One of the more notable moments in an earlier chapter of Tate O’Bryan’s football career took place at Finley Stadium.
So in some ways, it seems fitting that the former Cleveland High School standout will get the chance to write the next chapter there.
Wednesday marked the start of the second period for NCAA Division I’s current signing cycle, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga announced the addition of 27 new players — 23 incoming freshmen, plus four transfers that include O’Bryan, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound receiver — for what now stands as a 39-player class counting those from the early signing period in December.
The 2025 season was O’Bryan’s fourth at Lenoir-Rhyne University, an NCAA Division II program in Hickory, North Carolina, and he averaged 14-plus yards per catch while totaling five touchdowns during his time with the Bears.
College football careers are different these days, and when it comes to the Mocs, O’Bryan is one of several players whose journey started elsewhere before ending up back in the area where he grew up. The newest Mocs also include defensive lineman Nate Carter, a Samford transfer who also prepped at Cleveland; defensive back TJ Fields, a Sewanee transfer who played at Baylor School; and wide receiver Hudson Wamack, a Wofford transfer who played at Boyd-Buchanan.