There was a time when McClendon Curtis maybe didn't foresee himself as a college graduate.
A standout football player? Sure. But going into his fifth year of college with a bachelor's degree and working toward a master's? Perhaps not.
But not only has he accomplished things on the field for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football program, he appears to be doing a solid job off it as well.
Last year he spent time as a peer mentor in a class called "First Year Experience," which is described on UTC's website as a "cross-campus collaborative effort to welcome, support and connect first-year students to the campus community and resources." In the spring he did an internship in which he spent time doing academic advising with younger players in the athletic department, which led to a summer program he did with junior soccer player A.K. Anderson that served as a bridge to college for incoming freshmen.
"Sometimes we talked about student-athlete balance and responsibility and helping them find the balance between football, school and everything else," Curtis said. "You have to make sure you prioritize; that's one of the most important things with younger guys, so that's something we stress for the incoming freshmen regardless of sport."
It's something Curtis didn't really have when he came to UTC in fall 2017 as a heralded prospect from Central High School. Taking the advice of his father, Greg Spotts, Curtis built a bond with the academic staff - and it has allowed him to not only flourish and obtain a degree in sports management but now spend time helping others, which he hopes to do as his pursues a degree in school leadership with an interest in being an academic adviser down the road.
"McClendon just has this ability to not be afraid of trying new things and not afraid of showing people how he was successful and telling them about where he maybe made a mistake, how he corrected it and got to where he is now," said Emily Blackman, UTC's assistant vice chancellor for athletic academic enhancement. "I think he'd be the first one to tell you that he never thought of graduate school when he got here; I don't think that was on his radar, and now he's starting graduate school in the fall.
"I think it's hugely important for our students to see somebody that came in - especially in the sport of football - academically was able to utilize our resources and really figure out what worked for him and how to be successful."
His athletic career hasn't suffered. Curtis came in at 360 pounds in 2017, which led to a redshirt season that helped him lose close to 50 pounds. Now settled in at 325, the 6-foot-8 Curtis has started 16 games at right guard on the Mocs' offensive line - quite possibly the team's biggest strength entering this season - and was an All-Southern Conference first-team selection during the truncated 2020-21 season.
What he's done off the field has been amazing. The same can be said for what he's done on the field.
"McClendon's just a guy that's trying to take the next step," Mocs coach Rusty Wright said. "It's hard, when you're a bigger guy like McClendon, to understand your body and how you can use it in different ways to help you. He's worked really hard at changing his body; it's not as soft as it used to be. He's stronger and faster, and he's given himself an opportunity to do that, and I think he's paid more attention to the little things in the game about angles of where linebackers are and stances by defensive linemen.
"He's given himself a chance to be a good offensive lineman."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.