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.
"He probably runs a little bit better than we thought on tape."
Mitchell had three double-digit tackle games last season, amassing 12 against Baylor and 10 against both Iowa State and in the Red River Showdown against Oklahoma. He played the 2019-20 seasons for the Longhorns after starting his collegiate path at Butler (Kansas) Community College, where he racked up 55 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss as a freshman in 2018.
One of his goals in Knoxville is to become the top linebacker taken in the 2022 NFL draft, and he knows that will have to transpire through an impressive combination of leadership and performance.
"I've got two rings, and even though they're (Alamo) bowl rings, I know the standard that needs to be," Mitchell said in a recent news conference. "I know what it looks like when it's not there. I look at myself in the mirror first when it's not there, and I've actually challenged myself to be a leader.
"When things aren't going right, I've got to look at myself."
Not much was going right for Tennessee's linebacker room this spring, when Jeremy Banks and Roman Harrison were injured and when Aaron Beasley and four-star early enrollee Aaron Willis were suspended. They are all back now and have been joined by Mitchell and William Mohan, who transferred in from Michigan.
"Getting a couple of guys back healthy off of injuries helps, and they've come back and competed at a really high level," Heupel said this week. "The additions that we've brought into that room and the culture inside of that meeting room is completely different than it had been."
Said Banks: "The biggest thing is that we have depth right now. There is a lot more urgency within the room. Obviously there are still some things we want to do better, but I'm pleased overall with the depth we're developing."
Tennessee's deeper linebacker position won't get the same attention against Bowling Green compared to whoever takes the season's first snap. Yet Mitchell may provide his share of reasons for Vols fans to stay tuned to the defense as well.
"We're excited to see what he does next Thursday," Banks said, "because he's been a guy who's been playing really hard for us. He's been playing fast. He looks like a linebacker."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.