University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior J.D. Dothard has a new position. After playing safety his first two seasons -- he missed UTC's final five games last season with a knee injury -- the Mocs' coaches have decided to move him to linebacker.
Dothard, who has started every game he's played and made 80 career tackles, will play Will (weakside) linebacker, a safety-like position that will allow Dothard to use his quickness to make stops just as Joseph Thornton did last season.
Mocs coach Russ Huesman said it was a move he and defensive coordinator Adam Fuller had considered for a while. One of the things that clinched it was how well Chris Lewis-Harris, who moved from cornerback to free safety, did during spring practice.
"If Chris couldn't have done it we probably wouldn't have been able to," Huesman said. "The bottom line is, you're trying to get your 11 best players on the football field."
Ryan Consiglio played at Will throughout the spring and Huesman said Consiglio, who started all 11 games last season, will move to one of the other linebacker position in UTC's 4-3 defense.
"(Moving Dothard) gets us faster, and now we've got two guys at linebacker that have played (collegiate) football, whereas before we didn't have that," Fuller said.
The first-team linebackers in the spring were Consiglio, Shane Heatherly and Gunner Miller. Heatherly primarily played special teams last season as a redshirt freshman and Miller was a true freshman who sat out last season.
Turf down at Scrappy
Huesman and Fuller took a stroll down to Scrappy Moore Field on Monday to see the artificial turf that was recently installed at UTC's practice facility. The main turf field is 60 yards long and 53 wide, with an adjacent section of turf set to be installed soon.
The project has been in the works for more than a year and Huesman said he was happy to see it near completion.
"I think it looks great," he said. "I know the guys are going to love it, and now we don't have to worry about practicing over at Finley (Stadium) anymore."
Extra points
Huesman said left guard Omre Harris' shoulder surgery last Friday went well. Harris should be ready to go in August, hopefully by the time the Mocs report for preseason practice on Aug. 4, Huesman said. ... Preseason practice will include three two-a-days, Huesman said. He preferred not to have them but they were necessary in order to get all 29 practices in before the Sept. 4 season opener against Appalachian State.