The defensive backs room may be the deepest and most experienced on the team.
photo by Austin Massey/gomocs.com
The 18th-ranked Chattanooga Mocs continue fall camp in preparation for the 2021 campaign. GoMocs.com moves to the fifth installment in its 9-point season preview series moving outside to the boundary while keeping an eye in the slot.
Starters Returning (5): Brandon Dowdell, Rashun Freeman, Jordan Jones, Jerrell Lawson, CaMiron Smith
Starters Lost (0): N/A
Returnees with career starts (6): Kameron Brown, Zay Brown, Jelen Lee, D.J.
Jackson, Jordan Walker, Romeo Wykle
The secondary is as close to the opposite of a word meaning as a product can get. There is nothing secondary about the 21-member room.
Returning starters? 11 in all with the five-man group who led the way last season and the six further in the group who have played a lot of football. It takes a long ribbon to tie the bow on this story.
Three of the five Mocs in their sixth collegiate season, all at Chattanooga, are returning starters including corner Jordan Jones, safety Jerrell Lawson and rover/slot/do it all Rashun Freeman. Safeties Brandon Dowdell and D.J. Jackson are just in their fifth years.
Toss in opposite corner CaMiron Smith in his fourth year and six members of the unit logged a lot of snaps in the blue and gold. Then you have names like Kameron Brown and Zay Brown (5th collegiate season total) leading a third-year list that includes *redshirt freshmen* Jelen Lee, Alec Boruff and T.J. Taylor.
Add in transfers who slide into year four overall in J.D. Harris, Telly Plummer and Romeo Wykle and you’re looking at more than 60 total seasons among just 14 of the 21 student-athletes. And some of the greatest excitement is with the newer faces.
"It's a well-rounded group," secondary coach Jordan Tippit began. "We've got older guys who I really challenged to step into leadership roles and hold the younger guys accountable. They really accepted that challenge.
"I think we've gotten our hands on more footballs this camp than my entire time on the coaching staff here. That's been a focus of our room."
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
"Good, competitive group. There’s an opportunity to be really good back there with the number of guys we have with a bunch of starts. I’m looking forward to watching them compete and play every week." – Head Coach Rusty Wright
"We’ve got a lot of depth. Our DBs bring a lot of energy. Especially at safety, we have to be the voice of the defense communicating and relaying the calls. We hold each other accountable too. We like to be energetic and involved." – S Brandon Dowdell
"It’s a good DB corps. Good, physical guys so that helps me prepare. They’re fast off the ball but press too. That competition is great for our WR group." – WR Ka’Nore McKinnon
“We’re fortunate enough as a wide receiver room to go against a defensive secondary that pushes us big time. I think we have one of the best secondaries in the nation. That competition allows us to feed off one another not only as a group but as a team.” – WR Coach Adam Mims
NOTES
- Five student-athletes have played 30+ career games: Jordan Jones (37), Rashun Freeman (36), Brandon Dowdell (36), Jerrell Lawson (34) & D.J Jackson (32). CaMiron Smith (24) and Romeo Wykle (24) aren’t far behind.
- Jones is a 6th-year senior who walked on and earned a scholarship over his career. His brother Joshua is a first-year freshman looking to follow those same steps. The duo has never shared a field together and are only teammates now because of the extra COVID year for Jordan in case you’re looking for a positive story from the pandemic.
- The coaching staff includes for Mocs safety Jordan Tippit who slid over from outside linebackers this year after the retirement of David Bibee. Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward has long been known as one of the top teachers of DBs in the country.
GoMocs.com continues its annual position-by-position preview Wednesday with the tight ends. The preview series starts with an article on the home of all things Mocs, GoMocs.com, followed throughout the day on various social media channels @GoMocsFB.
The schedule:
Season tickets are available by calling (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or online here at GoMocs.com. Fans also can go through the GoMocs app available on Android and Apple IOS devices in their respective app stores. Home games await hosting the Governors, Western Carolina, ETSU, Furman and The Citadel.