Payton Award his senior year and still holds numerous school records.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
