Chris Domercant had to make some adjustments when he first got to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in January.
To some degree, Domercant was like any other student-athlete transferring from one school to another and figuring things out. In an era when beginning in one place and finishing somewhere else — maybe with a stop or two in between — has become easier than ever due to the NCAA transfer portal and relaxed rules allowing immediate eligibility, he wasn’t the only new face in the locker room.
Yet in his case, even though he was simply swapping one Football Championship Subdivision program for another, the move was a complete culture change.
Domercant, the son of Haitian immigrants, had grown up in Boston, just 25 miles north of Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts — which is where the 6-foot-1, 187-pound receiver was the past three seasons. Joining the Mocs meant adjusting not just to a new football program but to living in the South.
His UTC coaches and teammates initially saw a timid kid who, at times, seemed as though he was overwhelmed by all the new; “playing a little slow” is how receivers coach Ricky Spradling described it. Over time, their views have changed regarding the redshirt junior, who has started all three games so far this season.