Vols Football: Is Justin Worley the Right Choice?

Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Butch Jones announced Thursday at Tennessee’s media day press conference that senior quarterback Justin Worley will be the starting quarterback for the Vols “moving forward.” Jones stated that Worley has “earned the right” to start over redshirt sophomore Nathan Peterman and sophomore Joshua Dobbs.

But has Worley truly earned that right? Is he the best option of the three scholarship quarterbacks on Tennessee’s roster?

Let’s start by analyzing what Coach Jones said about his “new” starting quarterback at his press conference.

Among the praises Jones heaped upon Justin Worley after naming him the starter, he stated, “Justin’s played in the big-time games. He understands the environment. He’s one of the most experienced returning quarterbacks in the SEC.”

A look around the SEC, especially the SEC East, quickly proves Jones correct. The only QB’s in the SEC East with more starts than Justin Worley’s 10 career starts are Florida’s Jeff Driskel (14) and Kentucky’s Maxwell Smith (11). The rest of the East will have relatively new QB’s at the helm in 2014, as Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, and Vanderbilt all do not have a QB on their roster with more than 4 career starts.

Not only does Worley bring with him more experience than any QB on Tennessee’s roster, but his experiences have come against stellar teams as well.

Worley’s first career start came against No. 14 South Carolina in 2011. He won his next game against MTSU before taking on No. 8 Arkansas on the road. His next seven starts weren’t much easier.

After taking on Austin Peay and Western Kentucky, Worley started against No. 2 Oregon on the road. After a lackluster performance at home against South Alabama, he was notoriously benched in favor of Nathan Peterman against Florida in The Swamp. He would come in just before halftime of that game, and his season took a positive turn afterwards.

Worley would then start against No. 6 Georgia and nearly led the Vols to an upset over the Bulldogs. He followed that up by orchestrating the game-winning drive against No. 11 South Carolina two weeks later, helping the Vols to a 23-21 victory, their first over a ranked opponent in nearly half a decade.

Just when Worley was hitting his stride, his momentum was suddenly cut short. He injured his thumb in a start against No. 1 Alabama, and he missed the rest of the season as a result.

Six of Worley’s ten career starts have come against teams ranked in the top 15 in the country. No other quarterback on Tennessee’s roster even has six starts to his name.

If the “big game” experience fails to persuade you, just take a look at the stats.

While Worley’s career numbers may not draw comparisons to Peyton Manning, Casey Clausen, Erik Ainge, or even Jonathan Crompton, his numbers are much more impressive than Tennessee’s other options.

Justin Worley has completed 172 of his 306 passes for 1,977 yards, throwing 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Compare that to Joshua Dobbs, who has completed 72 of 121 passes for 695 yards, 2 scores and 6 interceptions, adding 189 yards on the ground, scoring a rushing touchdown as well. Nathan Peterman’s line is even less impressive, completing just 10 of 23 passes for 45 yards, no touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

All these numbers and starts are well and good, but the quarterback position goes beyond simple statistics. A quarterback must possess intangible qualities such as leadership, consistency, and a command over his team.

According to Butch Jones, Worley has all these things.

“We think Justin Worley gives this football team the best opportunity to win right now,” said Jones. “He’s managed the offense, and he’s the leader of the offense. He’s been extremely vocal, and he has great command of the line of scrimmage. He’s playing his best football right now.”

After 13 fall practices, it’s been apparent to all who have observed the practices that Worley has improved his leadership with the team, and his voice rises above most others when in a group.

While speaking to the media on Thursday, Worley admitted he played timid last year and said he let the more experienced offensive line do the talking.

“Some of the guys were kinda hard to get to follow me,” Worley stated. “It was my first year of being a true starter, so it was a lot of learning how to lead.”

When asked what has changed his approach during this fall camp, he cited the experience Butch Jones mentioned in his press conference. “It has to do with experience,” said Worley, “getting to start against Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia. I can feel the respect (my team) has for me now.”

Although Justin Worley may not turn heads or wow fans with electrifying plays, he’s easily been the most consistent quarterback throughout the fall camp so far this preseason. While Nathan Peterman has shown some consistency and Joshua Dobbs has flashed some big play ability, Worley was the only one who truly looked and felt like a leader when he took control of the offense.

With such a young team, a senior quarterback who has faced the toughest teams in the country is as valuable an asset as a team can ask for. Time will tell if Justin Worley was the right choice, but for now, he appears to be the best option for the Vols.

All stats for Tennessee players via UTSports.com official roster