As fall camps wind down around the nation and teams go into game-week preparation mode, starting quarterbacks are being named left and right.
Virginia Tech, Tennessee’s second opponent of the season in the Sept. 10 Battle at Bristol, is one of the more recent high-profile quarterback battles that has been settled recently. Head coach Justin Fuente named junior-college transfer Jerod Evans the starter on Thursday
“I’d say that we had a few more predicted outcomes in terms of executing,” Fuente said of Evans (via Roanoke.com). “He is a good athlete and that plays into as well, but I would just say for now, there have been a few more of those predicted outcomes.”
Evans came to Tech from Trinity (Tex.) Valley Community College as the No. 1 ranked dual-threat QB in the JUCO ranks in the 2016 class. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound native of Mansfield, Tex., threw for nearly 400 yards per game and nearly 40 total touchdowns last year in eight total contests.
Evans beat out his primary competition, senior Brendan Motley, who appeared in 10 games for the Hokies last year, completing 92-of-164 passes for 1,155 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Other notable QB updates from UT opponents:
• Florida named sophomore journeyman Luke Del Rio its starter last week. Del Rio is 8-of-18 in his college career for 141 yards. He made stops at Alabama and Oregon State before ending up with the Gators.
• As of Wednesday, Georgia’s QB battle remained a three-man race between Greyson Lambert, Jacob Eason and Brice Ramsey
• South Carolina continues to evenly split reps between senior Perry Orth and freshman Brandon McIlwain
• Alabama’s battle between Jalen Hurts, Cooper Bateman and Blake Barnett continues, and might not be settled until into the season. Tide color commentator Phil Savage said he expects to see Hurt and Bateman get reps in the opening weeks.
