UT’s Mychal RiveraKNOXVILLE — Before tight end Mychal Rivera transferred to junior college from Pac-12 member Oregon on his roundabout way to Tennessee, he often watched Southeastern Conference football games on television.
“I always knew the SEC was fast,” Rivera said. “But the Pac-12’s pretty fast, too. There are a lot of guys with track speed in that conference.”
But since coming to the SEC a year ago, the junior’s take on America’s top conference has changed a bit.
“I still think the Pac-12 is as fast as the SEC,” he said. “But every player in the SEC is at least 20 pounds bigger at his position and they all hit a lot harder. This is a man’s league.”
Or as UT coach Derek Dooley is so fond of calling it as the Vols prepare for Saturday’s trip to No. 16 Florida: “big-boy ball.”