Tennessee doesn’t have much depth at quarterback heading into the 2018 season. But they were able to add another player to their 2018 class on Wednesday, and he should be able to add some depth to the most important position on Tennessee’s roster.
According to a report from 247Sports, the Vols added quarterback Jacob Cendoya to their 2018 class as a walk-on. The former quarterback for Mount Pisgah Christian School in Alpharetta, Georgia chose to walk-on at Tennessee over offers from ETSU, The Citadel, Jacksonville, Savannah State, and St. Francis.
The 6-foot-1, 190 pound quarterback threw for 2,679 yards and 31 touchdowns in 11 games while also rushing for 1,127 yards and 17 touchdowns for his high school. He also played baseball in high school and was at one point committed to Troy to play baseball for them in college. But he elected to be a walk-on for the Vols not even a week after they hosted him on campus for a visit.
Cendoya’s film shows off his impressively strong arm and solid athleticism. He knows how to throw the ball accurately in the pocket and on the run, and he can get some air under his passes. He’s a very capable runner and is shifty and hard to bring down. He does have a tendency to let his passes sail a little and needs to sharpen up his throws, and he has a prolonged windup on his throwing motion. But overall he’s a very good prospect, especially for a walk-on.
Don’t expect Cendoya to really come in and compete at quarterback this season, but he at least adds some more depth at the position. The Vols have just two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster heading into spring practices, and they’ll be adding two more before fall camp. Rising redshirt sophomore Jarrett Guarantano and rising sophomore Will McBride are the two scholarship players currently on the roster, and true freshman J.T. Shrout and Stanford grad transfer Keller Chryst will join the mix before fall camp begins in August.
The Vols currently have three other walk-ons at quarterback on the roster in redshirt junior Zac Jancek, sophomore Seth Washington, and sophomore Brandon Hines.
