Sources have confirmed to the Times Free Press that defensive assistants Zac Etheridge and Oscar Rodriguez have been added to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coaching staff.
They fill the staff after the losses of three Mocs coaches this offseason.
Etheridge, who worked at Western Carolina this past season, will be UTC's defensive backs coach with a focus on the cornerbacks, while Rodriguez will focus on inside linebackers after serving as assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Division III member La Verne in California. He was the AFCA Division III assistant coach of the year for 2017.
Etheridge coached outside linebackers for the Catamounts, helping senior Tahjai Watt earn first-team All-Southern Conference honors. Etheridge worked at Penn State and Georgia Tech before going to WCU in his first paid coaching position. He was a four-year starter at Auburn and a member of the 2010 national championship team after breaking his neck during a 2009 game against Ole Miss.
Rodriguez has built his resume largely as a defensive coordinator in the junior college ranks. That included stops at Garden City and Hutchinson in Kansas, where he mentored numerous players who went on to four-year schools, including four who eventually went to the National Football League.
The two join new defensive coordinator Matt Feeney, outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton and new defensive line coach Davern Williams on the UTC staff, with Feeney moving back to coach safeties along with his coordinator duties.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.