For the first three seasons of his college football career, defensive back Jalen McMurray played for Temple.

This placed him in the heart of Philadelphia where he played at Lincoln Financial Field — home of the Eagles.

For his fourth year, McMurray is undergoing a drastic change. He's flipping from a pro sports city to Knoxville where he will join Tennessee.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

There's some obvious differences that come with moving from a city with a population over 1.5 million people to one that sits around 200,000. However, McMurray says he's enjoyed the transition.

"It's different, it's different," McMurray said. "Obviously, Philly, you have the city. You have the people and all that. Here, I've loved every second, every second here. When you're walking around campus, going to class, even when you're walking in (the practice facility) you can really feel the feel for the sports as a whole and how together everyone is. How invested everyone is with the sports here. I'm really excited to be able to play in front of all those people and it's going to be exciting."

What sparked the change for McMurray, though? After beginning his career at a smaller AAC school, he wanted to take a step up.

Joining the Vols now allows him to play in the SEC and at a top level. This is letting him play against the best competition on Saturdays and every practice.

"The biggest thing is I wanted to be able to play in the SEC," McMurray said. "Had the opportunity to every week, even during practice, to go against the best. Growth. Definitely, I feel like I've already played a good amount of ball but my football knowledge I feel like under these coaches and even some of my teammates I've been able to learn so much about football in general and different formations and all that."

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McMurray is now a piece of a crowded secondary. As a cornerback, he'll likely play behind Rickey Gibson III and Jermod McCoy but he'll have a chance to see the field during rotations.

McMurray doesn't care how he's used. He's willing to do whatever he's asked to for the benefit of the team.

"Obviously, it's a team sport," McMurray said. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes for us to be the best in the nation. Whether that's inside, outside, shoot if they tell me to play d-line I'll try my best to do that. Just being able to step in and be an asset and help this team be successful."

In game one against Chattanooga on Saturday, he should get his fair amount of run. If the score gets lopsided, he'll have even more chances as the game develops.

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