Mocs' J.D. Dothard arrested in domestic assault

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga backup linebacker J.D. Dothard was arrested Wednesday and charged with domestic assault following an incident the night before involving his girlfriend.

According to the arrest report, Dothard and his girlfriend were arguing in his Boling Apartments residence and he asked her to leave. She refused and he tried to force her out.

Then, according to the report, there was a physical confrontation. The alleged victim told UTC police that "he grabbed her by the hair and was choking her" and later hit her in the face, resulting in a "busted lip and bruising and scratching around her right eye."

The fifth-year senior from Carrollton, Ga., is the second UTC football player arrested for domestic assault this season. Redshirt freshman Keyon Reed, of Palm Bay, Fla., has a court date next month stemming from his September arrest.

Reed was suspended for three games, until the UTC student conduct judicial review process was completed.

Mocs coach Russ Huesman learned of Dothard's arrest shortly before UTC's practice Wednesday afternoon and said afterward that he didn't know enough details to comment.

He did say that domestic violence is one of the topics of discussion during the team's many lectures in the preseason.

"We do seminars in camp," he said. "We have everybody come in; we talk about alcohol and drugs, we talk about domestic violence, we talk about agents, we talk about everything. You do it every year."

Dothard, the older brother of starting linebacker Wes Dothard, played in seven games this season, mostly on special teams.

Coleman throws

Mocs quarterback B.J. Coleman didn't practice Wednesday, but he did go through a throwing session. The 40 or so passes were his first since he suffered a sprained right shoulder against Georgia Southern on Oct. 8, and he said the shoulder "felt good."

Dodds out

Mocs offensive lineman Taylor Dodds is out this week and may be done for the season after an MRI on Wednesday revealed that he suffered an ACL injury during practice Tuesday. The redshirt freshman started four games at left tackle and one at right guard.