The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will add a much-needed safety to its defense today when South Carolina transfer Jarrett Burns signs with the Mocs, who report this morning for preseason practice.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 187 pounds on the Gamecocks' spring practice roster, the Huntsville, Ala., resident has three years of eligibility remaining. He redshirted in 2008 and played in nine games last season for the Southeastern Conference team, missing three with a finger injury.
Burns is a friend of Mocs junior safety Jordan Tippit. They played AAU basketball together and went head-to-head in football in high school. In addition, Burns said he has family in the Chattanooga area and is a friend of former Lady Mocs basketball player Jenaya Wade-Fray.
"I chose UTC because it's close to home, a whole lot closer than South Carolina is, and they play good football there," Burns said.
His arrival could help fill the void at safety left by projected starter Chris Lewis-Harris, who will be out for at least another month after foot surgery. Burns was rated a three-star player by Rivals.com coming out of Lee High School in Huntsville, where he also played quarterback.
Busy schedule
All the players will report between 9 a.m. and noon and go through physicals and equipment fitting until 2 p.m. Coach Russ Huesman will then meet with the freshmen and their parents, followed by a team meeting, team dinner, more meetings and lights out at 10:30.
The Mocs' first practice is at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, and Huesman said he expects his team to be spirited and focused from the start. The players better be, he said, because the season opener at Finley Stadium is Sept. 4 against Southern Conference preseason favorite Appalachian State.
"You hope that every day they go out there they know who they're playing," Huesman said. "They're next game's against a pretty good football team."
Scrappy dedication
Before practice Thursday, UTC will hold a dedication ceremony at 2:30 at Scrappy Moore Field to recognize all those who contributed to its offseason renovations.
Spearheaded by Renee Haugerud and John Murphy's $500,000 donation to the program, the project included the installation of artificial turf on one of the fields, a new irrigation system, a bathroom, a goal post and a scoreboard.
Extra points
Huesman isn't a fan of two-a-days, but the Mocs will have three during the preseason. "We've got to get our 29 practices in, and that's the only way we could do it," he said. ... About half of UTC's practices will start at 7:45 a.m., in part to avoid the hottest part of the day, Huesman said, but also to miss afternoon thunderstorms.