Not even an extended football season was going to change the process of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coaching staff.
Every year, they do their homework on prospective players. They talk to the players, of course, but they talk to the players’ friends. They talk to the friends of the players’ friends. Talent matters, sure, but the character of the potential athlete joining the program is just as important to head coach Rusty Wright.
“We make a lot of phone calls,” Wright said Wednesday. “We google search, we research. We do as much on the front end before getting involved with somebody. We get transcripts, we look at all those things,, then we send them to (Assistant Vice Chancellor for Athletic Academic Enhancement) Emily Blackman and her folks — the number of transcripts they look at in two weeks has got to be unbelievable.
“We’ve had some kids here over the last two weeks that…they can go on. And they’ll probably go somewhere else and play and be pretty good, but we just try and make the best decisions about the best people. At the end of the day, I just can’t do that with some of them, I won’t bring it in the house, I try to limit those things as much as I can with the people we’ve already got here, because at the end of the day it’s just not worth it.”
There was a time they couldn’t be as picky: Wright was hired a day or so before the 2018 December signing period and didn’t have a ton of time to build relationships, so some swings were taken. But now, with a consistent stream of winning seasons — Wright has never had a losing one in five years — plus the program’s perennial success of getting players to the pros, they can be far more selective.
For the first time in Wright’s tenure, the Mocs made the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2023, advancing to the second round before bowing out to Furman. That was two weekends that the coaching staff couldn’t recruit, but it didn’t seem to matter much as they were able to reel in a 22-player signing class Wednesday, with 15 coming from the high school ranks and seven transfers — six from four-year schools and one, defensive lineman Isaiah Harvey, who didn’t qualify in 2022 but is eligible now. Eleven of the guys will enroll next month when second semester begins.
There were positions of immediate need, based off the spots where the staff felt the need to bring in a transfer. Running back saw two kids sign, with one being NCAA Division II Shorter transfer running back Justus Durant, who had 13 touchdowns and 1,369 career rushing yards in two seasons and was a first-team All-Gulf South Conference performer in 2023. The Mocs lost two tight ends, one to graduation and another to transfer, and brought in three new bodies, including Division II Wayne State junior Nathaniel Eberly-Rodriguez.
Edge rusher saw loss with the graduation of two-time All-American Jay Person and two-time All-Southern Conference performer Ben Brewton, so Louisiana-Monroe transfer Joseph Bakhole was brought in, while the secondary added Taylor Smallwood, who played two seasons at LaFayette.
The Mocs have produced either All-Americans or pro prospects at running back, offensive line, edge rusher and defensive back since Wright arrived. So finding players to fill those gaps wasn’t all that difficult.
“The thing is, you can physically show him, sit him down and just say, ‘There it is,’ instead of walking in and acting as if we’ve never had a guy like that,” Wright said. “As long as kids can visualize that, can see that this is a role you can play for us in that position, it makes a big difference. Having all those guys and those guys having success speaks volumes, but what it shows is that (outside linebackers coach) Tyrus Ward can help you go do this. (Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joe Pizzo) is going to have an offense where you can go do this, and those are the things that probably sell guys a little more than anything else.
“You can have guys like Jay Person, Griffin McDowell, Nu-Nu (receiver Javin Whatley) there at dinner on a Saturday night and those guys can basically recruit for us, because instead of hearing it from us they can physically talk to a guy who knows what we do.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s football signees:
DE Joseph Bakhole (6-3, 240) Charlotte, N.C (Louisiana-Monroe)
WR Taylor Crumedy (5-9, 155) Cortelyou, Alabama
LB Amanuel Dickson (5-11, 200) Greeneville
WR Chris Domercant (6-2, 180) Bellingham, Mass. (Stonehill)
RB Justus Durant (5-9, 180) Palm Bay, Fla. (Shorter)
TE Nathaniel Eberly-Rodriguez (6-5, 240) Petosky, Mich. (Wayne State)
LB Landon Feggins (6-0, 215) Athens
DL Gabe Flores (6-2, 240) Cincinnati, Ohio
TE Daniel Green (6-5, 235) Jackson
DE Leroy Harris (6-5, 215) Brentwood
DL Isaiah Harvey (6-0, 240) Warner Robins, Ga.
OL Tracy Jackson (6-4, 305) Memphis
K Gray Kelley (6-1, 185) Acworth, Ga.
OL Devin Lively (6-3, 275) Lebanon (Air Force Prep)
TE John McIntyre (6-4, 230) Athens, Ala.
DB Beni Mwamba (6-1, 190) Erlanger, Ky.
LS Ethan Myers (6-0, 211) Murfreesboro (Austin Peay)
OL Nick Paul (6-3, 295) Decatur, Ga.
OL Richard Pearce (6-3, 313) Bessemer, Ala. (East Carolina)
DB Taylor Smallwood (6-2, 198) Lawrenceville, Ga. (Lafayette)
WR Josh Williams (6-0, 175) Anderson, S.C.
RB Journey Wyche (5-10, 180) Louisville, Ky.