Another former highly rated football recruit is headed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga looking for a chance to contribute.
Redshirt sophomore linebacker/defensive end Chris Donald, rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.com coming out of Huntingdon (Tenn.) High School, left the University of Tennessee after the regular season. The 6-foot-1, 224-pounder said Thursday that he has enrolled at UTC and will be joining the Mocs, just as quarterback B.J. Coleman did last spring.
"I felt like I would have a better opportunity to play at UTC and contribute to the team," said Donald, who has two years of eligibility remaining. "I targeted UTC from the beginning. I'd been thinking about if for a while and I saw how B.J. did when he went down there, how he contributed to the team and helped turn their season around."
Coleman was a four-star recruit coming out of McCallie. In his first season with the Mocs, Coleman threw for 2,348 yards, with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
When Coleman signed with UTC, he joined former running back Eldra Buckley as the only four-star players ever to suit up for the Mocs. Donald, who was in the same UT signing class as Coleman, will be the program's first five-star player.
Signed as a linebacker, Donald also spent some time at defensive end at UT. The Mocs will be looking to replace starters at both positions. Donald said he preferred to play linebacker but would line up wherever UTC needed him.
In his prep career, Donald had 66 tackles for loss, 27 sacks and was a threat offensively as well, rushing for 4,690 yards and scoring 56 touchdowns. Rivals listed Donald as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in the country and the top overall prospect in Tennessee.
However, after redshirting in 2007, Donald never reached those expectations with the Vols. This season, he played in the Vols' final seven regular-season games but did not make a tackle. As a redshirt freshman, he played in two games.
Now, like Coleman last May, Donald is looking for a fresh start with the Mocs.
"I just want to contribute, compete, have fun and win," he said.
Donald is the second transfer for UTC this offseason. Former UAB defensive lineman Nick Davison from Calhoun, Ga., said last month that he was joining the Mocs. In addition, UTC has seven commitments from high school seniors.