Five things for Tennessee football to address between now and National Signing Day

3. Adding a quarterback

Everybody is excited about Tayven Jackson as the future of Tennessee football. The four-star across the board signed with the Vols on Wednesday and appears to be Josh Heupel’s guy going forward. It all seems so simple. Jackson will sit behind Hendon Hooker for a year and then be ready to go once Hooker is gone in 2023.

The problem is it never works out like that. Just nine months ago, the Vols had five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. They were down to two by November. You should always have multiple quarterbacks battling for even the second string position.

Phillip Fulmer learned this the hard way. In 2008, Jonathan Crompton took over for Erik Ainge after he was groomed for two years to be Ainge’s successor. However, he was not a fit for new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson’s system, and Fulmer’s backup plan was Nick Stephens, who wasn’t cut out for that level.

Sure, it worked in 1998, when Tee Martin stepped in for Peyton Manning. The problem, though, is that you don’t know if it’s going to work out until the player becomes a starter. As a result, the Vols should make sure they have a backup plan at the position, literally, and sign one more signal caller.