2016 Combined

( k 0... µ. ... ./"l <:)Cl!jc-i

Mahaffey has grown in UTC defensive role by reducing, learning IJDiTieSFree Press

\r1ahaff ey has grown in UTC defensive role by reducing, learning •: ·=- :=- 30~'1 2~16 by Gene Henley in Sports -College Read Time: 2 mins.

Coming from junior college, Derek Mahaffey had some things to do to be able to contribute to the University ofTennessee at Chattanooga football team.

over the course oi the season, he's accompiished each of the tasks put ahead of him, and now he's getting his opportunity.

When he arrived on the UTC campus, he weighed 315 pounds, and while talent obviously was there, that talent was raw and needed to be honed.

Check.

Mahaffey cut his weight to his current 292 pounds, and as a result he has been able to work his way from the scout team to part of an already solid defensive tackle rotation that features senior Justin King, junior Taylor Reynolds and fellow sophomore Isaiah Mack. "I just play my role and do whatever the coaches ask me to do - causing pressure inside, pushing the pocket back," Mahaffey said Tuesday. "I had to learn the playbook, learn new technique and stuff like that, but I got it and now I can run a lot more, play a lot more plays and be a lot more usable." The coaching staff has been impressed by his emergence. A Western Kentucky signee, he spent a redshirt season there before transferring to East Central Community College in Mississippi. For the Moes he has four games of four tackles, including the three-game stretch against Western Carolina, Wofford and Alabama.

1/3

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/college/story/2016/nov/29/mahaffey-hgrown-utc-defensive-role-reducing-l/400380/