Tennessee quarterback Sheriron Jones (13) warms up. The Tennessee Volunteers visited the Vanderbilt Commodores in a cross-state rivalry at Dudley Stadium on November 26, 2016.Also read...
* Vols' Josh Dobbs 'definitely' expects to play quarterback in NFL
KNOXVILLE - Tennessee will have a new quarterback next season, and the competition to succeed the departing Josh Dobbs is already underway.
The Volunteers will use some of their bowl practices this month to give increased work to Quinten Dormady, Jarrett Guarantano and Sheriron Jones with an eye toward 2017.
Dobbs isn't sure to whom the baton will be passed after his final game, against Nebraska in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30, but he expects a heated competition among his three understudies.
"I've tried to instill in them to prepare as if they were the starter and they were in my shoes (before) each and every game," he said Monday. "I know my first two years, there was a lot of - whether it was injuries or different things - different quarterbacks started throughout the season. I've been thankful not to have that.
"My thing to them has been to prepare as if they're the starter. They've kept that intensity level, trying to compete on each and every rep, trying to get better every time they step on the field, and it's been definitely good to see that. I know it'll definitely be an intense competition this spring, because they're all performing and preparing at an intense level."
This season and last, Dormady attempted 39 passes in mop-up duty while appearing in 10 total games, all of them blowouts. His strength is passing, and Tennessee would have to tweak its read-option offense to better suit him. He'll be the most experienced quarterback on the roster.
Jones redshirted last season and nearly transferred to Colorado before electing to return to the Vols, for whom he made his debut against Tennessee Tech last month when he attempted two passes.
Many in the program are the most excited about Guarantano and believe the talented former four-star prospect who's redshirting this season is Tennessee's quarterback of the future.
The expectation is the race will come down to Dormady and Guarantano, but all three will have the chance to start impressing their coaches and teammates when the Vols resume bowl practices next week.
"I'll help them out a lot," Dobbs said. "It started (Sunday) in the first bowl practice. They started getting more reps than they had been getting throughout the season. I tried to just coach them up. If they did something wrong, just help them and mentor them. If they did something good, congratulate them and just help them out any way I can.
"Whether it's on the field or off the field in preparation and in film study, I'll try to be as much of a help as I can during my last month."
In previous quarterback competitions at Tennessee, coach Butch Jones typically took a patient approach, and it's likely he'll do so again to fuel all three players and keep them all around.
Quarterback transfers have become commonplace in college football - three Alabama quarterbacks left this season in the wake of freshman Jalen Hurts' emergence - and if one of Tennessee's three quarterbacks feels he's on the outside looking in, especially coming out of spring practice, he may look for a better opportunity elsewhere. Former Tennessee quarterbacks Nathan Peterman (Pittsburgh) and Riley Ferguson (Memphis) had success at other programs this season.
"I believe in terms of a quarterback, you never put a time restriction on yourself," coach Jones said. "It's whoever wins the job. If it's two quarterbacks, if it's three quarterbacks - you never want to put self-imposed time frames on yourself, because these individuals are going to grow.
"With Quinten and Jarrett and Sheriron, they're going to grow immensely with the volume of repetitions, starting in bowl preparation, the offseason program and obviously into spring football and the summer. We'll see where that goes, and we'll monitor everything that they do and their growth and their development. I know those individuals are very, very determined."
The determination will grow as the competition begins in earnest this month.
"Throughout the season, whether it's Sheriron, Jarrett or Quinten, all their reps are limited," Dobbs said. "Being able to get extra reps and a lot more live reps against live defenses in some different scrimmages and stuff and different situations is definitely a lot of help, then being able to go back, look at the film and see your progression and get a jump-start on preparation for the spring, I know it'll definitely help all three of them out a lot."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.