Tennessee continues to try and feel out quarterback prospects in the 2019 recruiting class. The Vols have offered several in the cycle, but they don’t appear to be enamored with any of the quarterbacks in this class right now. This summer will be big for the Vols as they send coaches to quarterback camps and host other QBs on visits to see what they bring to the table.
And Tennessee will be hosting one of those quarterbacks on campus early next week.
Zach Calzada, a three-star quarterback from Buford, Georgia, has risen up a lot of recruiting boards lately and has garnered a lot of attention from Power Five programs over the last month. And according to 247Sports, he’s going to visit Tennessee on Monday of next week.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Calzada is the No. 621 overall player and No. 21 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class. But his recruitment has taken off lately, and he just picked up an offer from Georgia on Tuesday of this week to go with offers from Texas A&M, Purdue, Maryland, Iowa, Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and others in May. Tennessee hasn’t offered him yet, but that could change next week.
Over the last two weeks, Calzada has gone on unofficial visits to Northwestern, UCLA, and North Carolina. He also has a visit planned for Texas A&M this weekend.
Looking at Calzada’s film, it’s apparent why schools have started to take notice of the 6-foot-3, 195 pound signal caller. He has a lot of raw talent that looks like it has room to grow and improve. His throwing motion is smooth, and he has a very strong arm. He zips some passes in to tight windows but also has the touch necessary to complete deeper passes. He’s not a run-first type quarterback, but he’s more than capable of dodging defenders and escaping the pocket.
Calzada needs to work on his accuracy, but the talent is obviously there for him. His visits to campuses and to camps this summer will go a long way to figuring out if he’s more of a project or someone who could come in and start immediately at a school.
As a junior, Calzada completed 51.1 percent of his 227 pass attempts for 1,706 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions according to MaxPreps. He also added 117 rushing yards and three scores on 34 carries.
Academics are important to Calzada and his family, so expect Tennessee to try and pitch their education along with football opportunities as well. And the Vols may just extend an offer to him while he’s on his visit if they like what they see.
