Graduate college. Fly home. Pack all your belongings. Head to work the next morning.

How’s that for a whirlwind 24 hours?

It’s exactly what former University of Tennessee linebacker Marvin Mitchell did Thursday, joining 58 current and former UT athletes who graduated this week.

Mitchell, a seventh-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints, will join former UT receiver Robert Meachem this morning for mini-camp at New Orleans.

It was almost enough to keep Mitchell at home, but getting his diploma in person was more than enough motivation.

"I wanted to do it," he said. "The feeling of walking across that stage, you don’t get that in each and every lifetime. I did it today for me and my family.

"One of my goals coming into college was to graduate. I didn’t want to be one of those guys just in school to play football."

Mitchell’s immediate future, however, is football, and today is his first day on the job.

Whenever his playing days are over, his future will probably be in the game, too.

While many players who wind up signing professional contracts return to finish their degrees — Omari Hand, Eddie Moore and Jesse Turnbow, a defensive tackle who left school in 1977, did so this May — Mitchell completed an internship last semester while training for the NFL combine.

And he did them both at the same place.

Mitchell, a sport management major, trained at D1 Sports Training. He interned there, too.

So when he wasn’t running 40-yard dashes or lifting weights, he was putting high school and middle school athletes through the paces for 35-40 hours a week to fulfill his last remaining requirement to graduate.

"I was training kids," Mitchell said. "We did the 40-yard dash, bench presses, shuttle drills, the L-drill.

"It kind of eased your mind a little bit,. I was able to go out there and put a smile on face, not just sit around my room and be nervous. It took a little pressure off being around these smiling kids and seeing how hard they try."

Now it’s Mitchell’s turn to try in New Orleans. He’ll be rooming with Meachem, who was also his roommate last season.

Mitchell just wanted to make sure he got that diploma first.

"It’s my hopes and dreams all in one," Mitchell said. "I’m happy. I can’t explain how I feel right now, just ready to go down and play (today)."

Walker Back: Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Darwin Walker spoke at the College of Engineering’s commencement.

Walker, a member of UT’s 1998 national championship team, graduated from UT with a degree in civil engineering.

He also owns Progressive Engineering, a Knoxville firm he started with fellow graduate Paul Tucker in 2002.

Walker’s agent told The Associated Press on Thursday he won’t report to the Bills until he receives a contract extension. He was acquired from Philadelphia in March.