It’s never easy stepping into the shadow of a legend. Just ask Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers after he took over for Brett Favre.

There has to be even more pressure when your mother is Pat Summitt. Tyler Summitt doesn’t seem to think so.

Tyler Summitt was hired to become the newest assistant coach on the Marquette women’s basketball team on April 19, the same day his mother resigned as the head coach of Tennessee after 38 seasons.

“I went about the job the way any person would go about it,” Summitt said. “I looked up every single school who had an opening and asked advice from my mom and assistant coaches and went from there.”

Summitt, 21, a senior at Tennessee, will graduate with a degree in communication studies in early May and begin his duties as an assistant coach under Terri Mitchell on May 21.

Tyler Summitt spent his first two years in Knoxville, Tenn., as a student assistant under his mother before walking on to the men’s program his final two years.

Summitt said that experience will be critical in his ability to be an effective coach at Marquette.

“I learned a ton from coach (Bruce) Pearl and coach (Cuonzo) Martin in addition to the things that I learned from my mom and her assistants in my four years at Tennessee,” Summitt said. “Each person has a different leadership style and philosophy, and I think that will translate well at Marquette.”

Summitt said he applied to both Indiana and Illinois for assistant roles as well as several smaller schools before choosing Marquette. Choosing may not be the proper word, however.

Summitt cold-called Mitchell shortly after the season ended and found out that the team likely wouldn’t be hiring in the offseason. He then called Mitchell back to thank her for her time and the two hit it off.

Soon after, Mitchell flew Summitt in for an interview, and he was hired a few days later.

Sophomore guard Gabi Minix is excited to have a coach who is close to the rest of the team in age and also blends the experience of working under Pat Summitt.

“We don’t care where someone comes from, as long as they can coach,” Minix said. “Tyler’s age being in close proximity to us helps because he can relate with some of the things that we are going through easier than others.”

Tyler Summitt said the decision to leave his mother wasn’t as tough as some thought, despite Pat’s diagnosis of early onset dementia before the beginning of last season.

“The thing about my mom is that she’s doing great,” Summitt said. “She’s her old self, and if you ask some of her longtime friends, assistants or staff, they would tell you the same thing. So that didn’t factor in at all.”

Summitt said that he was looking forward to working with a coach who does things the right way, referring to Mitchell.

“That’s all you ever hear about when you ask people about the Marquette program and coach Mitchell,” Summitt said. “They treat people right and that’s the kind of place that I want to be a part of.”