Tennessee’s quarterback situation in the 2021 cycle is an interesting one to follow. The Vols would like to add a QB to their 2021 class, but after adding two quarterbacks in the 2020 class and having a total of five scholarship QBs on the roster currently, Tennessee’s coaches will have to be picky with who they try and bring in this current cycle.
The Vols have already extended several offers to quarterbacks in the 2021 class, and UT has had their eye on a few signal callers for a while. But on Sunday, Tennessee gave out a scholarship offer to a new QB on their board.
Tyler Beasley is a dual-threat quarterback who plays for Out-of-Door Academy in Sarasota, Florida. He tweeted out on Sunday that Tennessee had given him an offer, his first FBS offer in football.
Blessed and honored to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee. @ChrisWeinke16 @AdrianMcphers5 @Outofdoor @Coach_KBjr pic.twitter.com/UXROdL44UK
— Tyler Beasley (@TylerBeasleyQB) March 22, 2020
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback grabbed attention during his junior season at ODA, and Tennessee became the first team to officially give him an offer. Vol quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke is involved in Beasley’s recruitment, as expected.
Right now, Beasley isn’t rated by recruiting services, but a former quarterback out of the state of Florida likes what he’s seen from Beasley.
Adrian McPherson, who used to play quarterback at Florida State and played in the AFL, NFL, and CFL, is the coach of the Ri5e 7on7 team. Beasley is one of three quarterbacks on that team, and McPherson has been impressed with how the young quarterback has competed against great competition.
“The thing I’ve been most impressed with Tyler is the way he’s been able to compete, coming from a smaller school to watch him compete day in and day out with some of the best players in this area and go to a tournament with some of the best in the country and seeing them be successful has been great,” McPherson told Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports at the end of February. “He has a strong arm, he’s athletic, he’s still learning the game of football, but I’ve been most impressed with the way he competes, and the way he bounces back from the few times he makes a mistake has been impressive to me.”
Beasley not only plays football, but he’s a solid basketball player as well, winning several Player of the Week awards during his junior season. In football, Beasley helped lead ODA to the playoffs this past season and has helped the Thunder to back-to-back impressive seasons.
On film, Beasley’s accuracy and quick release immediately stand out. He has a very compact throwing motion that gets the ball out of his hands quickly, and he can put a good zip on the ball with that. Beasley is mobile and can run when needed to, and he’s capable of throwing on the run accurately. It’s clear he’s still a little raw and has to work on his progressions, but the foundation of a solid quarterback is definitely there.
Beasley threw for 1,234 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 517 yards and eight scores in nine games at ODA this past season.
Tennessee has seven players committed to them in the 2021 class as of now, but none are from quarterbacks currently.
