Everything lined up for Chad Pearson.
And for a person who hadn't lived in the South before, that was going to have to be the case.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program's strength and conditioning coach is in his first season with the program, having spent the past six seasons at Minnesota. His ideologies aren't too different from those of former Mocs strength coach Scott Brincks - who followed former UTC coach Russ Huesman to Richmond - but with tweaks here and there, some players have been put in a position to flourish this year.
Pearson was connected to new Mocs head coach Tom Arth through Brandon Staley, Arth's first defensive coordinator at UTC who is now the outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears. Pearson and Staley had spent time together at Northern Illinois, but it was the relationship between Pearson and Arth that flourished quickly.
UTC football strength and conditioning coach Chad Pearson, center, is in his first year with the Mocs."Our primary concern is to make better men, make better humans," Pearson said after Sunday's practice. "I use strength and conditioning as a means to that end. He (Arth) uses football, I use strength and conditioning to do our part to change the world to make better people.
"You do that through discipline, through the atmosphere we've created here to survive, to thrive, to do things the right way. He wanted a true teacher, developer physically, and the things we do in the weight room in terms of long-term development and how they change and progress from year to year was what he was looking for.
"Coach Arth is truly a professional in how he goes about things - the right way."
The Iowa native participated in football as well as track and field at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, earning all-conference honors in both while in school. In addition to his job specialties, he's also a Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner.
He was exactly the type of person Arth was looking for as well.
"His approach to leadership development, his approach to discipline was all very much in line with what I believe in," Arth said. "We believe in creating a culture that people want to be a part of, where people will do everything asked of them and where they show up where they need to be when they need to be there, because they know they're dealing with people that are going to help them accomplish their goals."
From the moment Pearson stepped on campus, players bought in. Pearson said linebacker Tae Davis has "flourished into something that will be special," adding that two other seniors, running back Richardre Bagley and senior defensive lineman Taylor Reynolds, are a couple of many players who have really improved since his arrival.
"He's a really smart guy," Reynolds said. "He takes care of us. When we need to recover, we recover. When we need to work, we work. In my four-and-a-half years here, this spring has probably been my best spring.
"He's been great with us, as a team and individually."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.