KNOXVILLE—Despite a slew of injuries in the receiving corps, the Tennessee offense recovered from four early turnovers to win the day. Today’s scrimmage provided many reasons to remain positive about both the offense and the defense, and several players made highlight-worthy plays. Though the Vols only had four scholarship receivers available, the Vol quarterbacks showed several positive things throughout the scrimmage.  Here are a few observations about Tennessee’s quarterback play. We’ll have more from scrimmage throughout the afternoon.

Other than a handful of poor plays, the offense was crisp, and that can be attributed to decisive play at quarterback. Justin Worley threw an early interception in the end zone, though the ball wasn’t poorly thrown, and fumbled a handoff with Rajion Neal. He started the day with a long run around the end on a zone read but under threw an open Cody Blanc on the same series.

Peterman threw multiple TDs.
Photo by Randy Sartin

His opening line after two possessions wasn’t impressive: 2/6 for approximately 35 yards with one fumble and one interception. However, he recovered to look sharp, accurate, and decisive for the remainder of the day. Worley threw multiple TDs (and even had one dropped), had several impressive runs, and showed good command of the offense. He appears much more comfortable out of the pocket than earlier in the spring, and hit tight end Alex Ellis for a nice touchdown when rolling to his right.

Peterman’s day started a little better than Worley’s. On the first series with the second team Peterman took off on a zone-read, out ran a Vol end and linebacker, and could have scored if not for the non-contact jersey. The second team got a field goal on the series. On the next drive, he led the team to the first touchdown of the day after a nice pass to Alden Hill on a screen. Pig Howard got clocked by Dontavis Sapp and fumbled, and on the next possession Peterman rolled left and threw an ill-advised pass straight to Vol defensive back Geraldo Orta in the endzone.

Like Worley, Peterman recovered from his interception to lead the second team to several touchdowns. Other than the one poor decision, he had a really good day. His understanding of the offense is clearly improving, and he made several great reads on touchdown passes to tight end Justin King, and receivers Cody Blanc, Devrin Young, and Drae Bowles.

Overall, both Vol quarterbacks took a step forward despite some early turnovers. They continue to show a better understanding of the offense, more “command presence” at the line, and the ability to make plays both in and out of the pocket. Additionally, their passes were much more accurate than in earlier scrimmages. They’ll have to cut down on turnovers, but they demonstrated their potential to be playmakers for perhaps the first time this year. Worley continues to lead the race, but it’ll be a surprise if a starter is named anytime soon.

For a position-by-position breakdown of the play of the rest of the offense, click here.