The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team has added former basketball players Joshua Phillips and Duke Ethridge for the 2016 season.
Phillips, a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder, played three seasons of basketball at Middle Tennessee State University, appearing in 65 games and scoring 83 points. He played three years of high school football at Pope John Paul II in Hendersonville, and worked out with the MTSU football team this spring. He will have two seasons remaining and projects to play defensive end for the Mocs.
His brother Jacob is a four-star football linebacker prospect at East Nashville for the Class of 2017.
"We are excited to add Joshua to the team for the upcoming season," UTC head coach Russ Huesman said in a release. "He is a good athlete who can help us add depth at a position of need."
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Ethridge briefly worked out this spring at tight end on the football team after two seasons as a member of the basketball Mocs. He had 401 points and 218 rebounds in 62 career games, averaging 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds as a senior for a UTC team that went 29-6 and advanced to its first NCAA tournament since 2009.
The projected tight end has been working out with the football team this summer and expects to be in camp, which begins on Aug. 3. He will have one season of eligibility remaining.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.