Tennessee football’s five worst years with senior QB
Having a senior quarterback doesn’t always spell success for Tennessee football. Here are the Volunteers’ five worst seasons with a veteran signal caller.
In general, having a senior quarterback is a huge benefit. Tennessee football has won multiple championships and finished in the top five or top 10 numerous times with such veteran leadership. It’s what every coach wants to have.
Going into this year, Jarrett Guarantano is hoping to be that next guy. However, not every senior quarterback’s season on Rocky Top has been worthy of celebrating. Some have been disappointing, others were part of rebuilding years, and a few were just downright awful.
Now, history will show Tennessee football does much better with senior quarterbacks than with freshmen or sophomores. Combining that with Guarantano’s trajectory the past two years suggests he should be fine.
Still, a look back on history could help open some eyes as to how bad senior quarterbacks’ seasons can be. In this post, just as part of a warning sign, we’re going to rank Rocky Top’s worst years with a senior signal-caller.
Similar to our ranking of their best years, our criteria has nothing to do with how the quarterback himself played, although his play is likely reflected on how the season unfolded. Anyway, it’s simply based on how well the season went.
To qualify for this list, the Vols have to have used at least two-thirds of the year with a senior quarterback. Generally, a guy who started the season, took the majority of snaps and played late in the season will make the list.
They don’t need to have taken every snap, but they need to at least lead all UT quarterbacks on the roster in overall production. For instance, Justin Worley in 2014 won’t make the list despite starting the year and playing the majority of snaps because Joshua Dobbs had more overall yards and touchdowns when you factor in his rushing stats.
Even the worst senior seasons on Rocky Top haven’t all been bad. That’s a testament to how important having such a veteran leader can be. They often limit mistakes and allow playmakers to make plays, provided they meet minimum talent requirements. So let’s look at what we’re talking about. These are Tennessee football’s five worst years with a senior quarterback.