Wes Dothard is making inroads this spring after being sidelined early on due to minor knee surgery. J.D. Dothard, meanwhile, can do little more than pedal mile after mile on a stationary bike while recovering from major knee surgery.
It hasn't been the ideal spring for the brothers and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defenders -- Wes is a linebacker, J.D. a safety -- but they're making the most of it.
"It feels great to be back," said Wes, who redshirted as a freshman last season and had arthroscopic surgery in mid February. "It hurt a lot to (miss the first seven spring practices). I was like, 'I want to be a starter,' so it hurt. My knee's feeling a lot better and I feel like I'm getting back into it."
The bigger of the two brothers from Carrollton, Ga., Wes is listed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. He's working at middle linebacker with the second unit and has impressed both defensive coordinator Adam Fuller and Mocs coach Russ Huesman.
"I tell you what, he's been a really nice surprise," Huesman said prior to Wednesday night's practice at Finley Stadium. "He's been looking really good."
Wes is presently playing behind redshirt freshman Shane Heatherly, who played in all 11 games last season, mostly on special teams. The Mocs are extremely young at linebacker so everyone has an opportunity to earn playing time.
At the same time, Fuller said, "If you don't beat them out now, you're going to be behind them for the next three or four years."
J.D., who's listed at 6-0, 190, is a redshirt sophomore who started every game in 2008 and the first six last season before suffering a torn ACL early in UTC's loss at Georgia Southern. J.D. is on schedule to begin running and doing agility exercises in May.
Huesman said starters don't lose their spots because of injury, but the Mocs will have some decisions to make in August because sophomore Jordan Tippit, who primarily played strong safety once J.D. went down, was named first-team All-Southern Conference last season.
Meanwhile, Chris Lewis-Harris moved from cornerback to free safety this season and the coaches have been thrilled with his development.
"I think he's playing at a higher level there than he did at corner," Fuller said of Lewis-Harris, a redshirt sophomore who has started 17 of 23 career games.
Extra points
The Mocs scrimmaged for about an hour during Wednesday's practice. The offensive line was without two starters, left guard Omre Harris (shoulder) and right tackle Adam Miller (neck). ... The Mocs are off until Monday and have two practices left before the April 10 spring game.