Austin Kendall’s decommitment on Tuesday morning wasn’t a stunner necessarily. He’d visited other schools, has a brother on Kentucky’s roster and changes at offensive coordinator and the influx of QBs in the 2015 class for UT were all signs that pointed towards this possibility.
But we still expect the Vols to still take at least one quarterback in this class, so that search will kick into high gear with Kendall’s departure. Despite taking three last year, the roster situation dictates that, though it’s maybe not an urgent need, Tennessee still needs to add at least one signal caller in 2016. Joshua Dobbs is entering his junior year, and though not a slam-dunk NFL prospect at this point, the possibility of him leaving after 2015 has to at least be mentioned.
And odds, generally speaking, say that when three quarterbacks come into one recruiting class, that all of them won’t stick around. There’s certainly the possibility of Jauan Jennings moving positions, one of them backing Dobbs up in 2015 and another redshirting – potentially making everybody happy. Though it seems more likely that at least one won’t be happy with their role after a season or two and will seek other opportunities. That’s just the nature of the position.
All that to say, adding at least one QB in 2016 makes a lot of sense and should be considered a must-have item on UT’s list. Here are a few early names to keep an eye on in 2016 (ratings from 247Sports unless otherwise noted):
