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When spring practice begins in early March, Tennessee's football players will have their names scrawled on a piece of tape and slapped on their helmets.

Tennessee's coaches might need some nametags, too.

The hiring of former UT graduate assistant Jason Michael as tight ends coach ends a search process that brought four new coaches to Knoxville on the offensive staff.

Now the real work begins.

With Signing Day on Feb. 6, recruiting is job one. Then it's a quick transition to implementing offensive coordinator Dave Clawson's offensive vision on the practice field.

And in between it's getting to know the new guys in orange.

Michael, 29, returns to Knoxville after two years as a graduate assistant with a leg up on the other coaches.

In 2004, the former Western Kentucky quarterback worked with UT defensive coordinator John Chavis and the defensive staff.

All four of those coaches remain, as does offensive line coach Greg Adkins and, of course, head coach Phillip Fulmer.

That familiarity helped make Michael comfortable returning to UT after three seasons as an NFL assistant. Michael joined the Oakland Raiders in 2005 as a video assistant and offensive quality control coach. The last two years were with the New York Jets, spending last season as an assistant tight ends coach.

So did the feel Michael got from Clawson and running backs coach Stan Drayton while on his interview.

"How do you feel when you're in here on an interview? How do you feel when you're talking football, talking about philosophies, family life?" Michael said Saturday.

"From the very beginning, the first day I met Stan and the first day I met Dave, it just seemed right. Your gut tells you a lot."

And what Michael's gut didn't say, his heart did.

Michael's fiance lives in Knoxville, where the two first met during his first stint at Tennessee.

His fiance, former Farragut High School and Tennessee volleyball player Jamie Mossburg, gets to stay close to her family, and Michael moves within a few hours of his.

"She's only known me as a football coach," Michael said. "She's so supportive of everything I did. She's been back and forth with everything. She was like, 'Well, as soon as I was ready to leave and go to New York, you bust my bubble and say we're staying now.'

"She's very supportive of anything I wanted to do. She's great about that. After the fact, she's very excited about being back here with her parents here and my family being very close, three hours up the road. All that plays into the decision."

Now, though, all those decisions come down to one big mixer in the football office.

On Saturday morning, Michael met new wide receivers coach Latrell Scott. Before long, all those coaches will be on the practice field and in meeting rooms teaching players Clawson's offense.

That can't come soon enough for Michael.

"It's an exciting time for me," he said. "I'm ready to get going."

Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.