Isaiah Mack has been itching to wear a low number, but the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team didn't have a low-numbered jersey to fit the 6-foot-2, 280-pound sophomore defensive tackle.
Not only has that changed, but the former Northwest Whitfield High School standout won't even be the biggest player wearing a low number in 2016.
That honor will go to 6-2, 305-pound junior college transfer Derek Mahaffey.
Mack made the switch from No. 89 to No. 8, while UTC coach Russ Huesman made good on his promise to Mahaffey in recruiting, allowing him to wear No. 15.
There probably won't be any confusing of Mahaffey and 6-2, 220-pound starting quarterback Alejandro Bennifield, but the defensive tackle's number comes with a story.
"It stands for deliverance," Mahaffey said after practice Thursday. "Deliverance from everything I went through in junior college and high school that I was able to overcome. I chose 15 because it means I'm delivered from everything in the past. It's a fresh start."
Mahaffey's journey started in Oxford High School in Alabama. He originally signed with Western Kentucky, spending the 2014 season there before transferring to East Central Junior College, where he played in 2015. Now he's at UTC working to earn a spot in the rotation for the Mocs in the middle.
Mack earned all-conference honors as a UTC freshman wearing No. 89 but has eyed low numbers for a couple of seasons now. Huesman said he had promised a potential recruit No. 8 if he came, but when he didn't that left a low number with no owner. It had to go to a defensive player, since senior wide receiver C.J. Board wears No. 8 on offense.
Mack jumped right on it.
"I feel like if you have a low number on, that means something," Mack said. "You ain't just wearing a low-digit number to be out there: You've got to be good; you've got to be cold.
"That gives me motivation to be better than last year."
He has additional motivation. Huesman told him if he underperforms he will have to wear an offensive lineman's number.
Both players said that seeing a defensive tackle in a low number could be "worrisome" for opposing quarterbacks.
"If I'm the quarterback, I'm thinking them boys are athletic and physical," Mahaffey said. "We (Mahaffey and Mack) are like twins, if you look at it. We look alike, I feel. I think if you're a quarterback and you look at us, you're thinking, 'Them boys comin'. If they've got that tight swag going on, them boys comin'.'"
The Mocs will be back on the practice field at 7 this morning.
Mocs' TV games
The Southern Conference announced the television schedule involving its members for the 2016 football season, and the three-time defending champion Mocs will have two games televised.
The Sept. 17 game against Furman, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m., will be on ESPN. UTC's Oct. 15 game against SoCon co-champion The Citadel will be on Fox Sports Southeast.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.