KNOXVILLE – Everyone learns new offensive schemes at different speeds. Some take weeks; some take months.
Coaches hope junior college signees are weeks guys, which seems to be the case with Tennessee tight end Mychal Rivera.
Reporters haven’t had access to any team periods in practice this preseason, but coaches and teammates say Rivera – a 6-foot-4, 240-pound Californian who originally signed with Oregon in 2008 – has steadily improved throughout camp.
Senior linebacker LaMarcus Thompson, no stranger to covering tight ends, said Rivera was a “great young player.”
“Myc’s been great,” first-year UT coach Derek Dooley said after Friday’s practice at Haslam Field. “He’s a good 2 for us right now, behind Luke [Stocker]. And he’ll play. We’ll throw him some balls. He’s really doing well. That was a good pickup for us late.