Former NFL MVP Cam Newton is quietly influencing the Tennessee Vols’ future offense under Josh Heupel
Former NFL MVP and Carolina Panthers legend Cam Newton is quietly influencing the Tennessee Vols’ future offense under Josh Heupel — though he probably doesn’t even realize it.
Tennessee Vols quarterback commit Derrick Baker is picking up a skill most college quarterbacks never develop, and he has former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL MVP Cam Newton to thank for it.
And it could help the Vols’ offense down the road.
Derrick Baker is taking snaps under center while playing for Cam Newton’s 7-on-7 team
Baker, a 2027 three-star quarterback who has been committed to the Vols since February, is playing on Newton’s 7-on-7 team this summer, where Newton is making him take snaps from under center on a regular basis — something that’s not very common in college football these days.
College football offenses, Tennessee’s included, operate almost exclusively out of the shotgun or pistol. Quarterbacks rarely line up under center, even in short-yardage situations. It’s been en vogue at every level for years now, and the transfer portal era has only increased the usage (the Vols have gone under center from time to time more often lately, but they still mostly operate out of the shotgun).
Coaches don’t want to spend valuable practice reps teaching a skill their system doesn’t heavily utilize when players are already effective out of the shotgun because most have run it since high school.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, for example, was heavily scrutinized when he came into the league because he had run 99.8 percent of his career snaps between high school and college out of the shotgun.
That’s what makes Baker’s experience in Newton’s league so valuable. He’s already comfortable operating out of the shotgun. Now he’s developing a feel for under-center work by getting reps that most quarterbacks his age simply don’t get. By the time Baker arrives on campus, Heupel won’t have to burn time teaching the mechanics of taking snaps under center from scratch. Baker will already have a solid foundation (Baker also runs some plays under center in high school, giving him even more experience).
“It’s been a thing that Cam has done from the start,” said Baker. “The game now is really ran out of the shotgun. Most quarterbacks are athletic, and they’re able to get in the shotgun, and maybe even sometimes run (out of) it. But Cam likes a little old school style. He was the Heisman (winner) in 2010. He really was more in the under center kind of era, so he keeps it alive.”
Baker added that going under center helps him with the timing of all routes (which would give Tennessee the option of expanding the playbook on under center plays to include more passing plays)
I think this could become a legitimate wrinkle for Tennessee’s offense when Baker is on campus, assuming he eventually wins the starting job.
Nick Saban famously noted a few years ago, after playing Tennessee, that the Vols lined up in an I-formation look and his defensive players had no idea how to react because they just don’t prepare for those types of formations.
Defensive coordinators across the SEC spend their weeks game-planning for the spread concepts Tennessee runs. They’re built to defend the shotgun. A pro-style wrinkle, even a small one, forces opposing defenses to account for something they don’t typically see from the Vols.
Heupel could pick his spots with it, or maybe it leads to a bigger offensive change. Maybe Baker’s comfort under center gives Heupel enough confidence to expand that part of the playbook and make it a more consistent piece of the offense. Either way, it’s an added element that most college quarterbacks can’t offer, and Baker is developing it right now without Tennessee having to invest a single practice rep.
Newton probably isn’t thinking about how this helps Heupel’s offense. He’s just coaching his 7-on-7 players to be more complete quarterbacks. But the incidental benefit for Tennessee is real (whether Newton, a former Auburn star, likes it or not). Baker is getting a developmental head start that could separate him from other signal-callers who arrive on campus knowing only one way to take snaps from under center.