MACON, Ga. — Clayton Crile has gone from not seeing his previous college football program win much to not expecting his current team to ever lose.
Crile came from Catwaba College — an NCAA Division II program in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he was an All-American punter in 2021 — as part of a special teams recruiting haul for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the offseason. The Mocs also picked up placekicker Jude Kelley from Georgia Tech, and with Crile having handled all kicking duties at Catawba, the additions gave UTC coach Rusty Wright and his staff options for all kicking purposes.
The Mocs were the first team to make an offer to Crile, a graduate transfer, once the 6-foot-2, 228-pounder from Duncan, South Carolina, decided to use his additional year of eligibility granted to NCAA athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Catawba played just two games in the 2021 spring season).
“It’s very different. I think that this is the first time that I have kind of been this far from home, being with my parents, and now, Chattanooga is home,” Crile said. “As soon as I came, it felt great; everybody’s so nice inside the university and out. I love the city, and you can’t go a block without seeing two churches. I really like Chattanooga, and I think my wife (Kaylee) loves it as well.
“A big factor was obviously the coaches and feeling a connection with them, and I could definitely just see myself playing for them, so looking at that and the fact that we love the community in Chattanooga as well.”