The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team lost four offensive lineman who started at least six games during the 2021 season, so when it came to recruiting that winter, the Mocs were definitely in need of players at that position.
As it turns out, one of those recruits needed the Mocs even more.
After three years at Purdue, Dave Monnot III put his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 31, 2021. UTC was one of the first schools that reached out to him, with a visit set for January, but on Feb. 6, 2022, his father Dave died. A former Ohio State offensive lineman and a longtime assistant at Joliet (Illinois) Catholic Academy — Dave III's high school alma mater — he was 50 years old.
Dave III fell into a bad place. He wasn't in school at the time, opting to work in a warehouse to make money, and football wasn't in the forefront of his mind, but UTC was persistent. Tommy Galt, who was UTC's offensive line coach at the time, and head coach Rusty Wright kept reaching out to him and checking on him, and when Kevin Revis took over as offensive line coach in March 2022, he kept up the process for the Mocs.
Or, as Monnot said recently, "they actually cared about who you are. They cared, they want to see you get better, and I love that.
"I just wanted an opportunity, man, and they gave it to me here."
Having played sparingly at Purdue, he had three years of eligibility remaining. Wright and his staff saw value in that time not just for whatever team Monnot joined but for the player himself.
"That's why you do it. That's why we do what we do," Wright said. "I understand at the end of the day I'm going to be judged on wins and losses, but I made a difference in somebody's life. We knew Dave was talented when we were trying to get him here, and all that stuff happened with his dad when he was leaving Purdue and trying to make a decision where to go.
"You feel for the kid, because you knew that was a kid that didn't have any more guidance — his mom (Tonya) is a great lady, don't get me wrong, but she has no clue about football and this kind of stuff. He's too good a kid, too good a player to give up on, and that's all we did: We just kept digging in, letting him know he had a spot and we'll figure the rest out. He'll give his soul for this place and everybody in it, because we took an interest in a young man and helped him out."
It was always a long-term plan with Monnot at UTC.
He was underweight (at least by offensive lineman standards) when he arrived in May 2022, and though he was listed at 6-foot-6, 264 pounds last year, both Monnot and Revis said he was closer to 250. For comparison's sake, UTC senior tight end Jay Gibson was listed at 6-5, 255 last season.
Plus, with Monnot coming from a run-based high school system and never really getting developed at Purdue, there was a period of adjustment and transition. He wasn't big enough to hold up consistently in pass protection and would at times have to be replaced.
After dedicating himself to the weight room during the most recent offseason, he is now listed at 300 pounds and has solidified his spot at right tackle as the Mocs enter the stretch run of Southern Conference play. Just three league games remain for UTC (5-2, 4-1), beginning with a visit from East Tennessee State (2-4, 1-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Finley Stadium, and the Mocs remain in the SoCon title race and are nationally ranked in both Football Championship Subdivision polls (20th by coaches, 21st by media).
Monnot's return to football has also allowed others to see his full personality summed up in one word: "wild."
"Dave has really come into his own," Revis said. "He has a very strong personality, he's a very committed to the team guy, and he's a little different. He's not from Tennessee, he's from Joliet, Illinois, but the guys have really accepted him. They understand him better now, and they love him. He's our Dave, he's our guy."
There's no doubt UTC has brought the best out of Monnot. He can be heard in drills at practice, imploring the defense to go harder, even on scout team, just to give him "a better look." UTC coaches decided to not give up on him, and he has responded in kind.
"My dad taught me, 'Why be good, when you can be great?' Anyone can go out there and can put a good day together, but why settle?" Monnot said. "Why settle for being good? Why settle for just being average when you have the opportunity to go do something nobody else does? Why not take it? I mean, everyone out here, we've been gifted with some talents, it would be a shame to put them to waste."
"After thinking I was done with football, coming here, there's really nothing better. It gave me a little taste of realizing I miss being out there with my friends on the football field. Now when it's a tough day of practice, I remind myself I could be in a warehouse right now, working a dead-end job, and I'd rather be with my brothers, putting some work in here."
Photo courtesy of UTC / UTC offensive Dave Monnot III (79) has solidified his spot at right tackle this season with the Mocs. Monnot joined the program in May 2022 with three years of eligibility remaining after playing sparingly at Purdue, but an offseason of dedication to the weight room has helped him contribute in a bigger role this fall.Honors for Crile
Clayton Crile's success handling all the punting and kicking duties for UTC in recent weeks was particularly notable in last Saturday's 22-10 win at Mercer, where he made all five of his field-goal attempts and totaled 16 points. As a result, he has been recognized as not only the special teams player of the week for the SoCon but received the equivalent FCS national honor from FedEx Ground.
Crile was the first FCS player with five field goals in a game this season, according to a SoCon release, and he is the first Moc to receive a national football player of the week honor since defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell in October 2021.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.