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Martez Cooksey, Jr., extends for interception in warm ups prior to matchup at Georgia State.
Ray Soldano

Safeties “In A Word”: Trust

Martez Cooksey, Jr.

Martez Cooksey, Jr., is one of the top returners in a competitive Chattanooga Mocs safety room heading into 2025 fall camp.

First Look
The Chattanooga Mocs started the summer months with a new storyline for the football program. Out is the weekly preview series and in is a new version focused on a single word. Each position coach shares his outlook for his crew in a single word.
 
This week we look at the safeties. This group is completely for the first time in years with a steady passing down of best practices over the years. The term "Trust" is apt as the first step to earning playing time requires capturing that from the coaching staff, while the impact in the final third requires it for a ball-hawking defense.
 
Coach Wolf Shafer shared a very positive outlook for a group with a wealth of potential and depth to spare.
 
First Thought
"The two words we use in the room are trust and production because you know they go hand-in-hand. We're looking to find guys who we can trust, and that starts in practice, and it carries over outside of practice. The safeties have to make the calls. They're communicating and making the checks and setting the defense. Every play we have to trust that you're going to be able to get us in the right defense and be where you're supposed to be." – Shafer on "trust"
 
Breakdown  
A Quick Peek at the Room
  • Sophomore Martez Cooksey, Jr., impressed in his 1-start cameo in 2024. A star on special teams, he stepped in for an injured Reuben Lowery III in the finale at Austin Peay and made a huge impact registering 10 tackles with one for loss.
  • Junior Kam Baah-Slay has been on the 2-deep almost since his first practice at UTC. He had 10 stops with two pass breakups and a tackle for loss in 2024. He has all the physical tools to excel moving forward.
  • Seniors Kaelin Drakeford and Nick Coates came to the Scenic City in the spring from Eastern Illinois. Drakeford plays in the back while Coates is competing with Cooksey in the slot. The duo impressed in the spring coming from a similar defensive style at EIU.
  • Junior Khari Gee is in the mix at all three safety spots. He began his career at Notre Dame and came home to Georgia Tech for two seasons. He's looking to put an injury-stunted 2024 behind him and compete for immediate snaps.
  • AJ Wallace is following that track as well. He redshirted at Arkansas State last year and is now coming home to the Mocs. The South Pittsburg product has a bright future ahead after an impressive summer.
  • Jordan Davis is similar to Wallace, just coming back to his home state after a group of five start. The Columbia native has four years remaining after a 2024 spent at Ball State. The word for the room could have been "impressed" as he also has caught Shafer's eye since his arrival as has the room as a whole.
  • True freshmen Jaden Nelson and Kamari Todd both have bright futures ahead. The duo are intelligent, hungry "gym rats" that have hit the ground running in summer workouts.
  • Senior Josh Jones fits the old adage…save the best for last. Jones is a legacy defensive back in Chattanooga following his brother Jordan as the duo shared the locker room in 2021. Jones is an uber-competitive safety that bleeds Mocs blue & gold. He also impacts the squad working as an intern with the compliance office specifically help build an NIL foundation with the program.
 
A New Dimension
There could be a major change in one key area of the safety room. The size of the starting backline at the end of spring ball looks closer to the starting frontline of a basketball team. Baah-Slay and Drakeford are both 6-3 with Gee and Wallace checking in at 6-2. Over the past decade, the average height of the starting duo is 6-0.
  • 2015: 6-1/6-0
  • 2016: 6-1/6-0
  • 2017: 6-1/6-2
  • 2018: 5-9/6-1
  • 2019: 5-9/6-2
  • 2020-21: 5-9/6-2
  • 2021: 5-9/6-2
  • 2022: 6-0/6-0
  • 2023: 6-0/6-0
  • 2024: 6-0/6-0
 
Hear from Kam Baah-Slay
The annual "Meet the Mocs" cavalcade of stars kicked off in June with the start of this web series. Sport Talk on WGOW 102.3 FM welcomes a Mocs student-athlete each week that pairs with the position group featured on GoMocs.com. This week, junior Kam Baah-Slay joins Quake, David Paschall and Cowboy Joe live and in studio. Tune in at 4:35 p.m., for the interview either on your radio dial or online here.
 
Final Thoughts
"95-plus percent of the time, if we can trust you, that gives you a shot. The next piece is production. We have to find ways to get guys who get the ball down, get the ball back to our offense, who are going to show up at the point of attack consistently. That plays into the trust factor of being where you're supposed to be. Then it's the guys who make the plays who are going to be getting the snaps for us." – Shafer expanding on trust and production
 
"I think the first part is they know kind of how I operate and my expectations. Then it's just understanding the defense and the culture of the program. It's given them a great opportunity to move into a little bit more of a leadership role within our room because guys are going to start to look at them for what it's all about." – Shafer on Martez and Kam sharing their experience with the new guys
 
"Most coaches will say this, and it's cliche, but it's just the love of the game. You gotta love football. When I'm watching a recruit, whether to transfer or a high school kid, I'm always looking to see how hard they play. That's a big tell on their football character; meaning how much they love the game and respect the game. The other piece is 'what are you doing outside of the mandated time that we're together'? Whether it's in the film room or on the field or in the weight room; come in and have conversations about the game. That's not just here's what you're supposed to do. Let's talk about the game." – Shafer on what he looks for in safeties
 
"This defense puts safeties in position to make a lot of plays. That's where it circles backs to building that trust. Can you be the guy who can consistently make the plays when they come to you? I heard a guy say this once. The best DBs...the best safeties make plays where they're not supposed to be. That doesn't mean don't do your job and play backyard football. It means studying the film and understanding the progression. If you can start to have that understanding, you can maybe have a feel for what concepts are coming and be able to steal a possession." – Shafer on the work that builds the best safeties
 
"Every play has a life of its own. The most fun part of the game to me is when you get going, and you could watch a third and six against the same team, same defense, same play call, and you know, it's going to play out a little bit differently. And that's the cool part about this game. It's getting to spend that time really studying the game under more of a microscope to understand how situations play out, how you're supposed to be thinking." – Shafer on what he loves about the game
 
Tickets on Sale
The 2025 season kicks off August 30 at Memphis. It begins on the road with intrastate matchups at the Tigers followed by the short trip to Cookeville to visit Tennessee Tech. The home opener is Sept. 13 with the first-ever meeting with Stetson.
 
Season tickets are on sale beginning at $60. Purchases can be made here on GoMocs.com.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
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