Tennessee football: Ranking position groups by 2022 spring practice play

5. Quarterback

This position was a bit of a mixed bag. Hendon Hooker was fine, and we can project what his development will be like for Tennessee football. Joey Halzle said in April he had made a “huge jump” in the offseason, and given the way he had played before that jump, it’s reason for excitement over just how good he could be.

Meanwhile, Joe Milton III’s accuracy seemed to get better, as he had a beautiful 45-yard touchdown pass to Jack Jancek in the open scrimmage on a play that was all him. Tayven Jackson was 11-of-13 in the scrimmage despite dealing with bad snaps, and he got better after that, as Josh Heupel said his best week was the last week of spring ball.

On that front, accuracy and development seem fine. However, there’s another layer. Until the last week and when asked about Jackson, Heupel and Halzle didn’t have much to say about the development of any of the quarterbacks behind Hooker. That’s a big deal.

Last year, Hooker had to leave two games due to injury. It’ll likely happen again this year, so Tennessee football needs a backup to emerge. It’ll either be Milton or Jackson, as Navy Shuler didn’t show anything in the spring. That question still remaining is what keeps this a middle of the pack position group.