Quarterbacks
Daniel: The good: Justin Worley played one of the best SEC games of his career with 264 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The bad: The offense lost rhythm a few times – once in the first half with Worley at the helm and then again in the second half when Worley missed a few series (elbow) and Nathan Peterman took over. Worley also missed a couple throws early that could’ve led to more points. The ugly: Two fumbled handoff exchanges (one from both QBs) – which some blame should be split between the QBs and RBs – really cost the Vols down the stretch. Overall, Worley’s performance and his continued development is the big story and the Vols should get credit for that. Though it’ll be hard to forget a couple of those errors, Worley continues to play at a relatively high level. Grade: B
Houston: What if… That’s the key phrase for this group this week. Justin Worley played outstanding and had this team in a position to win the game in the second half. He was poised under pressure and made really smart decisions with the football. He took chances when he needed to and also took the safe pass when the defense took away the deeper stuff. Had his injury in the third quarter been significant, the Vols would be in a tough situation based on what we saw from Nathan Peterman in his few drives. He was pressured often by UGA blitzes and looked scared in the pocket; he also contributed a costly fumble on a botched handoff to Marlin Lane. Worley got an A for three quarters, but Peterman’s stint brought the average down in this one. Grade: B-
Reed: Justin Worley played the game of his life and gave the Vols a shot to win. Worley has a career passer rating of 118.83 but yesterday that number was 157.4 – a career high for an SEC game. In fact, His three touchdowns, 264 yards, and completion percentage (65.7%) were all SEC career highs for Worley. That bodes well for the Vols headed into the Florida game. He left some points out there with some missed throws but took a ton of hits. I’m sure if there’s a tougher QB in the nation. Peterman came in and looked solid at times on his first series but proved, once again, that he gets rattled in games. Two botched exchanges also hurt their grade. A couple of Worley overthrows could have easily been intercepted. Grade: B
