Vols Football: 5 Position Battles To Watch In The Off-Season
By Zach Ragan
Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones (center) talks to his team during the first quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Back-Up Quarterback
Tennessee’s default quarterback plans went askew when Nathan Peterman decided to transfer to Pittsburgh.
Peterman, whose career at Tennessee didn’t go as he planned, made the right move by transferring to Pittsburgh to reunite with offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. But his departure left the Vols in a bit of a pinch.
Outside of starting quarterback Josh Dobbs, the Vols have 0 quarterbacks that have played in a college football game.
That means that Tennessee will rely on a trio of true freshmen to backup Dobbs.
Quinten Dormady and Jauan Jennings are already on campus and Sheriron Jones will join the party later this summer.
All three quarterbacks have the potential to be the future at UT, but which one will get the first shot is anyone’s guess.
However, before any of them get a shot at starring for the Volunteers, one of them will have to be named the backup to Dobbs.
A general consensus among fans and analysts seems to be that Dormady, due to the fact he’s more polished than Jennings, will be Dobbs’ backup.
But I’m not sure it’s that clear cut.
Jennings, who is quite raw as a quarterback, would make sense on a couple of different levels. The main one being that his skill set resembles Dobbs’ more so than Dormady’s.
If something were to happen to Dobbs, Jennings could be inserted into the lineup without drastically changing the offense.
Of course that won’t be the only factor that goes into who the backup quarterback will be, but it’s something that will have to be considered.
Ultimately, Butch Jones will go with the player that gives the Vols the best chance to win.
We know that Jones won’t be in a hurry to name a backup quarterback, if he even names one at all.
So don’t be surprised if the final depth chart before the season begins lists co-backups.