Joseph Parker expects the comparisons as well as the stereotypes.
Standing at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, the new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior wide receiver and former Wyoming Cowboy knows that his stature, his position and his color will elicit references to former New England Patriots standout Wes Welker, as well as current Patriots Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman.
Although one of the quickest - and fastest - players on the UTC team, he'll be considered a "shifty" player with "deceptive speed." Although showing as one of the best deep threats on the team during the first two weeks of the Mocs' camp, he'll be considered a "possession receiver."
All of that is fine with him.
"If you look at me walking down the street, you'd never think I played football anywhere," Parker said after Monday's short practice session. "I kind of take pride in that. I'll sometimes wear my Moc gear around, and people will ask, 'You play football here? You walk on here?' You know, just the average question for a short white guy that came to play football. I come every day to try to prove everybody wrong, that I can do this, too.
"It doesn't matter your size or anything; it just matters you heart and matters how hard you work."
That mentality, plus his skill, is likely going to get him on the field quickly. From his arrival on campus nearly two months ago, he's been working. Even before practice began, he was meeting with receivers coach Ryan Aplin, getting as much extra information as he could and learning the playbook.
After Monday's practice, almost all of the receivers stayed long after practice, working with UTC quarterbacks on routes. Parker was in that group.
"He works," offensive coordinator Justin Rascati said. "He's competitive; it's important to him and he came here for a reason. He has a chip on his shoulder, so he comes to work every day with a positive attitude, looking to get better.
"He's a team guy, too. He brought a lot of leadership to that room, and to our offense, so we're real excited about him."
Parker said Monday that he feels he's playing for the best head coach (Tom Arth), the best offensive coordinator and best receivers coach in the country, which helped him choose UTC over other transfer options. Now he's just trying to be a key piece of the mystery that is the 2017 Mocs football team.
"Every day I step on the field, I want to make everybody better," he said. "I want to be the best I can be. Obviously, I'm not nowhere close, but I want to make everybody around me better, too. I take pride in that: Ehen I got here, I told the guys that I'm not here to try to be better than everybody, not talk to anybody and take anybody's job; I want to bring the whole group up. We're only as good as our weakest link, so if I go down or somebody else goes down, we've got to have a guy that's great under us, 'cause it's all about the team.
"It's not about personal goals. We all have them, but if we don't win a game, it doesn't matter what the personal goals are."
Mocs ranked 12th
Coaches in the Southern Conference weren't too high on the Mocs this preseason, picking them fourth in the nine-team league. The Football Championship Subdivision national media feel a little more strongly about UTC.
The Mocs were picked 12th in the FCS STATS (media) poll Monday, one spot behind preseason league favorite Wofford - the SoCon's highest position. Last season's league champion, The Citadel, was selected 16th, while Samford was 19th. Mercer and East Tennessee State also received votes.
UTC's opening opponent, Jacksonville State, was picked sixth. Defending national champion James Madison is preseason No. 1.
"My only expectation for our team is to go out there and play their best every single day," Arth said. "That's all I'll ever ask of them; that's all I ever can ask of them. I think if we go out there and we do that, I'll be very, very happy with this group, regardless of how we finish.
"We'll find out where that is, but if we go out there and we play every day with a great sense of purpose and to the best of our ability, I think we'll be very pleased with the results."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.