Tennessee’s yet-to-be named starting quarterback and Josh Heupel’s quick-paced offense certainly headline the curiosity aspects to next Thursday night’s season opener against Bowling Green inside Neyland Stadium.
Juwan Mitchell can’t be too far down that list.
After an exodus this past offseason that included running back Eric Gray transferring to Oklahoma and linebacker Henry To’o To’o to Alabama, the biggest name obtained by the Volunteers was Mitchell. The 6-foot-2, 226-pound senior linebacker from Newark, New Jersey, led the Texas Longhorns with 62 tackles last season while also recording 4.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Tennessee’s two preseason scrimmages were closed to the media, but Mitchell has been racking up praise since his arrival in June.
“Ju is a go-go guy,” Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks said Tuesday in a news conference. “He goes extremely hard. He has started to settle in on how we do things and how we go about our business, but he’s a football player. He loves to play, and when he’s between those lines, he’s a physical kid.