As a coach, Tyrus Ward always hopes his players take something from each practice, each experience.
But recently, it was Ward who became the sponge, soaking up every thing he possibly could from a trip to work with the Carolina Panthers as part of the NFL's Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, a program designed to give talented coaches opportunities to "observe, participate, gain experience and ultimately gain a full-time NFL coaching position," according to the league's website.
Ward, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's outside linebackers coach, was one of about 100 people -- from a pool of close to 1,000 candidates -- selected for the program. He's the third UTC coach to receive the opportunity, with Chris Cook and Oscar Rodriguez chosen prior to the 2018 season.
Cook -- like Ward, he's a UTC alumnus -- later spent a year as an offensive quality control assistant with the Denver Broncos and is now an assistant at Duke, while Rodriguez is currently at Kansas.
Ward missed the first week of UTC's preseason camp because he was in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Panthers. He came back from the experience calling the franchise a "first-class organization."
Gallery: UTC assistant coach Tyrus Ward
"You're mostly like a fly on the wall," said Ward, who was the head coach at his high school alma mater, Brainerd, from 2017-20 before joining Rusty Wright's staff at UTC last year. "You're not pushing a lot of papers, you're actually hands on with things. Not talking to the players, but you're working with the groups."
Ward spent his time with the defensive ends, getting a chance to observe the schedule and daily grind.
"The biggest takeaway for me was just how intelligent these guys are," Ward said. "You may look at them on TV, and they may have dreads or more of an urban look, but you don't realize these guys are extremely smart. I was impressed by how intelligent they were when it came to their craft, just knowing the schemes and understanding their position."
Last year, after moving up through the prep coaching ranks to earn his current position, Ward spoke of "grinding where your feet are," and right now that's helping the Mocs -- preseason favorites to win the Southern Conference again after falling short last fall -- take the next step as a program. But with his glimpse at the NFL, Ward believes he has "grown as a professional," which will only help him at UTC.
"'Until' was the buzzword while we were there," he said. "We had a speaker come in, and he talked a lot about doing things until you've mastered them, until it's right, until we get to where we need to be. They are first-class, though. (Panthers head coach) Matt Rhule, he's a phenomenal, first-class guy. Practices are first class, the organization, from top to bottom, first class.
"I've learned a lot here at UTC. Rusty has given me an opportunity, he and (defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward), any chance they get, they come in and make sure they sharpen me as a coach. But those 2 1/2 weeks were well worth it."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.