Staff File Photo by Patrick Smith -- University of Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman threw for 325 yards in a 37-21 junior varsity win Thursday night against Hargrave Military Academy.

KNOXVILLE — Maybe because his current coaches are about to become his former coaches, University of Tennessee redshirt freshman wide receiver Tyler Maples wasn’t practicing political correctness Thursday night.

Having just watched classmate and quarterback B.J. Coleman throw for 325 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the UT junior varsity’s 37-21 victory over Hargrave Military Academy, Maples said publicly what many have whispered privately.

“We’ve known what B.J. can do all year,” Maples said with a grin. “He’s a great leader in practice. He puts the ball on the money. All the balls I caught were perfect balls.”

There haven’t been many perfect passes thrown in the Tennessee games that count this season. To further appreciate Coleman’s numbers, the Vols haven’t so much as amassed half of those 325 passing yards in six of their 10 games. In fact, UT hasn’t accumulated more than 275 yards of total offense in any of its past eight outings.

Even offensive coordinator Dave Clawson couldn’t contain a smile at halftime after watching Coleman deliver two flawless scoring strikes.

“B.J. did a nice job,” Clawson said of the former McCallie School star. “He made some really nice throws.”

Left unsaid was the notion that the two quarterbacks who have helped the Vols stumble and bumble to their current 3-7 record under departing coach Phillip Fulmer haven’t looked capable of throwing a football into the Tennessee River from Neyland Drive.

While it’s true that the defenses of Florida, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina are a wee more difficult to dissect than Hargrave’s, Coleman also didn’t have Josh Briscoe, Gerald Jones or Lucas Taylor to catch his passes. Or running backs Arian Foster and Montario Hardesty to keep the defense honest.

And as for Fulmer’s bizarre comment following the Wyoming defeat that Coleman has sometimes struggled with his footwork — “getting tripped up with the guards, things that can sometimes get you beat” — Coleman rushed once for a 4-yard gain and was never sacked.

“It was just fun to see the eyes in the huddle,” the quarterback said afterward, his pale brown eyes dancing with excitement. “Everybody focused on one goal — winning.”

A lot of eyes have been focused on Coleman since he led McCallie to the 2006 TSSAA Division II title game against Brentwood Academy. A former UT assistant seated in the Middle Tennessee press box that night even went so far as to call another former Vols coach during that game and tell him, “You better tell (Jonathan) Crompton to win that starting job fast, because Coleman’s the real deal.”

Instead, the past three months have become a real no deal for the redshirt freshman.

“It’s been tough,” he said as he handed his two black sweatbands to a young fan. “Mentally draining. But sometimes you have to take a step back to take two steps forward. Everybody has a few bumps in the road. The Tennessee Vols will be back.”

But could Coleman bring them back this year in the final two games at Vanderbilt on Nov. 22 and against Kentucky in Fulmer’s final game a week later inside Neyland?

“That’s up in the air,” Coleman said. “We’ll go back to practice this week and see what happens.”

To be fair, not every one of Coleman’s 31 passes was caught this night. Not every Coleman pass was catchable, nine of them hitting the ground. But nearly every B.J. ball was crisp and tight and headed in a straight line for a teammate in orange rather than the enemy (a la Nick Stephens), or worse yet, a fan in the stands, as has occasionally been the case with Crompton.

And if there was any remaining doubt about the wrongness of the UT coaching staff’s decision to play both Crompton and Stephens in front of Coleman, B.J. ended it in the final 38 seconds of the opening half.

On a first-and-10 from the Vols’ 48, Coleman rifled a ball down the middle to Maples for a 23-yard gain to the Hargrave 29. A 5-yard penalty on the Tigers moved the ball to the 24.

On first down, Coleman rolled right, patiently waited for an open receiver, then zipped a laser pass to Maples, who caught the touchdown pass just inside the end zone’s right sideline. The Vols led 16-13, never to trail again.

Not that many of his teammates ever expected anything less. Said sophomore wideout Gerald Jones last week: “B.J. is a natural-born leader. He reminds me of Peyton Manning so much because he just leads. And he’s always got a positive outlook on things, no matter what.

“A lot of players in his position could be mad. They could be like, ‘Hey, why am I not being given a chance?’ But he’s always got a positive outlook, tapping me on my shoulder and saying, ‘C’mon, G, let’s get better.’”

A glimpse of that natural leadership: Hargrave defensive end Marlon Walls is expected to join the Vols next season. After futilely chasing Coleman around Neyland, Walls said of his possible future quarterback, “B.J.’s some quarterback. He’s got the potential to lead us someplace really special one day.”

Too bad the current coaching staff won’t be around to reach that special someplace one day in UT’s future.