Despite being as productive as anyone on his side of the ball in recent seasons, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga edge rusher Jay Person is just now moving into the role of face of the defense.
Meanwhile, workhorse running back Ailym Ford has fit that bill for UTC’s offense since his freshman season in 2019.
Collectively, though, the two seniors are in the process of ushering in a new era of Mocs football.
UTC has been a talking point of the Southern Conference since opting out of the 2021 spring season — the Football Championship Subdivision delayed its 2020 schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic — despite holding a No. 9 national ranking at the time, the reasoning being in part to spend the rest of the spring focusing on academics and preparing for the fall season.
That season then began with the Mocs picked to win the SoCon title, but it ended with them going 2-2 in November to finish 6-5 overall and out of the FCS playoffs. The Mocs were back at the top of the preseason rankings a year later, but they lost three of their final four games to finish 7-4, missing the playoffs for the sixth season in a row.