"Alex Mitchell was thrust into the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's linebacker rotation in 2022, his first year of college football. It was a move the Mocs made out of necessity, with defensive coordinator Mike Yeager saying this week that Mitchell probably wasn't "ready physically" for regular playing time at the position back then, but there wasn't much in the way of depth behind incumbents Ty Boeck and Kam Jones, who started nearly every UTC game together from 2020-22."