It’s easy to make fun of some of the buzzwords that come out of Tennessee’s football program. It’s just sad to see how the program is actually being handled. The latter came to fruition once again as the Vols launched the second phase of their lackluster season: The Great Quarterback Competition of 2017.
Harp on “Leadership Reps” all you want. In understand. After all, it was pretty funny when Butch Jones managed to top himself once again when it comes to corny cliches.
Understandably the media clamored to make fun of Tennessee’s coach once again. He’s been an incredibly easy target over the years.
However, fans should be more concerned about what Jones didn’t say about UT’s football team. When asked about the quarterback situation, Jones declined to outright name Quinten Dormady the starter against South Carolina despite the fact that the junior has started every game for the Vols this season. In hopes of staving off a controversy, Tennessee released a depth chart on Tuesday. As one would assume, Dormady was listed as the starter. But for how long?
Apparently not long. Reports surfaced on Tuesday that Dormady was considering leaving UT’s program because redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano had been elevated to first team. The news was less about a quarterback change than it was about Jones, a desperate coach grasping for straws.
Admittedly, Dormady hasn’t played great. He has a 56-percent completion percentage, six interceptions and two fumbles. But did he ever really get a chance? In relief, Guarantano has only completed 12-of-24 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Not exactly like replacing Don Majkowski with Brett Favre.
Just last week, Jones said Dormady usually receives 60-percent of the first-team repetitions while Guarantano receives 40-percent of the remaining first-team reps. That means Jones was never sure Dormady could lead the Vols for the entire season.
Think about Jones’ decision for a moment with his quarterbacks. Dormady is a first-year starter. He needs all the first-team reps he can get, not just “leadership reps”. Think former UT quarterback Peyton Manning would have settled for barely more than half of the first-team repetitions when he was a full-time, first-year starter in 1995? That seems pretty far fetched.
I said during preseason camp that if one of UT’s quarterbacks, most likely Dormady, didn’t secure the starting position handily that the Vols would have a serious crisis on their hands. That appears to be the case.
If Jones is even thinking about making a quarterback change, you can consider it a death knell to the season. This team is way to fragile to overcome a quarterback controversy. Moreover, if neither quarterback can adequately handle the job, then the season is already over.
It makes one wonder just what’s going on when the Vols hit the practice field. First-team quarterback repetitions are oddly divvied up. Players are reportedly taking cheap shots at their teammates.
As is the case with most college football programs, UT’s practices aren’t open to the media. That really doesn’t matter any longer. The resulting evidence of those practices have been readily apparent on the field.
Perhaps an off-week will give Guarantano enough first-team, practice repetitions to prove he can be a top-flight SEC quarterback. If not, the worst – amazingly- may be yet to come for the Vols this season.
