University of Tennessee at Chattanooga defensive coordinator Adam Fuller is determined to get D.J. Key on the field as much as possible.
“He makes a ton of plays,” Fuller said following Wednesday’s practice. “He tackles, he’s physical, he runs, he plays the ball. He’s a redshirt freshman, and he plays extremely fast. He’s the one that jumps out, so we’ve got to find a place for him.”
Key spent the first few weeks of preseason practice working with the first-team defense at strong safety, filling in for Chris Lewis-Harris who was out while recovering from foot surgery.
Fuller and Mocs coach Russ Huesman were very impressed with Key’s play, enough so that they decided to see if he could play Will (weakside) linebacker.
“To have a guy like D.J. Key sitting around probably doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Huesman said.
Key bounced between safety and linebacker on Tuesday and worked exclusively at Will on Wednesday after Lewis-Harris was cleared to return to practice.
The Will linebacker is much like a safety in UTC’s scheme, so the transition hasn’t been too bad, Key said. Right now he’s playing behind J.D. Dothard, who was a strong safety his first two seasons before moving to Will following spring practice.
“Coach Fuller has got me making quick adjustments, learning everything and getting me equipped to coverages, blitzes and all that,” Key said. “I can get it.”
Fuller said Key is essentially competing for the starting spots at both strong safety and Will linebacker, “or it’s (to be) the first guy in at either position.”
Injuries healing
Lewis-Harris had a big smile on his face following Wednesday’s practice, his first of the preseason.
“It felt good to finally get back out there with the team, running around and going through everything full speed,” he said.
He said the big brace he has to wear takes some getting used to, but his primary goal for the next few practices is to get comfortable again.
“Right now I feel like I have happy feet, and I’ve just got to slow down and relax,” he said.
With Lewis-Harris’ return, the Mocs have one less starter out. Still sidelined, or at least limited in what they can do, are tight end Garrett Hughes (shoulder), defensive tackle Nick Craig (foot), wide receiver Joel Bradford (knee) and kicker Nick Pollard (hip).
Running back Keon Williams (ankle) didn’t practice, but did some hard running and could return in the next day or two.
Making the grade
The UTC athletic department had 13 student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA for the 2009-10 school year, the most of the SoCon. There were 126 Mocs on the SoCon honor roll, released Wednesday, with a 3.0 or better, including 20 current or former football players.