UT quarterback Justin Worley carries to score as Arkansas State's Charleston Girley tries to bring him down Saturday at Neyland Stadium.KNOXVILLE - Justin Worley had an inkling of what was coming next.
The Tennessee quarterback turned in a listless performance in the third game of 2013, when the Volunteers were blasted on the road by second-ranked Oregon.
After Worley was just 13-of-25 passing for 126 yards and Tennessee managed only 213 yards of offense through three quarters of the 59-14 loss, Butch Jones reopened the starting quarterback position the following week.
Nathan Peterman usurped the job from Worley and started at Florida.
"I knew I didn't play up to par and missed some throws and wasn't really seeing things well," Worley recalled this week. "They were, what, the No. 2 team in the nation at the time. We were young, I was young -- it was my second road start -- so I didn't know what to expect. Coming in that next week, he said he was opening it up. The past is the past."
In Worley's mind, it's more like ancient history.
Heading into the third game of this season -- another road trip to a top-five opponent, No. 4 Oklahoma -- Worley strongly believes he's a different quarterback, one who's better prepared to lead his team into a hostile environment against a national championship contender.
"What Justin's doing right now is he's playing with good confidence, and much-deserved confidence," Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said. "He's done a really good job of distributing the football. He's done a really good job of making decisions and is playing really good football right now, so I am extremely confident in him.
"He's got a lot more weapons around him, too, and I think that helps."
Yet when Tennessee's offense takes the field inside the 84,112-seat Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, Worley will need to be the steadying voice for those weapons, up to four true freshmen and a few other players who will be playing significant snaps on the road for the first time.
His teammates believe Worley can handle that role.
"He always has been a leader," receiver Pig Howard said. "You see him in the leader role a lot more in just what he demands, his poise. He's consistent, always positive regardless if it's a bad play or a good play. He's just all around that voice that the offense needs."
Said freshman tailback Jalen Hurd: "Justin's a great leader, and I'm going to look to him a lot, just because I've not been on the road yet."
Worley made his debut in the fourth quarter of Tennessee's loss at second-ranked Alabama in 2011, and three weeks later he started on the road at No. 8 Arkansas, where he completed 15 of 29 passes for 208 yards with a costly interception near Tennessee's end zone just before halftime.
Last season, he finished the Florida game for Peterman and led the Vols to their only offensive points before two desperation interceptions late in the 31-17 loss. At top-ranked Alabama, Worley threw two interceptions while playing through the thumb injury that cost him his season.
"It's a new Justin Worley," Jones said. "Justin is not even close to being the same quarterback he was last year. He's poised; he's confident. Is he going to be challenged? Yes."
Despite a sluggish second half last week against Arkansas State, Worley has been sharp so far this season for the Vols. He completed 27 of 38 passes, including a streak of 13 consecutive completions, for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Against the Red Wolves, he was 17-of-24 for 206 yards and a touchdown before halftime.
"I think Justin's very talented. I've always thought he was very talented," Bajakian said. "He was playing his best football before he got injured last year. It's not a surprise to me that he continued where he left off before his injury last year, and he really has, not just continued but taken off even further. I have no complaints about the job he is doing.
"He's taken advantage of every opportunity he's gotten."
With the upset of 11th-ranked South Carolina already on his resume, Worley will have some chances this season to help Tennessee snap a 19-game road losing streak against ranked teams that dates back to 2006.
"I feel a lot more confident, and guys around me, I've tried to exude that confidence to them and try to say, 'Hey, look, we can take these guys. Don't get caught up in the name and the ranking and all that,'" Worley said. "We're an SEC team. They've got to respect us for what we are.
"I know we haven't given teams much to respect in the past few years in terms of beating ranked opponents, but I just want these guys to understand that we can go into a hostile environment and beat a team this year."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.