A pair of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football student-athletes garnered preseason All-American honors today.  Junior Wes Dothard and senior Josh Williams were named to The Sports Network FCS second and third teams, respectively. 

Dothard (6-1, 235), a native of Carrollton, Ga., is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign that included 98 tackles, five forced fumbles and two defensive scores.  He was a First Team All-Southern Conference pick and was the league's Player of the Month in September.

Dothard was actually a first team selection on the 2011 Sports Network/Fathead.com All-American squad, but tight competition among the returning linebackers knocked him back down to the second team heading into 2012.  He is expected to return to his position as the middle linebacker. 

Williams (6-3, 235) is the Mocs' all-time leader in sacks with 21.5 in his three-year career.  The Griffin, Ga., native led the SoCon in sacks last season (9.5) and earned first team honors from the league.  He has started 31 of 33 games in his career.

Dothard and Williams are two of the eight starters returning to what should be one of the top defenses in the nation.  UTC led the SoCon in total defense (305.3 yds/game), scoring defense (19.7 ppg), pass efficiency defense (100.15), pass defense (140.8 yds/game), turnover margin (+9), fumbles recovered (14), opponent third-down conversion (33%) and opponent fourth down conversion (38%) in 2011. 

Chattanooga opens the season on Sept. 1 with a trip to South Florida.  Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) against the Bulls and the game will broadcast on ESPN3.  The home opener is set for Thursday, Sept. 13, at 7:00 p.m. against Glenville State.  Season tickets are on sale now by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627) or here on GoMocs.com.