Tennessee freshman backup quarterback Quinten Dormady technically made his collegiate debut in Nashville against Bowling Green in the season opener. But after throwing just one short pass in that game, the Boerne, Tex., native got his first true opportunity on Saturday night against Western Carolina.
After taking over late in the second quarter, Dormady finished 6-of-8 for 93 yards and a touchdown. That’s a decent line, though a couple throws he made had coaches, teammates and fans buzzing about his potential.
“I was really, really excited about the play of Quinten Dormady,” UT head coach Butch Jones said following the game. “I thought Quinten did some very, very good things.”
Dormady threw arguably the pass of the year for the Vols in the third quarter when he lobbed one up for freshman receiver Preston Williams, who ran under it and made a fantastic catch on what was also a great throw:
Great connection from Dormady to Williams for 49 yards, the longest pass of the night https://t.co/JoLqL9MQXq
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 21, 2015
“We were on our own 10, so we took a shot play to try to get us out of there,” Dormady said of the play. “Preston [Williams] ran under the ball and made a great catch.”
Dormady found Williams a few plays later to cap off that impressive drive. This was another big-time throw by Dormady, who felt the pressure, got out of the pocket and was still able to throw the ball about 33 yards in the air on a line despite being on the run and slightly off balance too.
Big league play by Dormady: Escapes the pressure, makes the strong throw even while off balance https://t.co/NeFrKK6rSc
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) September 21, 2015
“And then on the broken play, I just rolled right to escape pressure and he was standing there wide open, so I just got it to him,” Dormady said.
There’s certainly no quarterback controversy right now as the Vols prepare to head to Gainesville. Dormady’s performance also has to be taken with a grain of salt due to level of competition. But the Vols have to feel better about their insurance policy behind starter Joshua Dobbs right now and should also feel better about what’s to come – a future of Dormady and several other highly-rated quarterback prospect competing for future playing time.
“Quinten’s had a very, very good training camp,” Jones said following the WCU game. “He’s had very good practice habits. He’s been consistent all year, and to get him those valuable repetitions – we have a lot of confidence in him and that confidence has been earned by him by his performance in practice and also by his performance in meetings and his leadership qualities.”
