Mocs DB Wykle’s long road home finally paying off

After transferring to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga prior to the 2020 football season, Romeo Wykle knew he needed some time to get acclimated.

He was essentially coming home, having been a two-way standout at nearby Cleveland High School before spending his first two college seasons with the Patriot League’s Lafayette in Easton, Pennsylvania — situated some 75 miles east of New York and about the same distance north of Philadelphia. And he was joining a UTC roster that already had his brother Jay Person, a junior edge rusher this season.

But when it came to his position group with the Mocs back then, Wykle saw a relatively loaded secondary, meaning the chances of immediately earning playing time with so much experience back — especially at safety — were pretty slim.

So after playing sparingly in spring 2021 during the pandemic-delayed season, which didn’t count against NCAA eligibility, he redshirted last fall, with his game appearances below the limit for affecting eligibility.

He took the season to grow off the field, inching closer to his degree. He took the year to grow on the field, trying to learn the Mocs’ system during practices.

That wasn’t easy, though. Wykle had played in 21 games with 10 starts while at Lafayette, but he wanted to get closer to home and be around family, hence the transfer. Two years later, not only has he had a chance to compete on a talented team while trying to find a role, he’s getting to do so 30 minutes from home.

But was it hard to sit? “It was definitely tough,” Wykle said last week. “You know, everybody wants to play, everybody wants to be on the field on Saturdays, but I kind of took it from a humbling experience to either pout and sulk or use it to benefit me for this year, and I think I did that pretty well.”

It’s starting to pay off. Not only will he graduate in December, the 5-foot-11, 204-pounder is starting to find his way into the rotation at safety for the Mocs (3-1, 1-0 Southern Conference), who will try to lick their wounds from last Thursday’s 31-0 humbling at Big Ten member Illinois

when they return to league play and face rival East Tennessee State (2-2, 0-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Johnson City.

In addition to his contributions to a secondary that has gone from an experienced group to a developing one since he came to UTC, Wykle has made himself a fixture on special teams.

“He’s a smart, good football player that’s been important to this football team just because of the number of things he can do and help us out in,” UTC coach Rusty Wright said last week. “He’s got a lot better since he’s been here, and that’s the thing: He’s finally becoming what we think he can be, and we have no issues with Romeo being out there. He gives us everything he has.”

He may become more important as the season wears on. The secondary has struggled so far, allowing a number of big plays. It’s the team’s most glaring weakness after the first month, a problem that will have to be rectified sooner rather than later to prevent opponents from having the same success that Illinois and North Alabama did against the Mocs.

The Mocs brought back considerable experience in the first two levels of their defense this year but need the back end to come around as they push for the SoCon title and the program’s first playoff berth since 2016.

“We know that it’s no secret that teams, if they want to beat us, they’re not going to be able to run the ball,” Wykle said. “The coaches have told us that we’ve got more talent than we had last year; it’s just an experience thing, and I think that’s why we’ve had a slow start. It’s just going to take some game reps, but it’ll come.

“We’ve got everything — great coaches and we’ve got a lot of talent back there, so it’ll come. I’m not worried about it.”