During the preseason, finding where the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s defensive staff had placed Kamari Todd that particular week (or in some cases, that day) was always a challenge.
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound freshman from Gardendale, Alabama, started off at safety before moving over to cornerback and even played the nickel position some.
Now, due to a rash of injuries in the secondary, Todd’s time has come perhaps sooner than anyone expected. He has played in all five games so far this season and started last week’s Southern Conference opener against The Citadel, a 28-10 loss at Finley Stadium that dropped the Mocs to 1-4 overall.
Getting on the field ahead of schedule — an opportunity that Todd has welcomed — doesn’t mean he’s going onto it unprepared. In fact, with Todd, the UTC staff sees the sort of potential they saw in Reuben Lowery III, who was an All-SoCon selection for the second time last season and is now an NFL rookie safety for the Baltimore Ravens.
“He’s a smart kid,” safeties coach Wolf Shafer said of Todd. “Asks good questions, wanted to get into engineering, 4.0 student. You knew through recruiting what you were going to get.
“On the field, he’s one of those kids where he’s going to do exactly what you say, and he cares about it. He’s going to play hard, he’s going to try to do exactly what you tell him to do, to the point where if you’re not telling him exactly how you want it done or you’re telling him maybe one way and he does it the other way, it makes you reevaluate the way you’re coaching something because he’s going to do exactly what you tell him to do.
“He’s exactly what we want in this program.”
This UTC program is currently experiencing a youth movement, and Todd’s ascension into the secondary rotation is certainly part of it. He finished with seven tackles against The Citadel, and for a team that is without multiple defensive backs for an extended period of time, it’s necessary that he continues to ascend, because things don’t get any easier for UTC this fall.
The Mocs visit Virginia Military Institute (1-3, 0-0) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday before an open date next week, and East Tennessee State and Samford loom later in October as SoCon play continues.
“Coach says that the best (defensive backs) he’s seen can play everywhere on the field, so I’m just trying to be one of those guys,” Todd said. “Starting off this season, I was kind of nervous coming into the summer, didn’t know how I was going to be, didn’t know if I was going to be able to really get much playing time, but I’ve just been able to continue working and putting my best foot forward.”
Defensively, it’s been a rough go so far for the Mocs, who have struggled to find some continuity with 10 new starters on that side of the ball entering the season. The injuries in the secondary mean there are even more new faces involved now.
UTC seventh-year head coach Rusty Wright noted only one starter had played against The Citadel’s option offense before last weekend, and that was cornerback Jeremiah Batiste. Todd’s current role is like a third linebacker, and he admitted he’d never seen the option before, not even in high school.
The hope and expectation for the Mocs — not just on defense, but the team as a whole — is that they can grow from the myriad of mistakes they’ve made and improve along the way.
And the team’s coaches are optimistic guys like Todd can be a part of that progress.
“He does everything we’re asking him to do,” Wright said. “He’s only going to get better. That’s a tough one to get your first start in, but he’s going to be a really, really good football player. He’s very smart, not scared to hit you, only going to get better and stronger. He understands what he’s trying to do, and he’ll continue to get better and better.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.