Juwan Tyus has spent four football seasons at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga bouncing from receiver to tight end as two different coaching staffs have attempted to figure out which position suited him best.
At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Tyus would have been the ideal size for a receiver in a different era, but as the game has changed, his skills suggest he’s more of a tight end. But even at that position there are questions regarding Tyus, who’s now being asked to block bigger, more physical players inside as opposed to being on the perimeter.
Versatility has been part of Tyus’s game for years, though, and not just in football.
As a Verbana High School senior in 2016, he had 1,462 receiving yards on 74 catches with 23 touchdowns on his way to making the Alabama Sports Writer Association’s all-state list, but he also had five interceptions on defense. His UTC bio says he “also lettered in baseball and basketball,” and while that’s true, he did a little more than just letter in basketball. He averaged 29.2 points, 17.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists as a senior – a year after averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game.
It has been his ability to go after the ball, a trait learned on the basketball court, that became most helpful on the football field – although that skill wasn’t necessary when he was left wide open on the first play from scrimmage of the Mocs’ 25-24 overtime win at The Citadel on March 6, with Tyus hustling 76 yards for a score.