In this file photo, Chattanooga's Brian Sutherland outruns Samford's Thomas Broussard to the endzone.LATEST LINEOffensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said he's still waiting for the offensive line to put a complete practice together. He said the line, which lost three starters from last season, has yet to have all five players be "outstanding" at the same time.The Mocs are working on their pass attack more toward the end of spring practice, and that's an area of concern for Satterfield."In our drop-back game right now we're having issues as far as being able to drop back [and] have a comfortable pocket at all times to throw the ball," he said, "so we're having to be creative in how we get the ball off to protect our quarterback."
Standing off to the side Wednesday morning, wide receiver Brian Sutherland watched the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's pro day with an intense look on his face.
The rising junior slot receiver has the speed, strength and athleticism to test very well, just as cornerback Buster Skrine did at last month's NFL combine. And like the 5-foot-10, 186-pound Skrine, Sutherland (5-10, 175) has to make up for his lack of stature with extraordinary speed.
"Size is always an issue," Mocs strength coach Scott Brincks said before Wednesday night's practice at Finley Stadium. "If you're small, you better be extremely fast. That's the bottom line."
Skrine drew a lot of attention when he was hand-timed in the high 4.2s to mid 4.3s in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. He also was first or second overall in three other running events.
Sutherland, Brincks said, could put up better numbers than Skrine.
"I think he's probably, in my mind, faster than Buster," he said.
Mocs offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said one of his goals for this spring and for next season is to find more ways to use Sutherland.
"I've got to be a better coach and learn how to get the ball in his hands more because he's not a traditional receiver," Satterfield said. "He's a little guy that can absolutely fly and we've got to come up with unique ways to get him the ball on the perimeter."
Sutherland led the Southern Conference in all-purpose yards as a sophomore last season with an average of 165.7 per game. He finished with 180 rushing yards, 729 receiving and 914 on returns, including his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Auburn.
His 50 receptions were second on the team behind Joel Bradford's 81.
Anthony injured
Wide receiver Marlon Anthony went down with a left knee injury midway through Wednesday's practice and did not return. He said later that he sustained a sprained MCL and will be out at least three weeks.
The Mocs have just five practices remaining, so Anthony will be out for the rest of spring practice. Anthony had been one of the Mocs' top performers through the first 10 practices.
Extra points
UTC has moved freshman backup linebacker Zach Rayl, a former McMinn Central standout, to defensive end for the remainder of the spring, replacing Davis Tull (broken hand). Rayl lined up at defensive end some last fall while on the scout team and with his size - 6-3 and around 220 pounds - he's given left tackle Taylor Dodds, another freshman, some trouble the past two practices.... The Mocs will conduct their junior pro day, for rising seniors, on April 14.