Naturally, Butch Jones saw the questions coming.
With the release of Tennessee’s Monday depth chart for Saturday’s matchup at South Carolina, quarterbacks Justin Worley, Joshua Dobbs and Nathan Peterman were all bracketed together with the word “or” next to their names, providing little clarity on who might start the Volunteers’ third SEC road game of the season.
So instead of waiting around, the second-year head coach jumped out in front of the issue before anyone had the chance to inquire.
“I know the topic is ‘or, or, or’, so I will hit it off so we don’t spend the 30 minutes talking about our quarterback situation,” Jones said in his opening statement at Monday’s press luncheon. “We are going to try to really up it with Justin (Worley) in practice, Monday and Tuesday, see where he is at.”
“Everything is about competition. Obviously, Josh (Dobbs) did some really good things running the football-wise, managing the offense. He will continue to improve, but I want competition. Playing quarterback at Tennessee is earned. Those three individuals — with Nate (Peterman), with Justin if he is able to go and Joshua — we will name a starter when we need to.”
That same cautious strategy was implemented this past week in preparation for No. 4 Alabama. With Worley nursing an injured throwing shoulder, which eventually kept him sidelined for all of UT’s 34-20 loss to Alabama, Jones said he waited until Friday before finally deeming the senior quarterback unavailable.
But for Worley, who started the Vols’ first seven games of the season before exiting late during UT’s 34-3 loss to Ole Miss, a progression in overall health and throwing strength must become evident if he wants to climb back into the first-team conversation.
“Velocity, velocity in his passes,” Jones said in reference to what needs to improve from Worley this week. “Is he able to execute all the throws that we asked them to, and we will see and we will make a decision in moving forward. If he is back, that doesn’t assure him that he is going to start as well. It is what individuals give us the best opportunity to win.”
In a similar “wait and see” move, Peterman wasn’t officially announced as last Saturday’s starter until minutes before kickoff — albeit the redshirt sophomore played only two series before giving way to Dobbs for the remainder of the night.
But even with Dobbs’ inspiring performance off the bench — he accounted for 267 total yards, threw a pair of touchdown passes and led the Vols’ to 17 unanswered points after Alabama raced out to a, 27-0, advantage — Jones insisted the sophomore quarterback won’t be pegged as a permanent solution after just one productive outing.
“Josh will continue to get first team reps, but I also have to guard against crowning individuals,” Jones said. “I know everyone is excited, and they’re looking for positive things. And there are a lot of positive things, but that’s one game. When you watch the videotape, Josh will be the first to say there are a number of plays we left out there, a number of opportunities we left out there.
“He’s going to need to continue to develop and show growth. He’s not by any means a finished product, but I did like some of the things he’s done.”
Still, despite not seeing live game action for nearly 11 months and having talks of redshirting swirl around his name all season, Dobbs managed to rekindle an offensive spark seen only sparingly in recent weeks.
On his fourth offensive series, the dual-threat sophomore directed UT to its first touchdown in SEC play since the fourth quarter of its Sept. 27 loss to Georgia. Two possessions later, Dobbs found junior wide receiver Von Pearson for a 9-yard score, trimming Alabama’s seemingly insurmountable 27-point lead into a somewhat-manageable 10-point deficit.
And in between, the Alpharetta, Ga. native scampered for 75-yards on a team-high 19 carries, all while helping provide the Vols’ defense, whose been primarily shouldering the load during UT’s current skid of five losses in six games, with a periodic breather.
“Dobbs definitely did a great job just helping the offense move the ball,” sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. “It was definitely good to see him out there making plays.”
“It definitely gives the defense a break. A lot of us guys are playing special teams too, so when we get to sit on the bench and relax a little bit, it’s great.”
