At least once a recruiting cycle, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Rusty Wright has the same statement about a prospect his program is signing: "He has no business being here."
That may not sound like a compliment at first, but it's a tip of the cap to the level of talent the incoming player is considered to have.
It was just a year ago the Mocs brought in a class that helped them reach the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time since 2016.
(READ MORE: UTC football: A look at each of the 31 signees for 2024)
This time around, Wright's phrase was used more than once, and that was before talented Knoxville prep defensive lineman C.J. Smith put pen to paper to become one of 31 total players to join the program in the 2024 cycle. Eighteen of those players have already joined the program and are going through spring practices, which started this week for UTC, while 11 others signed in December, and Smith and offensive lineman Watts Alexander, an Alabama prep standout for Mountain Brook, joined Wednesday.
Recruiting stories are always the best, and Smith, from West High School, told a tale detailing the lengths that Wright, defensive line coach Anthony Shakir and outside linebackers coach Tyrus Ward went to secure his commitment to UTC.
"Coach Shak came by my house during that little snowstorm we had," Smith told Knoxville reporters Wednesday. "He called me and said he wanted to get by my house, and I said, 'Coach it's pretty snowy out here, pretty icy.' He said it didn't matter, that 'We've got business to attend to. I'm coming.'
"That won so much respect for him, because he stood on his business. He stood on his word."
Parts of Knoxville got up to eight inches of snow during that storm.
The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Smith — whose dad Chavis played for Tennessee from 2000-03 — is rated a three-star prospect. He said the Mocs plan to use him at defensive tackle.
Wednesday's activity, on the traditional national signing day that has taken a backseat to the busier December period since early signing was introduced in 2017, capped a second consecutive solid recruiting haul for UTC, counting additions from both the NCAA transfer portal and high schools.
Last season, the Mocs got key contributions from the transfer ranks on offense (quarterback Chase Artopoeus), defense (defensive back Clay Fields III) and special teams (kicker/punter Clayton Crile). But first-year college players also contributed, with defensive lineman Jamarr Jones credited for 2.5 sacks, former Cleveland standout D.J. Adams a key player on special teams and receiver A.J. Little exploding for a 57-yard touchdown catch in the 48-3 win over The Citadel.
This year, UTC did a great job with high school players, with 18 coming from that level and seven of those from the state of Tennessee, including McMinn County linebacker Landon Feggins.
In addition, former Red Bank standout B.J. Ragland has transferred in from Charlotte as an offensive lineman, and Alec Karajic, who prepped at East Hamilton, will be at UTC for his final college season after four years as a starter at Jacksonville State, which moved up from FCS to Football Bowl Subdivision competition.
"This is probably the most we've signed out of Tennessee since I've been here," Wright said after Wednesday's practice, the second of the spring. "Then you've got the guys that are here already and we're trying to figure them out. We're trying to figure out what they are, who they are, how they can help us, what we have to do to improve them before we play next fall.
"But I like this high school group, and I think the group we brought in transfer-wise is going to be pretty solid; I just haven't seen enough of them playing with us, but right now I like where they're going, the direction they are moving.
"But I think we have a good group, I think the last two years high school-wise, the kids have been really, really solid."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.