Tennessee Vols just solved one big offseason issue
Earlier this offseason, the Tennessee Vols found themselves dealing with an issue that's becoming increasingly common in college football thanks to the NCAA transfer portal. Tennessee quarterback Taven Jackson, a four-star recruit in the 2022 signing class, recently transferred to Indiana. With Joe Milton entering the 2023 season as the Vols' presumed starting quarterback, plus […]
Earlier this offseason, the Tennessee Vols found themselves dealing with an issue that's becoming increasingly common in college football thanks to the NCAA transfer portal.
Tennessee quarterback Taven Jackson, a four-star recruit in the 2022 signing class, recently transferred to Indiana.
With Joe Milton entering the 2023 season as the Vols' presumed starting quarterback, plus the presence of five-star 2023 quarterback Nico Iamalaeava, Jackson, an Indiana native, saw a better opportunity for playing time with the Hoosiers.
Jackson's decision to transfer left Tennessee with just two scholarship quarterbacks for the 2023 season — Milton and Iamaleava.
UT's other quarterbacks on the roster are walk-ons Gaston Moore and Navy Shuler. Neither has shown to be a preferred option to run Tennessee's offense.
Having just two scholarship quarterbacks obviously isn't ideal, but it's tough to find a quarterback in the portal that's willing to be a backup.
On Tuesday, Tennessee addressed its quarterback depth situation without having to use a scholarship or the portal.
2023 three-star quarterback Ryan Damron announced on Tuesday that he's committed to Tennessee.
Damron accepted a preferred walk-on spot with the Vols over a scholarship offer from East Tennessee State.
Damron, 5-foot-11/180 lbs from Paris, TN, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 80 player in the state of Tennessee and the No. 112 quarterback in the nation.
This is exactly the type of backup quarterback that programs have to pursue now. Most highly-rated quarterbacks simply aren't going to sit around and wait for their chance to start. So programs have to find "hidden gems" that could run the offense if the top options go down with an injury.
Damron, who grew up a Vols fan, should fill that role nicely along with Moore and Shuler.
One interesting thing about Damron to note is that his measurables and recruiting ranking coming out of high school are very similar to Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett's coming out of high school.
Bennett, who won back-to-back national championships as the Bulldogs' starting quarterback, was listed at 6-foot/171 lbs coming out of high school. He was rated as the No. 104 pro-style quarterback in the 2017 recruiting class and the No. 286 player in the state of Georgia.
That's not to say that Damron is going to have a Bennett-like story and win a championship as a starter at Tennessee. But it's a reminder that players like Damron, who usually don't get rated higher because they're undersized, can still provide plenty of value to an SEC program.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
